November 2 2017

JAPAN 2017 – Part 2 (English)

Here comes the next part of my adventures in Japan!! (version française ici!)

I had the pleasure to meet Sanpo-san, Rokkaku-san and Saku-san, three amazing manga artists from Tokyo. We had a party at Sanpo-san’s house and artist atelier. A very small space, but very practical. And he cooks s tasty curry!!! Thank you Sanpo-san!!!

We made jewelries out of plastic sheets. Who could have guess this was actually possible

On the next day, I visited the Tokyo International Manga Library. I met with the nice curator, Yamada-san. She was so kind to give me a tour of the library and the current exhibition about Czech comics. All in Japanese but she spoke slowly so I could understand. I wish I could answer back with better skills though. I sound like a child! I must study more…. -_-

On the 3rd, I had the pleasure to meet with Yoshihara-sensei, Yamamoto-sensei, teachers at the art Faculty of Tsukuba Daigaku. I gave a workshop about facial expressions and character acting for drawing. Your students are wonderful!!!

And this is the coolest student I ever had!

Next day, I departed for Kyoto. Only for a few nights, which is not enough for such a gorgeous city. So I had to maximise my time. First day, I visited and walked for 8 hours.
A few nice finding I made:

My room was so small, but so classy!!! And it had a spa. It was perfect after all that walking.

We had a earthquake that night, and thanks to my iphone, I was alerted a few seconds ahead. Problem is, I didn’t know my iphone could do that and I was wondering why the heck my alarm was on at midnight, which didn’t end up to be very effective. But now I know. Thanks Apple!

Next day, I had the great pleasure to visit Kyoto International Manga Museum. What a wonderful place!! So many manga books and filled with information about its history and genres. Yoo-san, manga researcher at Seika University kindly guided me through all the museum. She even brought me into the secret room where many famous manga artists had their hands mold. I saw the hands of a few of my heroes, like Takemiya Keiko-sensei, and Murata Range-sensei. Again, she spoke all Japanese, but she made it so I could easily understand. Then, icing on the cake, Yoo-san brought me to the Manga Café, next to the museum, where invited artists are asked to draw on the wall. There I drew the little pilot from Sky Rover. I was so nervous, so many people I admire drew on those walls. I had a hard time not shaking. Gosh, what a day. Thank you so much Yoo-san, and everyone at KIMM, it was amazing!!