The Hawaii Japanese Center in Hilo is preparing its special gallery for a Japan Foundation exhibition featuring the art of Japanese comics, or manga.
The center will be showing the exhibit, ”Manga Hokusai Manga: Approaching the Master’s Compendium from the Perspective of Contemporary Comics,” which features seven Japanese artists.
The exhibit is part of the foundation’s arts and cultural exchange program, which brings Japanese art across the globe.
The first volume of Hokusai Manga was released over 200 years ago and still captivates audiences with rich visual expressions created by Katsushika Hokusai and other artists of the era.
The exhibit features work by contemporary manga artists based on the theme of Hokusai’s manga and introduces the similarities and differences with modern Japanese manga.
Volunteers have been working to assemble the exhibit, which will include a few interactive portions with the instructions written in Japanese.
“We’re excited to have something different from the Japanese Foundation for the public,” said Hawaii Japanese Center Executive Director Arnold Hiura. “There are several artists and beautiful work to view. I think people of all ages will be interested.”
The Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu is collaborating with the center to put on the exhibit, which will be free when it opens this week.
The Japan Foundation in a press release said it hopes that through this exhibition, viewers will be able to experience the special pleasures of manga in different ways, because the art form has been seen as mere entertainment in recent years.
The exhibit will be open for a month from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, beginning Wednesday, June 7, and ending on Saturday, July 8.
The center will provide reading material from the foundation to help guide viewers through the exhibit.
The gift shop will feature manga-inspired specials during the exhibition, which includes Manga Mix by Wholesale Unlimited, Manga Manju Assortment by Fujiya Hawaii, which can be picked up on June 17, and Takenoko Bento by Kai of Takenoko Sushi, with pickup at 11:30 a.m. on June 17.
While the gallery will be open for free, those interested in touring the permanent museum gallery will have to pay the regular ticket price of $10, or $5 for seniors and students.
“Seeds of Local: Japanese Americans in Multicultural Hawaii” takes visitors back in time by showcasing artifacts, stories and photographs gleaned from the center’s collections to tell the story of Japanese in Hawaii, from immigration during the plantation era to the present.
For more information, email the Hawaii Japanese Center at ehiura@icloud.com or call (808) 934-9611.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com.