Preface

Manga, Exhibitions, Museums

Manga Museums in Japan

In 2009, two significant projects related to manga

However, another manga and museum related feature

were carried out in European museums: ʻManga: Professor

in Japan should be noted here; that of the Manga Museums,

1

Munakataʼ s British Museum Adventure ʼ at the British

which are constructed for collecting, preserving andMuseum in London, and ʻCartoons: The Louvre Invites

exhibiting uniquely manga related materials. Throughout

2

Comic-Strip Art ʼ at the Musée du Louvre in Paris. Whilethe country, fifty to sixty institutions that can be said to fall

the former concentrated on the new work of Hoshino

under this category have been established, mainly as a

Yukinobu set in the British Museum, the latter invited fivecommunity cultural center of the cities they reside in. The

comic artists to create artwork using the Louvre as theiroldest having been opened in 1966, and two or three ofprimary setting, among which one of them was Araki

them constructed as early as the 70s and 80s, the majority

Hirohiko, a Japanese manga artist popular for his seriesof them were constructed after 1990. To be more precise,

JoJo no Kimy na B ken (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure).

there are two peak periods in which they began to crop up;

Indeed, exhibiting manga is one of the hot topics forfirst around the mid-90s and the second at the beginning ofmuseums in Europe today. Not only does it challenge thethe 2000s.

established exhibiting method in museums, it also raises

After Tezukaʼ s death in 1989, there were discussions

questions on the distinction between so called ʻhighʼ culture

among related people on how to inherit his works as welland ʻlowʼ culture, an agenda somewhat untouched but

as the manga culture of postwar Japan, leading to thetacitly understood inside the museums walls.

Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum in Takarazuka city, which

In Japan, the trend of holding manga exhibitions inopened in 1994 and is a pioneer in this field. Some othermuseums and department stores had already becomecities followed the idea of Takarazuka in making a manga

prominent by around 2000, but it was perhaps not until

related cultural institution crowning artists that come from2008 that contemporary artists and their works had begun

their cities. The second boom is apparently related to theto be featured; the touring of ʻInoue Takehiko: The Last

expectation towards Cool Japan. Most of them tend to be

3

Manga Exhibition ʼ had been so successful that it inspired

constructed for the purpose of regional promotion and toboth publishers and contemporary manga artists to becomeachieve positive economic effect form ʻsoft powerʼ

involved in museum business. In recent years, exhibitions

contents.

4

featuring Araki Hirohiko, Otomo Katsuhiro and Oda
5Eiichiro have especially attracted attention.

H o w e v e r, w h i l e t h e J a p a n e s e g o v e r n m e n tʼ scampaigning of Cool Japan and Japanese popular culture
as ʻsoft powerʼ have contributed greatly to the recent
popularity of manga in and outside Japan, manga has sincelong been a medium deeply integrated in the Japanesepeopleʼ s everyday lives; not only kids and teenagers at
school, but also grown-ups read them in the commuting
train. It is one of the most common and popular media

1
2
3

4
5

5 November 2009 to 3 January 2010.
22 January 2009 to 13 April 2009.
24 May 2008 to 6 July 2008 at The Ueno Royal Museum(Tokyo); 11 April 2009 to 14 June 2009 at the Contemporary Art
Museum Kumamoto; 2 Jan 2010 to 14 March 2010 at the SuntoryMuseum Tempozan (Osaka); 3 May 2010 to 13 June 2010 at the
Sendai Mediatheque.
A Japanese manga artist best known for his work, Akira.
A Japanese manga artist best known for his work, One Piece.

among people. And it is from this point of view that wehave carried out our projects focusing on some manga
related cultural institutions.
Leaving aside the boom, we know little about how
these manga museums and exhibitions are actually doing,
and how they are being consumed by the visitors. In fact,

Preface5when we consider the fact that manga is a mundane
everyday object we see everywhere, one must raise thequestion of why is it necessary to have them insidemuseums. There is also the question of how manga isactually represented inside the museum. Because mangatakes the format of a book, which one needs to open andconsume personally, exhibiting them in public spaces is achallenging task.
Moreover, most of these institutions are suffering interms of visitor number and financial cuts, but it seems thatwhat should really be discussed in order to improve thesituation remains untouched.

Akatsuka Fujio Memoriall Hall

Manga Museums and Their Audiences
Our team has conducted audience research, in theform of visitor surveys, in order to examine the manga
consumption of audiences within the manga museums.
This project was carried out with several objectives inmind.
− To understand what the actual visitors are doing,
hence understanding what consumption of manga
involves.

JOJO Exhibition Posters in Roppongi Hills Second Floor,
Tokyo− To see the scope of what the ʻmanga experienceʼtruly is.
− To think about manga related cultural institutions
beyond the argument of Cool Japan and regional
promotion.
− To further the discussion of manga audiencebeyond the usual otaku culture argument.
From 2009 to 2012, we have conducted audience
research on three sites: the Kyoto International Manga
Museum (September, 2009), the Osamu Tezuka Manga
Museum (August-September, 2011), and the Hiroshima
Manga City Library (September, 2011). Here, three very
different types of institutions were chosen in order to

Mizuki Shigeru Road in Tottori Prefecture. The statue of afamous character Nezumi Otoko (Mouse Man) in Mizuki
manga

examine closely what the combination of manga (itscharacteristic as medium) and museum space would bringWith the survey in Kyoto International Manga

forth. Using methods combined with tracking and timing,

Museum as the starting point of discussion, the threesojourn time survey, questionnaire survey and staff

papers compare the results while elaborating on different

interviews, and by comparing the three surveys acrosstopics as necessary. For example, while the survey at theinstitutions, we have tried to understand how manga is

Kyoto International Manga Museum analyzes in detail the

represented in different types of institutions, and ultimately

use of space by visitors inside museums and their way of

how that has affected the visitorsʼ behavior and theirconsuming manga, the survey at the Hiroshima Manga City

method of manga consumption.

Library sheds light on how the library space promotes or6

demotes a certain way of reading (or consuming) manga
within the space. In the survey at the Osamu Tezuka
Manga Museum, we focused on the relation of manga
museums and regional promotion by further developing thediscussion of the visitorsʼ behavior patterns observed inside
the museum.
You will find that each paper highlights theintertwined relation of manga, museums and their visitors,
that are hardly noticed or discussed among these
institutions. It is our belief that contributing to manga
culture is essential for such institutions to be sustainable.

