Manga Collector Establishes Rental Manga MuseumToday, the influence of manga can be seen everywhere, from diplomacy to international manga awards. However, a part of the manga culture is slowly fading away. ITmedia recently talked to Ukio Takano (58), who purchased an old church for 3 million yen in April 2006 and turned it into the manga museum Aomushi (青虫, the name of the museum came from Seirindo/青林堂, publisher of the legendary comic magazine Garo, and Osamu Tezuka) hoping that it will help people remember the part of manga culture that make up the foundation of today's prospering manga culture. In the article, Takano talks about "Rental Manga":
"Rental Manga" appeared in the 50's, a time when manga were priced around 220-240 yen. A rental manga costs 10 yen for one night. Rental manga became very popular among children, but faded away after the growth of manga magazines and Japan's economic growth. Sanpei Shirato, Shigeru Mizuki, Takao Saito, Yoshiharu Tsuge, Kazuo Umezu were all manga giants who come from the rental manga field. Translated by T. Ohara |
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