Gracing a room the size of four tatami mats in Tokyo are paintings by renowned manga artist Tetsuya Chiba.

The numerous pictures are placed densely on the shelf along a wall.

The illustration of the renowned last scene from his famed boxing title, "Ashita no Joe" (Tomorrow’s Joe), written by Asao Takamori aka Ikki Kajiwara, is stored there as well.

In the final chapter, the protagonist Joe Yabuki puts his whole energy into a fierce bout toward the end of the match.

The black-and-white painting shows Yabuki seated in a ring corner after the fight while smiling with his eyes closed and his head left droopy, along with his famed line, “I’ve been burnt out to pure white ashes.”

This depiction is considered one of the greatest manga scenes ever.

However, Chiba, 83, said, something regrettable is happening to his iconic drawing.

“The illustration has undergone color fading and wearing,” he said. “This is in danger of soon being in tatters.”

In response to the problem, some traditional craftsmen began to tackle a common issue plaguing comic creators: original drawings inevitably degrading over time.

Their ultimate goal is to preserve manga for centuries on “washi” paper like millennium-old cultural properties well-preserved in a treasure repository in western Japan.

According to Chiba’s accounts, works painted on Kent paper see their corners turning brown due to tanning over the years in most instances. The process cannot be prevented even though they are not exposed to outside air and are kept in dry environments.

Advanced oxidation makes manga so vulnerable that they become ragged just by being touched. For that reason, Chiba said he pays special attention to handling old pictures.

As how to preserve original drawings emerges as a major constant challenge for manga creators, those in and outside publishing circles have begun searching for a solution to the problem.

PENCIL, TRADITIONAL PAPER

Artisans in Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, which touts itself as the “town of Echizen Washi,” are resorting to their time-tested craftsmanship skills in hopes of keeping manga paintings in good condition.

Taking the initiative is Tamotsu Tanaka, 68, who runs a lumber store in Echizen.

Why a timber shop manager stepped in the manga industry can be explained through Tanaka’s personal interactions with Chiba that started around summer 2020.

Tanaka was then asked by a common acquaintance to “produce pencils for use by Mr. Chiba.” Chiba preferred thicker pencils but found it increasingly difficult at the time to procure ones he had previously relied on.

Following multiple tweaks, Tanaka made a pencil 2 centimeters in diameter out of Lindera umbellata wood. The product finished after several months was marked by such high quality that Chiba praised it as “a magical pencil.”

Chiba made another request to Tanaka early the next year, wanting to obtain more durable sheets of paper once a satisfactory pencil had been completed.

Chiba told Tanaka: “Some creators paint with digital tools but what is important for us, manga artists, are still pencils and paper.”

He referred to damaged drawings from “Tomorrow’s Joe” and asked if “there is something that can be done to address the issue.”

As paper production fell out of his realm of expertise, Tanaka sought the advice of those around him who are knowledgeable about the matter.

Masaki Sasao, 40, his nephew who runs a printing firm, and Akihiro Obata, 62, a papermaker president in Echizen, joined forces with Tanaka.

A pressing task for them was first making copies of paintings, given that original drawings’ degradation “cannot be stopped by any means.”

“It can’t be helped that original illustrations on Kent paper deteriorate as time passes,” said Tanaka. “We thought we should start with making and preserving their copies first and foremost.”

From the material’s perspective, Tanaka proposed taking advantage of the local specialty, Echizen Washi, instead of the easier-to-oxidize Kent paper.

As a document made of Echizen Washi dating back nearly 1,300 years remains in existence at the Shosoin Repository in Todaiji temple in Nara, where treasures of Emperor Shomu (701-756) and other items are stored, the paper is noted for its high durability.

BREATHING ETERNAL LIFE INTO ARTWORK

Gaining another local craftsman’s cooperation, paper fashioned only from the “ganpi” shrub’s bark was put out by hand. In the meantime, Obata developed washi that can be mass-produced with machinery.

Strips of luxury Echizen Washi based on ganpi are expected to be preserved as long as documents at Shosoin.

Even machine-made ones are designed to remain for more than 500 years despite the cheaper price than their manually created counterpart. Hues can be reproduced vividly on the mass-produced paper, so it is reportedly suited for showing colored manga.

Utilizing the techniques, some scenes from “Tomorrow’s Joe” were re-created as the first step. The last scene of Yabuki was copied in three ways: a ganpi sheet showing the original damaged illustration; a ganpi piece with signs of aging eliminated; and a machine-produced, damage-free copy.

A colorized picture of Yabuki striking a pose was also created with machine-made washi.

Original drawings were photographed with a high-resolution camera in October last year, so all the illustrations were duplicated on washi.

A company with know-how on making copies of cultural assets provided support and the reproductions were completed earlier this year.

Traces of Chiba’s wielding pencils on original paintings, combined with the artist’s spirit, were given a centuries-long life on washi.

The series of copied pictures proved popular when put on display at a regional craftwork museum. Some were also exhibited at an art festival held between July and October in Prague.

That approach is, however, aimed solely at preserving fine replicas. Chiba’s initial request involved the deterioration of his actual drawings.

Manually made washi appears to be difficult to use widely among manga artists due to its hefty price tag. Chiba has already pointed to another disadvantage: using erasers makes the washi napped, causing trouble to paintings. 

With these in mind, Tanaka and others are pursuing the potential of machine-manufactured washi. As Chiba, who still paints for a magazine, is “testing” the paper, upgrades are being added to the mass-produced version with an eye on its future use.

Chiba expected his titles to be passed down for posterity like “Choju Giga” (Scrolls of Frolicking Animals), which date to the 12th century, and are often credited as Japan’s oldest manga.

“Original illustrations of modern manga may remain for prolonged periods in the future like the painted scrolls,” he said. “They can someday be regarded as constituting part of our culture. I am looking forward to seeing the outcome of this research.”