Preface7

Visitor Survey at the Kyoto International
Manga Museum:Considering Museums and Popular Culture
ITO YuResearcher, Kyoto Seika University International Manga Research Center, Kyoto International Manga Museum

TANIGAWA Ryuichi
Assistant Professor, Center for Integrated Area Studies, Kyoto University

MURATA Mariko
Associate Professor, Faculty of Sociology, Kansai University

YAMANAKA Chie
Associate Professor, Faculty of Human Studies, Jin-ai University

Translated by Cathy SELL
available wall space, from which visitors can select mangato read within the building. Furthermore, as the museum

I. Scope of the study

holds several exhibitions throughout the year as well as
What can be born of the blend between popular

lectures and symposiums by artists and researchers, itculture and museums? Since the 1990s, beginning withexhibits and introduces manga culture from various

anime and manga, films and music, we have come see anperspectives.

upsurge of the phenomenon in which popular culture finds

What comes of having manga, which are usuallyitself within the museum context. Originally popular

consumed quite privately, within the very public space of

culture was regarded as a privately consumed media, or athe museum? How is it received by visitors to thecommunal hobby. In Japan in particular, it has been treatedmuseum? What do the visitors do in the museum? Thereas such and movements towards a public forum haveare the things we wish to examine in the paper.

always been met with opposition. Moreover, the strength ofthe public museum's role or indeed raison d'être as an
educational institution has led to a long hesitation over

II. Survey Outline

substantial dealings with popular culture (with an
exception of private small-scale museums with hobby

As an example case of a popular culture museum, thecollectibles). However at present these arenas are certainly

Kyoto International Manga Museum (henceforth MM) wascoming closer within reach; and this is bringing forth aselected for a visitor survey. In order to fully understandnew meaning for both popular culture and for museums.

the visitorsʼ utilization of the space, a tracking survey was

To take the Kyoto International Manga Museum as aundertaken observing visitors throughout the building.

case in point (see photos 1-4), it is housed in a repurposed

A tracking survey involves tracing the visitorsʼ path ofbuilding of a former school and thereby attracts many

movement in order to examine their navigation of thevisitors. In addition to local residents, it draws in a large

museum space. It is a traditional visitor survey technique

number of tourists for its local Kyoto character. Also in

used by museums. The observer draws the route taken byreflection of the rising interest in Japanese manga fromabroad, international visitors to the museum account forover 10 percent of all patrons. Over 300,000 manga areheld in the museum's collection, with 50,000 volumes ofmanga shelved on the ʻWall of Mangaʼ covering every

1

1

Tracking surveys were first used in museums by psychologist
Arthur Melton and his colleagues in the 1930s. (Melton. Problemsof Installation in Museums of Art. American Association ofMuseums, 1935.) Visitor surveys began to be implemented inJapan in the 1960s, tracking surveys at that time were carried out
by academics such as Ishida Seiichi and Shiina Noritaka in the
N a t i o n a l M u s e u m o f N a t u r e a n d S c i e n c e , i n To k y o .

Visitor Survey at the Kyoto International Manga Museum

15

Photo.1: Kyoto International Manga Museum exterior

Photo.2: Visitors absorbed in reading manga inside.
Readers commonly also sit on the floor and stairs.

Photo.3: S p e c i a l e x h i b i t i o n

Photo.4: The ʻchildren's libraryʼ an ideal space for idle
relaxation while reading manga

visitors onto a floor plan of the target area by hand, andbehaviour within the building and their utilization of theuses symbols to denote places where the subject has

space, and can shed a spotlight on detailed movement andstopped and their direction of gaze. Further points ofunconscious actions which cannot be captured using

2

3

interest are recorded in memorandum. It is an extremelyinterviews or questionnaires. (On the other hand, tracking

effective method which allows understanding of visitorsʼsurveys cannot measure the subject's thoughts.)
An important feature of this is that the target area was2

16(ʻHakubutsukan ni okeru kanran kōdō sesekiʼ Hakubutsukan
Kenkyu 37(2), 1964. pp6-11.) However, visitor surveys inJapanese institutions remained scarce until the 1980s, within
which there were not many tracking surveys performed. They
were reportedly carried out in modest scale by researchers ofarchitectural planning and design systems (for example Nomura
Tota, Tsuboyama Yukio, Terasawa Tsutomu, etc.) and exhibition
production companies in the 1990. Incidentally, with the 1920s30s shift towards a more methodological fieldwork approach inthe cultural and social sciences such as Japanese sociology andfolklore studies etc. scholars of the k gengaku (study of modernsocial phenomena) group, including Kon Wajiro and Yoshida
Kenkichi, conducted studies in which they shadowed townspeople
and recorded their actions, illustrating that this method isapplicable across fields.
It is worth pointing out that nowadays tracking people's
movements without permission may be questionable from a
privacy viewpoint. This is something which must be judged on an
individual museum basis, but for the present survey subjects were
not specifically informed of observation in an attempt to preserve
uninfluenced behaviour. It is the position of the researchers andinstitution that privacy of the visitors has not been infringed upon
as no identifying characteristics of individuals have beenrecorded. Furthermore, notification of the survey was posted on apillar in the entranceway to MM and the survey was undertaking
with utmost care to ensure that the subjects were unaware of being
observed. Additionally, in cases where the subject became awareof observation, the surveyors were instructed to immediately stop
the survey at that point, and calmly explain the research actions to
the visitor; however no such cases were reported.

the entire building. Generally, the scope of most tracking
surveys is limited to a single gallery and only records thevisitorsʼ behaviour within the one exhibition. This isbecause the surveys are conducted in order to judge themerits and demerits of a particular exhibition. Conducting
facility-wide surveys would also involve excessive laborand stress. However taking into account the purpose of thepresent study it was essential to observe visitorsʼ behaviour
throughout the entire building.
The survey was carried out as a joint project of thefour researchers Murata, Yamanaka, Tanigawa, and Ito, thelatter being a research staff member of the museum and full4

cooperation was obtained from the museum. A pilot studythth

was conducted between the 18 to the 19 of October 2009by the researchers, followed by a briefing to the observersthon Friday the 13 of November. Then the survey wasthcarried out over a one week period from Saturday the 14
3
4

For further reference to related and other survey methods, see
Hein (1998) or Murata (2003).
Carried out in 2009 with the support of Jin-ai University internal
collaborative research funding.

Table.1: Longest, shortest, and average length of visits observed.

Data no.

Stay length

ArrivalDeparture

Category

Age

GenderShortest

#54

0.15

10:30

10:45

M

50-55

Male

Longest

#50

7.35

10:15

17:55

L

30-35

FemaleAverage stay length:

1.53

Average data based on 61 of the 68 cases observed.

ndto Sunday the 22 of November, aligned to start with thethey entered the special exhibition and spent roughly 30

opening of the special exhibition The DNA of Sunday &minutes looking it over.

Magazine : Fifty Years of Shonen Manga Magazines.

5

These categories were consistent with the image

The survey period encompassed both weekdays and thecommonly held by museum staff of visitors to the museum.

weekend. On each day the observers who carried out theThat is, they recognize that there are two types of visitors,

6

survey (a total of six people) were broken into three

those who come to view the museum exhibits and thosegroups for data collection. A total of 68 visitors were

who come to read manga.

