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Titled “Regenesis”, the centerpiece of this exhibition was printed using a metal plate with embedded type. Drawings often seen at manga exhibitions are drawn by artists with phototypesetting pasted onto them. When people think of manga originals, they often think of these illustrations with text pasted into the speech bubbles. But before the invention and popularization of phototypesetting, manga typesetting and printing was created in different formats. From the post-war period to around 1970, the method used was to etch the manga illustration onto a metal (zinc) plate, carve out the speech bubbles with a thread saw, and embed the type fonts into the newly cut-out space. The first chapter of Osamu Akimoto's “Kochi Kame: Tokyo Beat Cops”, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1976, was typeset using this process of movable type. However, although information about this process has been passed down, the zinc plates and type fonts employed were, after use, melted down and used once more again in the factories. As far as we know, none of the original actual plates or type fonts still exist, and we were not able to find any photographs of them or their use. In 2022, with the help of the Kazui Press (Shinjuku, Tokyo), we found a company that can still produce zinc plates for manga illustrations. We launched a project to recreate this process of printing manga using metal plates and moveable type. We then recorded these processes in a video, recording the production of etched zinc plates, type casting, integrating typesetting, and letterpress printing. For this recreation, we chose to use a page from the first chapter of Eiichiro Oda's ONE PIECE. This art print, which is a kind of OOPArt ("out-of-place artifact," or a discovery made in an unusual context), is displayed and sold together with photographs of the plate used to create it. The photographs were taken by Naoki Honjo, winner of the Kimura Ihei Award for photography. Each sheet of photographic paper is handmade and printed with a platinum palladium process, a technique said to have been perfected in the late 19th century. The exhibition will also feature the "The Press" series of works printed with a flatboard letterpress, as well as the "Real Color Collection" series of archival inkjet prints.
One millennium is a thousand years. How will we be able to pass down manga a thousand years hence? This work was created using the finest conceivable materials and techniques, from paper to printing and even storage. Mino paper (from Gifu Prefecture) is a type of Japanese handmade paper (washi) that has been preserved in places like Shosoin, an 8th-century Imperial repository in Nara. A sheet of Japanese paper used for a family register in 702 A.D. is said to be the oldest artifact of its kind in existence. In Mino, handmade Japanese paper is still produced using traditional methods. At the Terada Washi Studio, only 50 sheets of washi paper are produced each month. We use this type of paper for the collotype printing process, which has a history of about 150 years and is said to be the only historically proven method of retaining color which will last for over a century. Only one company in the world today still uses this process, which originated in the mid-19th century, to print in color. This work is a characteristic nine-plate print made by the Benrido Collotype Atelier (Kyoto). The artwork was fed 18 times through the printer to produce the rich black tone seen here. The print is signed and stamped by the artist, Tite Kubo. The work is enclosed in a traditional paulownia wood box with an ink brushed inscription on the back of the lid. It also comes with an NFC chip that links to a sales certificate tied to a NFT blockchain service. In a collaborative performance to commemorate this work, Kakushin Tomoyoshi played the Satsuma biwa at the historic study hall at Jindaiji Temple (Chofu, Tokyo). All the works were also given a ritual Buddhist blessing at the Ganzandaishi Hall at Jindaiji Temple. During the opening, these works will be exhibited at A-an, the Shueisha Manga-Art Heritage tearoom in our Gallery in Azabudai Hills.
Azabudai Hills Garden Plaza A, B1 5-8-1, Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0001, JAPAN
Access / About a 1-minute walk from Exit 5, Kamiyacho Station on the Hibiya Subway Line.
11:00 ~ 20:00 Closed Mondays & 2023.12.28~2024.1.3
