"NEW VISIONS - Opening a Window to Taiwanese Comics" organized by the Taiwan Cultural Center in Japan was unveiled on the 18th at the Junkudo Bookstore Ikebukuro main store. A total of 35 selected Taiwanese comic works will be held for the first time in three bookstores in Tokyo. In conjunction with this event, cartoonist Nan Nanri designed the main visual based on the "iron window grilles" commonly seen in old houses in Taiwan, and launched limited edition book jackets, bookmarks, hand towels and other small gifts to attract the public's attention.
The Taiwan Cultural Center has actively promoted Taiwanese comics in Japan in recent years, and Taiwanese comic creators have achieved great results in Japan's International Manga Awards many times. The publication volume of Taiwanese comics in Japan has also increased year by year. Although the volume is not enough to compare with Japanese comics, the increased market attention has also given the Cultural Center more confidence to strive to hold sales exhibitions in physical bookstores in Japan with the theme of Taiwanese comics.
Director of the Taiwan Cultural Center, Tsang Chiu-long, said in his opening speech that this time, Taiwanese comics will be further brought into bookstores. He hopes to not only introduce the works through the exhibition, but also bring Taiwanese comics into the daily reading lives of Japanese readers.
Today’s opening ceremony brought together representatives from Taiwan and Japan’s comics, publishing and bookstore industries, including Tomoko Satonaka, the judge of the Japan International Manga Awards and chairman of the Japan Cartoonists Association, Takamasa Matsutani, the representative and president of Tezuka Productions, as well as representatives from three cooperative bookstores. 12 Japanese publishing houses, including Kodansha and Hakusensha, also sent personnel to attend.
Gao Yan, a Taiwanese cartoonist living in Japan who has been repeatedly recognized by the Taiwanese and Japanese cartoon circles in recent years, and Nan Nanri, a cartoonist who just won the silver medal at the 19th Japan International Comic Awards and designed the main visual for this exhibition, also attended in person.
When talking about the creative concept of the main visual of this exhibition, cartoonist Nan Nanri said that she used the "iron window grilles" commonly seen in old houses in Taiwan as the core image, and connected books, plants, people and cats in the window panes, making the story seem to jump out of the page, and echoing the spirit of Taiwanese society that is open, diverse and not restricted by frames.
In addition to the "iron window grilles" in the main visual design, Nan Nanri also hid Easter eggs such as "26" (representing 2026) and "reading comics" Spring Festival couplets in the screen.
Li Yuan, the Minister of Culture, was deeply impressed when he saw the limited-edition book cover of this exhibition a few days ago. He thought it was an "unprecedented" attempt. He also hopes that through more methods that are closer to overseas markets and local culture, Taiwanese comics will be seen by more international readers, and further create opportunities for publishing, licensing and cross-domain development.
Gao Yan, a Taiwanese cartoonist who has continued to attract the attention of the Japanese cartoon industry in recent years, has twice been selected into the Japanese cartoon ranking list "This comic is awesome!" with her works "Green Song" and "Gap". "Gap" was shortlisted for Japan's iconic Osamu Tezuka Cultural Award for Comics this year. Gao Yan said that Taiwan has diverse languages, cultures, histories and memories, which has given rise to free and diverse comic creation. She also hopes that through this exhibition in the bookstore, more readers will open a window to understand Taiwan starting from the chance encounter with picking up a Taiwanese comic.
A total of 35 Taiwanese comics are selected for this exhibition, which will be displayed simultaneously at three bookstores: Junkyudo Bookstore Ikebukuro Main Store, Magmabooks Toranomon Hills Store, and Tokyo Do Bookstore Kanda Jimbocho Store.
Junkudo Bookstore Ikebukuro main store presents the diverse vision and free creation of Taiwanese comics with 15 works; Magmabooks Toranomon Hills store mainly focuses on 10 works on life, emotions and female growth, and Tokyo Do Bookstore Kanda Jimbocho store presents Taiwanese stories from the cultural context and artistic style of history, society and culture through 10 works. A preview promotion brochure of the exhibited works is also available for readers or publishers to obtain for free, which serves as a reference for readers to understand and for Japanese publishers to discover Taiwanese works.