7

observed. As can be understood from the fact that an even

Additionally, the data uncovered the fact that the L

number of 100 tracking studies could not be reached inand M type of visitors are not completely separate, as there

spite of having had three teams collect data over a week

is a set of visitors who display both behavioural patterns,

long period, there was a high number visitors who stayedwhich will be described as the ʻcomplexʼ (C) category (seefor a long period of time within the museum. (See table.1)

figure 3). C type visitors were often observed coming to
the library as a group, or accompany other visitors andwaiting for them. During their time engaging in M mode,
they will often shift momentarily into L mode and thenIII. Survey Results

return to M mode.
Several patterns emerged under analysis of the survey

The above three types were to some extent

data. Firstly, that museum visitor behaviour patterns can be

unsurprising. However what the data from the study has

divided into categories; that of ʻlibraryʼ (L) and ʻmuseumʼ

made clear is that there are patterns of behaviour other than(M) type visitors. The former pattern is demonstrated by

M, L and C.

visitors who principally spend their time in the museum

For example, the visitor whose path is outlined inreading manga, recognizing MM as a library. Whereas thefigure 4. This visitor moved several times between inside

latter display a pattern of recognizing MM as a museum,

the building, and the outside ground, displaying a pathtreating the 50,000 volume ʻWall of Mangaʼ as well as thedifferent to that of the M, L and C patterns. Furthermore,building itself, and of course the gallery spaces as an

the visitor barely reads manga out in the ground, instead

exhibition. For example, figure 1 illustrates a typical L typespending her time playing with her mobile phone, with herpattern. The visitor traverses the bookcase area near thecalendar book open. In short, the purpose in her visit was

entrance, reads manga without moving any further into thein of itself spending time in the MM space.

8

building and then leaves. In contrast figure 2 is a typical M

Next, the case observed in figure 5 is an example of a

type pattern of behaviour. It illustrates a path in which thevisitor who spent oneʼ s time in the childrensʼ library. But

visitor constantly moves around the building without

he did not read manga there. He spends his time lying

spending a long time in any particular place, during which

down, reading picture books and watching the television

5
6

7

Held from the 10th October – 20th December, 2009.
Part-time employed staff members who were university students
and graduate students (primarily from universities within Kyoto)
and who had knowledge of social research.
However observers lost sight mid-survey of 4 males among the
32 total males surveyed, and 3 females among the 36 total females
surveyed. Also it should be noted that in accordance with the
purpose of this survey to observe as large as possible an amountof behaviour patterns, sampling based on any conditions for nonselection was not carried out, therefore this data is notquantitative. Furthermore, classifying attributes were not obtained
from the subjects directly (rather, solely through observation) andtherefore are for reference purposed only.

that was showing anime.
These kinds of visitors cannot be assigned to any of
the categories M, L or C. That is, the data tells us that there
are visitors who use the library in ways that cannot be
explained by these three patterns. In this paper, we willrefer to the behaviour pattern of these visitors as “park” (P)8The museum has converted the old playground area of the school
into a courtyard coved with artificial grass, into which visitors areallowed to take books from the ʻWall of Mangaʼ outside of thebuilding to read.

Visitor Survey at the Kyoto International Manga Museum

17Figure.1: A typical example of an L type visitor's movement path. (Tracking data 66)

Figure.2-1: A typical example of an M type visitor's movement path. (Tracking data 68, first floor path)18

Figure.2-2: A typical example of an M type visitor's movement path. (Tracking data 68, second floor path)

M

C

L

Figure.3: The relationships of M, L, and C

Visitor Survey at the Kyoto International Manga Museum

19Figure.4-1: An example of a P type visitor's movement path. (Tracking data 04, first floor path)

Figure.4-2: An example of a P type visitor's movement path. (Tracking data 04, second floor path)20

Figure.5: An example of a P type visitor's movement path. (Tracking data 44)

Library-style use
strongweak

MSightseeing style,exhibition viewing
purposeC
Compositeof M&LL
weak

Museum-style use

strongImmersion in
manga reading

P
Park, chidrens’
library, family
holiday use

Figure.6: Relationship map of the 4 categories, M, L, C, and P. The category P is located on the weaker end of both themuseum use and library use axes.

Visitor Survey at the Kyoto International Manga Museum

21

M

C

L

PLM
PM
PL
P
P
Figure.7: The relationships of M, L, C, and P. The category P may exist within M, C, and L, and yet it also explains cases
which cannot be classified by them.

Table.2: Statistical data for M, L, C, and P.

21
L (Library)

Foreigners

Group visitors*

Special exhibition visitors

13yrs & above

16

Male

9

0

8

0

12yrs & below

5

Female1222
M (Museum)

Foreigners

Group visitors*

Special exhibition visitors

13yrs & above

22

Male

10

9

16

9

12yrs & below

0

Female12

Foreigners

Group visitors*

Special exhibition visitors

13yrs & above

6

Male

8

0

9

0

12yrs & below

6

Female4Foreigners

Group visitors*

Special exhibition visitors

13yrs & above

13

Male

6

0

9

3

12yrs & below

0

Female7

12
P (Holiday/Park)

13
C (Complex)
Total
Breakdown

68
Foreigners

Group visitors

Special exhibition visitors

13yrs & above

57

Male

33

9

42

12

12yrs & below

11

Female35*More than two people.

type as they behave as though they are in a public park.

with a northern annexe. Presently MM takes up both of

There are a relatively large amount of visitors that fit into

these buildings. Having been a school, the site also has an

the P category, making apparent a diverse range ofoutdoor playground area for the physical health of children.

behavioural patterns. (See figures 6 and 7, and table 2)

Accordingly, the two separate architectural spaces of the

In truth, the P category could not exist without the M
and L category. M and L ʻcompeteʼ for the same ground,school buildings and the external ground form the anteriorof MM. (Refer to figures 8, 9, and 10)

mutually-energizing one another, and yet simultaneously

Thus the site is characteristic for its architectural

suppressing one another. Meanwhile this space is roundedreclamation of the building taking the former elementaryout by P. This form of conflict, as will be discussed isschool as a base pattern into a museum. Usually, museum

caused by a combination of the following three factors:

design stresses the importance of interior space and

The spatial contradictions of MM's architecture; thearchitectural allowance for visitor movement between andcomplexity of MM's founding principles; and thewithin spaces. It was hence essential for MM to be

characteristics of ʻthe manga experience.ʼ

refurbished as such. A new connection was built between
the main building and northern annexe via an atrium,

IV. The Spatial Contradictions of MM's
Architecture

modified to form a tangent point that also provides the only
access to the outdoor ground, this in turn created a focus on
the internal architectural space. Next the flow of movement

