Japanese manga is a thriving industry.

Literally translated, manga means "random (or whimsical) pictures” and refers to Japanese printed comics.

In the late eighteenth-century Japan, a precursor to the current manga first appeared. Printed in book form using woodblock technology, kibyôshi ("yellow covers") were storybooks for adults. The narration and dialogue were placed in and around ink-brush illustrations, often in creative ways that consciously blurred the distinction between text and picture. Like modern-day manga, they dealt with a variety of subjects, including humor, drama, fantasy, and even adult topics.

Manga in its current form launched into popularity in the 1960’s largely due to work of the late artist, the late Tezuka Osamu. Tezuka's most popular creation, Mighty Atom, is known throughout the world; an animated version was broadcast in the U.S. as Astro Boy.

It is estimated that today there are around 3000 professional manga artists in Japan. All of these individuals have published at least one volume of manga, but most of them make their living as assistants to famous manga artists or have some other supplementary source of income. Only 300 of these, or ten percent of the total, are able to make an above-average living from manga alone. In addition, there are also a great number of amateur manga artists who produce small magazines intended for private circulation, called dojinshi.

For fans of manga the Hiroshima City Comics Library has 77,000 comics and related materials and is located in Hijiyama Park. Hours: Tues-Sun 10am-5pm; no admission charge.

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