Takao Yaguchi said, “The best lessons in manga are through the artists’ original panel drawings, which are their life force.” Here, let’s take a look at the difference between an original drawing and a printed version of the chapter “Shimanto-gawa Akame” (Late Fish of the Shimanto River) from Fisherman Sanpei.

Take a close look at the degree of animation in the wriggling fish and the splashes of water. In the printed version, there is water splashing around the fish, but in the original drawing, lines drawn in ink have been painted over with a correctional fluid known in Japanese as “White”. Those corrected spots disappear in the printed version, but from the original you’ll notice an unexpected unevenness to the work, a little extra something that you wouldn’t know was there unless you saw the original. You can also see each stroke of the pen, the difference in pressure of each stroke, how the background screen tones are applied, and all other kinds of details that can only be found on the original, pre-printed drawing. It provides a kind of realism to the process. This is exactly the kind of experience the museum hopes to preserve for future manga artists. It makes you think about how drawings like these are done, and consider the thought-process behind them.

The original drawings allow you to vicariously experience the process of creating manga. The notes in the margin are traces of the correspondence between the artist, publishing company, and printing company. As you look at the comments the author left in the margins for their assistants, you can really get a feel for everything that goes into creating manga.

Yoshihiro Takahashi, creator of internationally acclaimed manga Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin and native of Higashinaruse Village in Akita Prefecture, told us about when he saw original drawings by his mentor, Hiroshi Motomiya:

“When I looked at the printed version of his manga, I thought my drawings were better. But when I looked at his original drawings, I realized I was completely wrong. Those drawings were art.”

Yaguchi felt the same way, too, when he saw the original works of the famous ink and wash painter Sesshū and the Meiji/Showa period painter Kōho Hiroshima. “My young sensibilities were shaken to the core,” he said.

Manga artists pour their blood, sweat, and tears into their drawings. Their original panel drawings are art in themselves. “The most important thing to leave behind for the manga artists of the future are the original drawings of a first rate manga artist,” declared Yaguchi, who puts all of his effort into the preservation of original sketches. The original panel drawings are pure art in themselves, and for the Manga Museum, they’re the core of its displays. Take as much time as you like to explore the artists’ life force, their original panel drawings.