Exhibition on Taiwan, Japan comic book culture to open in Kyoto

Taipei, May 21 (CNA) An exhibition tracing the roots of Japan's manga culture and Taiwan's comic book scene will open Saturday in Kyoto, Japan.

"A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan's Youth, organized by the Preparatory Office of the National Taiwan Museum of Comics and the Kyoto International Manga Museum, with support from Taiwan's Ministry of Culture (MOC), runs from May 24 to June 24 at the Kyoto museum.

The exhibition will delve into modern history to examine the similarities and differences between Taiwanese and Japanese comics from historical and political contexts, according to the event organizers.

It also showcases comic book artists and editors who resisted political and historical influences to create new forms of expression, organizers said.

The show centers around two iconic figures in the comic book industry -- late Taiwanese comic book editor Tsai Kun-lin (蔡焜霖) and Japan's "god of manga" Osamu Tezuka -- through the lens of two works: "The Boy from Clearwater," a comic book series based on Tsai's life, and "The Osamu Tezuka Story," a biography of Tezuka.

Through the lives and works of the two pioneers, the exhibition seeks to reflect the intersection between Taiwanese and Japanese comic book cultures, the MOC said in a statement.

The exhibition will be shown at the National Taiwan Museum of Comics in Taichung from July 2025, the Kyoto International Manga Museum said.

Tsai was arrested in 1950 under martial law on charges of "rebellion and treason" after joining a "left-leaning" reading club in high school. He was imprisoned on Green Island from 1951-1960, during which time he was forced to work in a "labor reform" camp.

In 1966, he founded Wang Tzu (王子, Prince) Magazine, which featured short stories and comic strips.