The main building of the former Tatsuike Elementary

was addressed with an elevator installed in the atrium and a

School was built in 1929, and was then added to in 1937

connecting bridge added between the buildings on the22second floor, thereby improving the available movement

without ornamentation. And so in spite of the atrium

paths across the two architectural spaces horizontally andclaiming the central space with its modern architecture, itsvertically, as well as internally and externally.

function is inverted by the spatial syntax hierarchy of

On top of improving movement accessibility, thepassages and staircases in the historical buildings.

atrium forms a central access point for visitor paths. In

The current way in which the buildings are utilized isaddition to providing access to the original main building

also of interest. The grey toned areas on figures 8 to 10 are

and northern annexe the installation of the elevator has

closed off from the visiting public, which limits theadded a method of vertical movement and has become an

museum space in the historical, architecturally impressive

important visitor path option. The atrium also connects themain building to a small area, with more weight given to

original school gymnasium and outdoor ground, and somethe northern annexe. The small public area within the main

spacious restroom facilities. However in spite of thebuilding gives it the atmosphere of a corner space; one

atrium's design having been constructed to guarantee its

could even say it creates an unbalanced utilisation of space.

central access function, there are simultaneous architectural

Additionally, the main building entrance onto Ryogae

features acting in contradiction of that purpose.

Street which was used in the time of the elementary school

Let us consider the contradictory nature of MM's

is not used by MM, instead a new entrance has beeninternal visitor routes. The west side of the atrium is acreated along Karasuma Street shifting the incoming flow

passage between the buildings which in its original stateof visitors across to the east end of the northern annexe.

would certainly have been the principal path that students

This has created a sudden reversal between the main

would have taken into school. Here, a small staircase (W)building and the northern annexe, and in essence hasremains that betrays the logical movement path through therepositioned the main building behind the ground. With theatrium, although this puzzling space does add to themain building turned into a corner space, the resulting

vertical and horizontal movement possibilities of thecomplicated building structure has also createdbuilding. Another inconsistency is MM's highlighted ʻWallinfrequently used areas within the building.

of Mangaʼ . While the original intent of the atrium was to

In addition to the aforementioned hierarchy of theact as a conduit passage, every wall surface is covered instaircases based on architectural design, not all of themshelving, transforming the area into a space that invites

proceed from the first floor all the way up to the third.

visitors to stop and read.

Furthermore there is an artificial restraint requiring visitors

The next contradiction against the central movement

to return to the central area creating a dead-end path withinfunction of the atrium relates to the staircases, of whichin the building. In short, the irregularity of the staircasesʼMM has four in total. The staircase in the main building

connection between the floors has resulted in a(S) is the largest, with arches, ornamental embellishmentscomplicated ʻlabyrinthʼ spatial arrangement.

on the central pillar and a triptych of sash windows. The

To summarise the two main points, firstly, thespace feels aesthetically complete in and of itself. The next

detached construction of the two former school buildings

size of staircase is the two on either end of the northern

and the external space of the playground form anannexe (E and N) covered in intricate chequered tiles. Of

architectural predecessor of MM's structural space. The

which the staircase at the eastern end (E) is brightly lit

refurbishments of MM have incorporated and integrated

through south-facing windows, while the other (N) is not

the two former school buildings both horizontally andso well lit. Lastly, the small staircase in the nook of thevertically, while simultaneously reorganising the spatial

atrium (W) is insular to the building, and without windows

configuration of visitor traffic flow into a central conduit

it gives the impression of being an auxiliary staircase. The

via the atrium.

staircases seem aesthetically disjointed from the central

Nevertheless, second to this, while under the present

space of the atrium with varied architecture among

spatial construction the atrium serves a central function,

themselves. The cause of this variation stems from thethis is reversed by an existing hierarchy in the architecturaldifferent construction times between the main building andconstruction of the historical buildingsʼ staircases andnorthern annexe. The main building was constructed incorridors. With these elements alongside the current way

1929 and was built with a lingering, heavily stylisticthat the building space is being utilised, the unbalance inarchitectural atmosphere. Contrastively, the 1937

frequency of use between the area made available toconstructed northern annexe has a more functional design

visitors and the richness of the architectural space has

Visitor Survey at the Kyoto International Manga Museum

23

Figure.8: 1F floor plan.

Figure.9: 2F floor plan.

24

Figure.10: Basement and 3F floor plan.

created a ʻlabyrinthʼ for visitors, leading to inversion andconceived as a facility to collect, manage and organize

confusion. Perhaps an exquisite balance between order andmanga for the purpose of providing primary source

the labyrinth is being produced here.

material for manga research. Importantly, at this time theThis has also had a large hand in the evolution of theconcept of ʻmanga as a primary resourceʼ was not assumed

P category visitor behaviour. When viewing MM as a

to include original artwork, but rather manga as mass

museum, one's path becomes interrupted at points limiting

produced media, namely that is, manga magazines andtheir movements; yet when viewed as a library, it rather

tank bon (collected volumes) were the envisaged contents

facilitates path movements too much, and immobility ofof the museum's collection. In European comics related

space is not given priority. Accordingly through theinstitutions, the collection of ʻcomicsʼ that are accumulated,

limitation and constraints on both functions, the formation

preserved, and classified fundamentally consist of originalof category P can be observed.

artworks. Consequently, visitors to the museum from
European countries feel that something is out of place upon

V. The Complexity of MM's Founding
Principles

encountering the volumes of manga lined up on display asʻmuseum materialʼ in MM. However, Japanese visitors do
not especially hold a sense of discomfort in regards to the

Having said all this, visitor behaviour is not

mass-printed medium of manga being on placed on display

determined by the physical components of a building

in a museum, or treated as museum material. The relevantalone. It is important to consider the organizational

background behind this is the difference in social position

structure of the Kyoto International Manga Museum, of

attached to manga between cultures.

how the utilization of the building was intended and how

Additionally, MM (as akin to the Centre Pompidou inthat is related to the visitors who we have described using

France for example) differs from most normal facilities of

the P category.

its type as it performs various parallel functions. The

MM was intended from its inception as afunctions of both museum and library co-exist in the same

comprehensive facility incorporating the dual functions ofspace. In other words, the founding principles of MM

library and museum. This double-layered role is not

attempt to accommodate both the museum-style freedom of

unrelated to the fact that the material they deal with ismovement, as well as library-style stationary practices, andmanga. From the beginning the manga museum wasin actuality this has resulted in limited facilitation for

Visitor Survey at the Kyoto International Manga Museum

25

movement and stationary behaviour.
Where the architectural features of MM and its
founding principles intersect, the meaning of the spacetransformation of MM's public space into their own private
space. Thus we do actually see a similar behaviour withthose in a manga café.

becomes increasing vague, making it easier for the P
behaviour category to emerge.

