Spirits of Action: Japanese Manga and Sports:Virtual Japan PartV

Virtual Japan Series Part V

YOSHIMURA Kazuma talks about the inseparable relationship between manga and sports.

Being an avid manga reader and a sport fanatic may seem to be mutually exclusive characteristics. In Japanese manga history, however, they have always been a good match and played well together in attracting manga fans as well as enthusiastic sports players. From tennis to judo, a huge variety of sports have been a source of inspiration for the ‘sports manga’ form of the graphic novel read by girls, boys, and young adults alike, and the genre has kept driving the market and readership forward. Certain works have gained huge momentum and have become a trend in Japanese society. The genre’s continuing popularity and influence is proven in the fact that many ‘sports manga’ titles have been adapted into other media such as film and animation.

YOSHIMURA Kazuma of Kyoto Seika University will talk about the inseparable relationship between manga and sports. Succinctly tracing its history from post-war to today, YOSHIMURA will discuss the position of ‘sports manga’ in Japanese culture and how its contents have evolved to reflect the time, society and people’s spirits, and indeed how the genre has managed to keep attracting Japanese readers, as well as manga artists, even while changing its shape.
Date And Time
Wed, 28 Oct Protected content , 13:00 CET
Protected content