Growing Up with Manga: 40 Years of Manga Culture in Europe (special exhibition)

Before you go

Children in Europe grew up reading Japanese manga — and then started drawing it themselves.

The exhibition traces about forty years of Japanese manga in five countries: France, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Germany. Manga began to take hold in Europe in earnest in the late 1980s, starting as the culture of a small circle of fans and becoming part of mainstream culture, through anime booms, fan communities, media, translation and education. Out of respect for how it was received, the show writes Japanese-style story manga as seen from Europe as "Manga", setting it apart from manga in Japan.

It is in three parts: the history of Manga's reception in Europe; the children who grew up to become Manga artists; and a reading corner where visitors can browse works by European Manga artists. Around 30 European artists are represented, with about 100 reproduction drawings on display, along with fanzines, interview videos, magazines and books. European Manga artists began to appear around 2000, working in forms close to Japanese manga but with a wide range of themes and their own points of view.

One of them is Mogiko from Italy, whose Black Letter was first published in Italy in 2024 and appeared in Japanese translation in 2025. The exhibition is a related event of the Kyoto International Manga Anime Fair 2026.

Getting there

The museum is at Karasuma-dori Oike-agaru, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto.

Booking

Museum admission tickets can be bought at the entrance ticket machines on the day or purchased online in advance. The listed talk and symposium are advance-registration, first-come events, with registration opening at noon on 21 July as stated on the page.