Conversely, one can argue that the attitude which thegroup visitors to MM hold towards manga differs from thatof manga cafés (which affords library-style reading). For
example rather than assiduously reading manga like theVI. ʻThe Manga Experienceʼ

persons described above, users who visit in groups areoften seen flipping through books, standing in front of the

The emergence of the P category of behaviour mustshelves as they talk together, engaging with life andalso be discussed in relation to what we call the ʻmangasharing manga with each other – often employing the term

experienceʼ .

ʻnostalgicʼ to exalt a certain type of affinity. In fact, thisWe must not assume that reading a manga in thelibrary is equivalent to reading it elsewhere. The way inkind of behaviour is what reading manga involves allalong.

which we read manga in a library (perhaps sitting correctly

Further study for identifying group visitors to thein a chair) is only a part of, or one particular way ofmuseum (including people without interest in manga, who

consuming manga. After all, reading manga is associatedaccompany family members) is needed in order towith occasionally talking to others, eating sweets, andunderstand more about the existence of P behaviour

lazing idly about. In light of this, manga is fundamentally

patterns.

an experience that cannot truly be defined by the verb
ʻread,ʼ and in turn, an experience such as this can be seen as
the driving force behind the emergence of the behaviour

VII. Future Prospects

patterns represented by P.
To further consider the nature of such ʻmanga

While we have presented the view that the P pattern ofexperienceʼ outside the ʻreadingʼ , it helps to look at thevisitor behaviour is unique to MM in this paper, it might bebehaviour of visitor groups that come to the museum.

suggested that the whole argument can comfortably be

Because of our survey method, the observer targeted andexplained with the notion of ʻforumʼ , a concept coined byfollowed only one individual even when they arrive in

Duncan Cameron. It represents the idea that museums aregroups; thus ultimately the interpersonal relationshipnot a ʻsanctuaryʼ for the intellectual class to view andbetween the individuals within the group was not recorded.

appreciate objects, but rather a space to engage visitors in

However the way in which many groups, such a families

proactive dialogue and learning. However P differs frometc, drift apart and reunite during their museum visit may

the ʻforumʼ which premises a ʻmuseumʼ . As we have seen

be considered an important component of their utilization

thus far, P emerges where both M(museum-oriented) andof MM's space, and thus provides us with a variety ofL(library-oriented) coexist and compete for the same

ʻmanga experiencesʼ . For example, when a group becomes

space. This phenomenon cannot be explained as an

gradually separated inside the museum they tend to display

extension of museum theory alone. Accordingly, whena L pattern behaviour. Contrastively, in observances of M

considering where MM should head for as a cultural

behaviour patterns there is a tendency towards group

institution, what to do with P becomes the key. There willcohesion, and they stick together throughout their visit.

be a need for comparison to visitors of other museums that

9

Those who have never visited MM frequently

deal with manga such as the Kawasaki City Museum,

misconceive the institution as an enormous ʻmanga café

Osamu Tezuka Museum, and the Ghibli Museum, and so(manga kissa).ʼ This conception is formed on the premise

forth.

10

The present survey has taken the example of thethat manga is a personal media, to be read by oneself
without any interaction with the others. Certainly, thetypical L type visitor concentrates on reading, completely
entering into their own personal world. Users who read
while listening to music on headphones can be seen
frequently throughout the building, appearing to affect a

26

Cameron, Duncan F. ʻThe Museum, a Temple or the Forum?ʼ
Curator vol. 14(1), 1971, pp11-24
10 In April of 2010 the interior of MM underwent large-scalerenovations. The present study took place before theserenovations; therefore an analysis of the museum comprising anevaluation of the renewed space is needed, and is recommended
as a topic of future research.
9

Kyoto International Manga Museum to conduct afoundation study examining the nature of the relationshipbetween popular culture and museums. In order to deepen
this question in the future, further attention is required
toward popular culture's place of origin. And we must
continue to question what the public/private nature of
popular culture refers to, and in what way and with whom
popular culture is shared.

References
Aoki Masao. Kenchiku keikaku 8 gakk I. Ed. Yoshitake
Yasumi. Maruzen Publishers, 1976.
Cameron, Duncan F., ʻ The Museum, a Temple or the Forum?ʼ
Curator, vol. 14(1), 1971, pp.11-24.
Gendaifūzoku kenkyūkai. Ed. Manga kanky :Gendaif zoku'92. Libro Publishing, 1993.
Hein, George E., Learning in the Museum, Routledge, 1998.
Ishita, Saeko. "Dare no tame no manga shakaigaku: Manga
dokusho-ron saikō." Manga no Shakkaigaku. Ed.
Miyahara, Koujiro and Ed. Ogino, Masahiro.
Sekaishisosha, 2001.
Ito, Yu. "Kōgengaku de minzokugaku suru toiukoto: Kon
Wajiro, rojō kansatsu gakkai, yagai katsudō kenkyūkai no'nichijō seikatsu kenkū' sahō." Katari to jissen no bunka,
soshite hihy . Cultures/Critiques Editorial Committee,
2003, pp.139-178.
Ito, Yu; Yamanaka, Chie. "Manga o tsūjita kokusai kōryū e no
kitai: Monash daigaku no jirei kara." Manga Kenkyu[Manga Studies]. Japan Society for Studies in Cartoon
and Comics, 2006, pp.83-94.
Kawashima, Tomoo. "Taishō/Shōwa senzenki no Kyoto-shi ni
okeru tekkin konkuriito shōgakkō kenchiku no seiritsu tosono tokuchō ni tsuite: Taishō 12 nen kara Shōwa 9 nen
made no kikan"Journal of Architecture and Planning, No.
508. Architectural Institute of Japan, 1998, pp.209-216.
Kon, Wajiro. Ed. Fujimori Terunobu. K gengaku ny mon.
Chikuma Shobo, 1987.
Murata, Mariko. "Raikansha kenkyū no keifu to sono kadai:
Nihon ni okeru hakubutsukan komyunikeeshon no tenkaino tame no ikkōsatu." Bulletin of Japan Museum
Management Academy. No.7, 2003, pp.95-104.
Omote, Tomoyuki; Kanazawa, Kodama; Murata, Mariko.
Manga to my jiamu ga deau toki. Rinsen Shoten, 2009.
Tanigawa, Ryuichi. "Kioku kara tsumugi dasareru kenchiku."
Seisan kenkyu. Issue.57, No.3, Institute of Industrial
Science, University of Tokyo, 2005, pp.13-17.
Yoshida, Kenkichi and Fujimori Terunobu. Eds. Yoshida
Kenkichi Collections I: K gengaku no tanj . Chikuma
Shobo, 1986.

