Bringing manga to the museum

Explore how manga is represented in Japanese museums and galleries and has been embraced as a recognized art form.

Manga has been recognized as part of Japan’s art scene since the 1990s. Beginning with the Tezuka Osamu exhibition in 1990 at the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, manga museums dedicated to manga artists were established across the country. Academic research on manga also flourished, leading to more scholarly and critically engaged exhibitions.

This talk, part of a collaboration with the National Art Center, Tokyo (NACT), accompanies its 2026 exhibition on shōjo manga. The term ‘shōjo manga’ is often used to refer to manga for young girls, or perhaps more accurately to works that were published in magazines targeted at a female youth readership. The NACT exhibition focuses on three female manga artists who played a pivotal role in the ‘golden age’ of the 1970s and seeks to illuminate the broader historical contributions of shōjo manga.

Curator Yoshimura Rei introduces NACT’s engagement with manga and her curatorial approach, including how exhibitions situate artists and works within the broader history of Japanese manga, and the creative strategies used to present small-scale original drawings in compelling ways.

Since opening in 2007, NACT has promoted a wide range of contemporary modes of creative expression, from art, architecture and design to fashion, animation and manga. NACT approaches manga not only as consumerist popular culture but as a significant artistic and cultural medium, presenting it to both Japanese and international audiences.

Please note that filming and photography may take place at this event. Photos and footage of the event may then be used to promote Japan House London, helping more people to discover what we offer. If you have any concerns, please or contact a member of the team on site.

About the Speaker

Yoshimura Rei is a specialist in Manga Studies. After serving as a curator in the Manga Division at the Kawasaki City Museum from 2014 to 2017, she joined the National Art Center, Tokyo as a visiting researcher in 2017, and has held a curator position there since 2021. At the Kawasaki City Museum, she curated and co-curated several notable exhibitions, including Speed Tarō and His Era: Focusing on the Sakō Shishido Collection (2015), Hisashi Eguchi: King of Pop (2015), and Exhibition: Drawing Manga! –Lines, Panels, Kyara (2016).

At the National Art Center, Tokyo, she contributed to international projects such as Manga⇔Tokyo (2018, La Villette, Paris), commemorating the 160th anniversary of Japan-France diplomatic relations, and the Manga exhibition at the British Museum (2019). Following these, she contributed to the organization of the Tokyo homecoming exhibition Manga City Tokyo: Japanese Manga, Anime, Games, and Tokusatsu 2020 (2020), which was based on the Paris show.

In recent years, her curatorial work has expanded beyond manga to include a wide range of exhibitions, such as Hideaki Anno Exhibition (2021), Spinning Crocodiles, Tamura Satoru (2022), NACT View 02: Nohara Tsukiji – Nezumikke (2023), and Clamp Exhibition (2024).

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