Book launchTuesday 8 November 2011
6:00pm – 7:00pm
Professor Munakata’s British Museum Adventure
Drinks reception from 8:00pm
Daiwa Foundation Japan House
Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
By Hoshino Yukinobu
Published by British Museum Press
A unique compilation of ten beautifully drawn manga episodes, Professor Munakata’s British Museum Adventure is the latest Professor Munakata story from leading Japanese artist, Hoshino Yukinobu.
Professor Munakata’s British Museum Adventure was first conceived when Hoshino Yukinobu attended a small exhibition of his work at the British Museum in 2009. The result of this visit was ten exclusive manga episodes that see Professor Munakata, Hoshino Yukinobu’s most famous character, embroiled in a mysterious criminal plot at the museum.
These ten episodes were published to great success in the Japanese magazine Big Comic, last year and now the British Museum Press have published all ten episodes in English for the very first time. The episodes have been published in one beautifully produced volume, making the whole story of the Professor’s adventure at the museum accessible to a host of new readers, whilst also maintaining many of the features of a traditional manga, such as reading right to left.
The book also includes supplementary material, such as an interview with Hoshino Yukinobu and an essay on the history of manga from Tim Clark, the curator of the Japan department at the British Museum.
* The book was available on the day at 10% off the retail price.
About the contributors
Dr Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere
Dr Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere is the Research Director of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures. She received her PhD from Harvard University in 1998. Her research interests include Japanese contemporary craft expression, Japanese manga and early modern to contemporary ceramics in East Asia. She is currently seconded to the British Museum as a project curator in the Department of Asia. This secondment led her to work closely with Hoshino Yukinobu during the creation of Professor Munakata’s British Museum Adventure. Nicole was the inspiration for the character of Chris in the adventure.
Dr Rayna Denison
Dr Rayna Denison is lecturer in the School of Film and Television Studies at the University of East Anglia and a specialist in contemporary Japanese visual media. She is currently working on an AHRC-funded research project about Japanese media franchising practices, and is publishing in the areas of anime, contemporary Japanese film and manga to film adaptations.