Visitor Survey at the Kyoto International Manga Museum

27

Visitor Survey at the Osamu Tezuka
Manga Museum:
Do Manga Museums Really Promote Regional Development
ITO YuResearcher, Kyoto Seika University International Manga Research Center, Kyoto International Manga Museum

TANIGAWA Ryuichi
Assistant Professor, Center for Integrated Area Studies, Kyoto University

MURATA Mariko
Associate Professor, Faculty of Sociology, Kansai University

YAMANAKA Chie
Associate Professor, Faculty of Human Studies, Jin-ai University

Translated by Cathy SELL
how manga as their raw material is dealt within this kind of
institution, and of how these are received by the visitors to

I. Scope of the study

the museum, is essential. Our discussion will be based on
What sort of meaning do community cultural centersthat deal with manga hold for regional areas and society at

the results of a visitor survey which was undertaken on-siteat the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum.

large? Since the 1990s a number of manga related

The Takarazuka City Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum

institutions have been built with the chief purpose of

in South Hyogo Prefecture (hereafter Tezuka Museum)bringing about the revitalization of regional cities, wards,

opened in 1994. After Tezukaʼ s death in 1989 various

towns and villages. In the background, there was often theinstitutions had expressed interest in making bids for a

expectation towards ʻsoft powerʼ, especially the beneficial

memorial museum, but Tezuka Production Co. Ltd

economic result which can be acquired through the manga(hereafter Tezuka Pro) in accordance with the will of theconnection by an influx of people and money to the region.

bereaved family, decided to establish a facility in the city

There was a rapid increase in facilities of this type, beforeof Takarazuka where Tezuka had lived for 20 years, backed

and after the year 2000, including the Ishinomori

by the city council as well as public opinion from theMangattan Museum (Miyagi Prefecture, Ishinomaki City,

townspeople. Construction planning advanced2001), Mizuki Shigeru Memorial Museum (Tottori

comparatively smoothly and from the outset a location

Prefecture, Sakaiminato City, 2003) and Gosho Aoyama

beside the amusement park Tezuka Family Land was

Manga Factory (Tottori Prefecture, Tohaku-gun Hokuei-

chosen in the hope of effecting synergy.

1cho, 2007) .

City officials are directly involved with the museum

In this paper, the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum, aadministration: they do not appoint any designatedthematic museum in Takarazuka City which specializes on

administrators externally. The museum is currently

the works of Tezuka will be taken as a pioneering example

managed by 6 city officials (including full-time and part-of this kind of manga facility. In order to discuss the roletime staff), the reception and cleaning staff are outsourced,

and function that the museum performs in regards to theand all exhibition planning and production is conducted by

local region and community, a detailed analysis of exactly

Tezuka Pro. Additionally the museum shop and café arealso managed and operated by Tezuka Pro. The Tezuka

1

There were actually two peak periods in which municipal manga
related cultural institutions began to crop up, around the mid-90s
and at the beginning of the 2000s. It was during the latter boom
that there was a real expectation of achieving positive economic
effect from ʻsoft powerʼ contents.

Museum as an organisation of the city comes under the
Culture Industry Section of the Tourism Planning

Visitor Survey at the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum

29

2

Division , and while originally envisioned as a social

responsible on how they deal with manga as culture.

educational facility, the museum has moreover come to be

Without upfront questioning of what kind of effects orsituated as a facility which aims to increase positive

challenges that the museum is presented with in practice by

economic effect though its function as a tourist attraction.

dealing with manga, manga related cultural institutions

In light of these expectations from the city, how iscannot be instigated as the trigger for regionalʻregional promotionʼ developed within the Tezuka

revitalisation. Through this paper, we would like toMuseum? On their opening year the museum was off to aconsider what is needed to plan a sustainable manga related

good start with over 500,000 visitors recorded, however

cultural institution.

the following year this figure had halved and it has
3

The research team's purpose in undertaking thecontinued to decline since then . The museum wasvisitorsʼ survey has been to consider the relationshipredesigned in 2003, but with Tezuka Family Land closing

between community cultural centers and popular culture

down the same year, no great effect was seen on the(with manga as a representative example), and the survey

museum attendance figures. As the Tezuka Museum

has been carried out in the Kyoto International Manga

operates financially through a combination of theMuseum in 2009, as well as the Takarazuka City Osamu

admission fee and city funds, a decline in visitors means an

Tezuka Manga Museum and the Hiroshima City Manga

increased cost to the city. As the city increased its

Library in 2011. This paper focuses the discussion on thecontribution of funds, voices questioning the meaning of

Tezuka Museum with appropriate reference to results

the museumʼ s existence have begun to appear.

obtained from the survey of the Kyoto International Manga

Thus, as with many manga related cultural institutions

Museum.

built for the revitalization of regional cities, wards, towns
and villages, the Tezuka Museum too has been expected tocontribute to the revitalization of the region. Also likeII. Survey Outline

many of these other institutions it has found itself in severe
operational circumstances.

The Tezuka Museum is situated in the direction of theThis paper will equally consider such operational

Takarazuka Grand Theater at the end of ʻFlower Avenueʼ

circumstances of the Tezuka Museum, as well as(Hana-no-michi) about 7 to 8 minutes walk from both the

viewpoints sourced from museum staff interviews, while

Japan Rail and Hankyu railway stations. It occupies a site

presenting an analysis of visitors' survey data. That said,of 860 square meters, with an internal floor space of 1395

the purpose here is not to discuss or offer proposals

square meters. The building itself, constructed withtowards measures of regional revitalisation, but rather toreinforced concrete, is a level rectangle which spans 40

question the concept of whether the creation of a mangameters east to west, and 10 meters north to south. It hasthemed community cultural center can lead to regional

two floors above ground (ground/1st floor, and 2nd floor)

revitalisation so easily. In most cases discussions regarding

and two basement floors.

the management of regional cultural centers focus purely

According to the museum's pamphlet it was built inon promotion and the question of how to attract tourists.

the image of an old European castle. In particular, theHowever, the posing of such a question begs inclusion of

vicinity of the entrance is a reproduction of the royalthe viewpoint that manga related cultural institutions arepalace in Ribon no Kishi (Princess Knight), evoking the

2

3

30

The Sangyōbunka-bu Takaranomachi sōzōshitsu kankōkikaku-ka
Tezuka Osamu kinenkan. Generally, Museum administration islinked with social education administration under the Board of
Education, or the Social Education Division etc. It is unique that
the Tezuka Museum is administered by the Tourism Planning
Division. The Kyoto International Manga Museum collaboratively
managed by the Kyoto City and Kyoto Seika University (Kyoto
Prefecture, Kyoto City, opened in 2006), was originally opened
under the Board of Education, but management was transferred to
the Industry Tourism Division in 2009.
Takarazuka City Municipal Industry Vitality DivisionInternational Industry Office ʻHeisei purojekuto Tezuka Osamu
kinenkan o kaku tosite Takarazuka no kasseikaʼ [Takarazuka
Revitalisation with the Heisei-era Project Tezuka Osamu Museum
as its core]. Hito to kokudo 21, 22(2), Kokudo keikaku kyōkai,pp.43-45, 2007.

image of a town straight out of a Takarazuka operatic
theatre performance. The path leading up to the entrance
has a monument of the Phoenix from Tezuka's opus Hi no
Tori (Pheonix), and is lined with Hollywood style cement
tiles imprinted with mock hand and foot prints from thecharacters of Tezuka's manga, in a trail that invites visitors
towards the building entrance.
Inside the building, the first floor (ground level) is
occupied by a permanent exhibition on the life of Tezuka
and a small cinema ʻAtom Visionʼ, the second floor isreserved for the temporary exhibition space and otherPhoto 1: The museum exterior view.

