Photo/Illutration A visitor looks at original manga drawings by Takao Yaguchi at the special exhibition that started on Oct. 10 at the Yokote Masuda Manga Museum in Yokote, Akita Prefecture. (Tsutomu Yamatani)

YOKOTE, Akita Prefecture--A special exhibition is running at the Yokote Masuda Manga Museum here to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Takao Yaguchi’s manga career in the town where he grew up. 

The large-scale retrospective encompasses the entire career of the 80-year-old Yokote-born artist known for "Fisherman Sanpei" and many other works that reflect memories of his hometown.

Exhibited in the convention hall are more than 300 original manga drawings and other materials. Life-size panels of manga characters are installed at the entrance to greet visitors, while a drop curtain (measuring 7 by 10 meters) illustrated with "Yamame Gun-ei" (Trout swarming) hangs from the ceiling.

The curtain, woven with the Kyoto-style "tsuzure-ori" technique and produced for 18 million yen ($171,000), is usually kept from public view.

Hand-drawn manuscripts from about 40 titles, including Yaguchi's debut work "Otokomichi," his representative work "Fisherman Sanpei" and "Matagi," which won the Grand Prize at the 5th Japan Cartoonists Association Awards, are on display. Story summaries and commentaries are available for each title to entertain first-timers.

Also set up in one section is a re-creation of Yaguchi's workroom from when he came to Tokyo after leaving a local bank to become a professional manga artist. Visitors can enjoy the ambience of the Showa Era (1926-1989).

Featured in the special exhibition room are excerpts from an as-told-to memoir of Yaguchi, which ran in the local Akita Sakigake Shimpo newspaper. Each excerpt is arranged in pairs with manuscripts corresponding to the circumstance he was in at the time.

"I felt nostalgic because I used to see animated adaptations of his works," said Makiko Kimura, 50, who came from Aomori with her friend. "The original illustrations showed attention to detail, and they were beautiful like Japanese-style paintings. I felt that the landscapes of his hometown serve as the backgrounds of his works."

The exhibition runs until Jan. 11, with the venue closed on the third Tuesdays of each month. Admission is 800 yen for adults, 600 yen for high school students, 400 yen for junior high school students and 200 yen for elementary school students.
For more information, visit the museum's official website at (https://manga-museum.com/).

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