Photo 2: The museum entrance hall.

stndPhoto 3: 1 floor permanent exhibition.

Photo 4: 2 floor temporary exhibition entrance.

nd

Photo 5: 2 floor of the museum.

Photo 6: The Animation Workshop in the basement floor.

facilities (museum shop, café, ʻInformation/Animation

cards, and other related materials from Tezuka's childhood,

4

5

Monitors ,ʼ ʻOsamu Tezuka Library ʼ), and on the firstas well as manga manuscripts and actual editions of mangabasement floor is the ʻAnimation Workshop.ʼ The

published during his life, all exhibited in science fiction

permanent exhibition displays sketch books, school reportstyle capsules. These capsules are a reproduction of thestasis pods that Tezuka drew in Hi no Tori. The temporary

45Computer terminals on which users can play games, watch
Tezuka's anime, and search for information about Tezuka. The
terminals, which are visible in photo 5, are particularly popularwith children.
An area covered in bookshelves containing Tezuka's manga, also
furnished with tables and chairs. The library is at the very back of
the second floor behind the ʻInformation/Animation Monitorsʼ inphoto 5.

exhibition on the second floor changes three times a year.
During the period in which the present survey was
conducted, the exhibition ʻOsamu moet moso – Feat.Noizi
Itoʼ was being held which will be mentioned in detailbelow. The basement level ʻAnimation Workshopʼ is a

Visitor Survey at the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum

31hands-on workshop area where visitors can create

conducted on Monday the 2nd, and Tuesday the 3rd ofillustrations on computer, or hand draw animation.

May 2011, the second of these being a public holiday.

Additionally, figurines and pictures of the characters fromInterviews with the museum staff were also conducted at

Tezuka's works are scattered throughout the building.

this time . On Tuesday the 30th of August, 2011 an

6

The survey aimed at two objectives: to analyse theinduction session for the part-time survey staff was held,concept under which the museum operates and has been

and the tracking was carried out over a total of five days

designed, and to observe how the visitors interact with theduring the period of the special exhibition ʻOsamu moet

physical interior space as the result of such designing. A

moso – Feat.Noizi Itoʼ from Thursday the 1st to Monday

tracking survey and a survey of sojourn time werethe 5th of September 2011 , as well as on Friday the 14th

conducted within the museum in order to record how longof October, therefore encompassing weekdays as well as a

the visitors stayed inside the museum, and how they

weekend. Each day of observation, the survey team of 6

actually spent their time there. Additionally, staff

people operated in 3 teams, collecting data on-site in theinterviews were conducted in order to grasp the museum's

museum gallery spaces. The sojourn time survey was

management concept.

undertaken on Friday the 14th of October.

7

A tracking survey involves tracing the visitorsʼ path of
movement in order to examine their navigation of themuseum space. It is a traditional survey technique used byIII. Survey Resultsmuseums. The observer draws the route taken by each
visitor onto floor plans of the target area by hand, and uses

Visitor statistics for the period of the survey aresymbols to denote places where the subject has stopped

shown on table 1. In regards to age distribution, theand their direction of gaze. Further points of interest arepercentage of children and students only add up to about

recorded in memorandum. It is an extremely effective

10% of visitors. In spite of being a social education facility

method which allows understanding of visitorsʼ behaviour

for youths, relatively few children visit the museum. The

within the building and their utilization of the space. On

sojourn time survey conducted on the 14th of October

the other hand, this method cannot accurately measurerecorded the length of stay of 138 visitors consisting ofphysical attribute data such as the age of visitors, or beapproximately 93% of the total visitors for that day of 147.

used to clearly collect the thoughts of the surveyed

The average length of all sojourns recorded was 1 hour 8

subjects.

minutes. The longest sojourn was 3 hours 17 minutes, by a

The tracking survey undertaken in this study is thecontinuation of a cross-institutional survey. Thus it was

8girl in her teens (10-20 years). The shortest sojourn was 13
9minutes, by a man in his sixties . (Figure.1)

necessary to track the visitors throughout the entire

The above mentioned age distribution is reflected inbuilding, as we had already done with the previous survey

the data from the 53 collected tracking survey cases. High-at the Kyoto International Manga Museum. Generally, inschool students and below are low in numbers. (Table.2)

the Museum Studies field, the target area of the tracking

The most highly represented group in the survey data issurveys conducted in museums is limited to one exhibition

young to middle-age adults in their 20s to 50s. The gender

or one room, and only records the visitor movements

ratio was mostly even, and this proportion was backed up

observed within that single gallery space. However theby the gender ratio data from the visitor sojourn time

admission ticket to the Tezuka Museum allows visitors tosurvey on the 14th of October. Incidentally, less than 1% ofmove freely throughout the entire building, and the rooms

the surveyed visitors were non-Japanese.
The average length of stay of the tracking subjectsof the museum are connected via the staircase in theentrance hall rather than being independent of one another.
The museum visitor experience is related to this entirety,

6

and therefore tracking of the visitorsʼ paths throughout the7entire building was essential.
The survey was undertaken as a collaborative research

8

project by the four researchers Murata, Yamanaka,
Tanigawa and Ito with full cooperation of the museum.
Pilots of the sojourn time survey and tracking survey were32

9

Associate Manager of the museum Yumiko Matsumoto, as wellas Museum Director Takeshi Maekawa.
On Saturday the 3rd of September the survey was temporarilysuspended due to bad weather caused by a typhoon. The 14th ofOctober was added to the survey schedule in substitute of this.
While the intent was to survey the sojourn time of all visitors
there were cases in which visitors declined participation or could
not be surveyed, which accounts for less than 7% of total visitorson the day.
Age categories of visitors in the survey are an estimation by thesurveyors.

was 1 hour 15 minutes. The longest stay recorded was by aarchitecture. After viewing the permanent exhibition, thegirl around 10 years old, of 3 hours 40 minutes. The

visitor takes the elevator to the 2nd floor rather than the

shortest stay, of 9 minutes was by a boy of around 15 years

stairs, arriving at the ʻexitʼ to the temporary exhibition andold. As confirmed by the sojourn time survey data thisthen views it in reverse of the intended curatorial path. Thisdegree of statistical scattering can be considered routine formovement path was often exhibited by people who would

the museum.

find stairs troublesome, such as elderly visitors and those

The results of the tracking survey discern a typical

who require wheelchair access. While there was a diverse

visitor path within the building, in which visitors first view

range of movement paths which have yet to be examined in10

the 1st floor permanent exhibition , then take the staircase

detail, we will now present a discussion of these two major

to the 2nd floor and view the temporary exhibition, andpatterns.

then stop by the other facilities such as the shop, library,This data captures visitor movement paths, and above

and café, before taking the elevator down to the basement.

all their behaviour patterns allowing for comparison and

Figure 2 shows the archetypical path of a visitor who might

categorization. Based on this, 80% of the Tezuka Museum'sview the museum as faithfully as is hypothesised by thevisitors display the pattern identified by our researchmuseum. The next pattern of behaviour to have emerged

project as ʻMuseum typeʼ (M) . Central to the M typefrom the data is due to a problem in the building

behaviour pattern is the act of ʻviewingʼ the manga in the

11

Table 1: Number of museum visitors during the survey period (NOT tracking data numbers).

AdultsStudents

ChildrenFree entry

Total people

Tue 30 Aug

172

63.2%

10

3.7%

25

9.2%

65

23.9%

272

Wed 31 Aug

109

60.2%

7

3.9%

8

4.4%

57

31.5%

181

Thu 1 Sep

78

72.9%

1

0.9%

1

0.9%

27

25.2%

107

Fri 2 Sep (Typhoon)

52

73.2%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

19

26.8%

71

Sat 3 Sep (Typhoon)

128

77.1%

2

1.2%

5

3.0%

31

18.7%

166

Sun 4 Sep

217

71.9%

12

4.0%

21

7.0%

52

17.2%

302

Mon 5 Sep

130

84.4%

0

0.0%

0

0.0%

24

15.6%

154

Fri 14 Oct

122

83.0%

2

1.4%

2

1.4%

21

14.3%

147

Total (8 days)

1008

72.0%

34

2.4%

62

4.4%

296

21.1%

1400

Table 2: Tracking survey data, age and gender distribution.

No. of people (%)

Age bracket

No.

Primary school and below

3

High school5

20s-30s
Average stay length
68mins28

40s-50s

13

60 >

4
Total

Length of stay (mins)
Fig. 1: Sojourn time distribution graph.

11

10 Upon entering the building, a staircase leading up to the second
floor and down to the basement is directly in front of visitors, but
the reception staff guide visitors towards the permanent exhibitionon their left.

53

Gender

No.

M

1

F

2

M

1

F

4

M

15

F

13

M

5

F

8

M

3

F

1

M

25

F

28

This classification is outlined in detail in case study analysis of
the Kyoto International Manga Museum survey; for details refer
to Murata Mariko,Yamanaka Chie, Tanigawa Ryuichi, and ItoYu
ʻVisitor Survey at the Kyoto International Manga Museum:Considering Museums and Popular Cultureʼ, Journal of Kyoto
Seika University, vol.37, 2010.

Visitor Survey at the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum

33

A Collects stamp impression.
B Looks in-depth at image of Tezuka.
C Looks over two displays at once in-depth (eachdisplay item for about 30 secs).
D Looks at the Takarazuka theatre display forabout 1 min.
E Looks in-depth for 1 min at each.

F Proceeds as if not to look at the chronology thenjust checks it momentarily, but definitely spends
much longer looking at the capsule displays.
G Takes photo of the statue of Sapphire.
H Collects stamp impression.
I Speaks with reception staff.

A Reads greeting panel.
B Looks around restlessly without looking in detailat anything in particular.
C Looks in-depth at Tenjin Hidetaka.
D Passes straight through.

E
F
G
H
I

A Passes straight through.
B Listens to Animation Workshop staff, then views
exhibition.

C Takes photo of Tezuka.

Momentarily browses shop.
Sporadically views exhibition here.
Sits momentarily (about 10 secs).
Looks towards manga without reading.
Does not look at stairway exhibition.

Fig. 2: Tracking diagram, archetypal data.

museum as exhibition material, while moving throughout

institutions. Most manga related cultural institutions cater

the building. Manga, originally a printed and boundtowards both reception methods, with variance to the ways

medium in book format, is designed to be opened and read,in which each is achieved and the relative importance they

but this does not mean that manga spatially positioned

are afforded. The visitor behaviour patterns that our cross-within cultural institutions cannot be received through theinstitutional study has identified in manga related cultural

exhibition medium. Indeed, while the viewing of manga as

institutions of Museum type (M) and Library type (L) is

exhibition material within cultural institutions is by rights adirectly related to the unique traits of manga related

special method of manga reception, it is practised by many

institutions.

34Behaviour patterns observed in the present study apartfrom the Museum type (M) were the Library type (L) in

Table 3: Tracking survey behavior pattern data, age andgender distribution.

M

which visitors primarily spend their time reading manga

13 & over43

within the building, and the Workshop type (W) in whichLvisitors spend the majority of their time taking part inevents, playing games and touching hands-on exhibits. Of

W

the surveyed Tezuka Museum visitors, there were 43 M
type visitors, 1 single L type visitor, and 9 W type visitors.

Total(Table.3) The proliferation of M type and scarcity of L type43

12 & under
13 & over

1
9
53

23

F

20

1

M
F

1

6

M

2

12 & under
13 & overM

12 & under

3

F

7

13 & over

50

M

25

12 & under

3

F

28

visitors, as well an approximate 20% ratio of W typevisitors clearly indicates that the Tezuka Museum has little

museum-like behaviour. However, that does not mean thatto no functionality as a library, and performs only a partial

the Tezuka Museum can be regarded to be the same as ainteractive experience function, but that it functions as an

general museum which does not deal with manga.
A characteristic behaviour observed among visitors toarchetypical museum.
Additionally, as mentioned above, the trends of thethe Tezuka Museum was that the same individual would

tracking data indicate a large proportion of visitors takeoften display different patterns of viewing the first floor

relatively the same route within the building whichpermanent exhibition and the second flood temporary

suggests that the curator's path has been well set out inexhibition.

advance by the museum. This is in contrast to the Kyoto

Many visitors were recorded viewing the first floor

International Manga Museum, in which there is no one

permanent exhibition from start to end to varying degrees,

12

typical pattern of movement .

stopping in front of specific exhibits and showing someIn way of confirmation, let us now examine theform of response, whereas in contrast, a significant amountdifferences between the Tezuka Museum and the Kyotoof the visitors would simply pass through the second floor

International Manga Museum. The major difference

temporary exhibition.

between the two institutions is that while the Kyoto

As mentioned above, the permanent exhibition,

International Manga Museum attracts a great many visitors

extremely inline with the objectives of the museum,who display a mixture of both the M and L pattern

focuses on the man himself, Osamu Tezuka, and introduces

behaviour, to the point that they cannot definitely be

his greatest feats. On the other hand, the temporary

13

classified as neither , 43 out of 53 surveyed visitors in the

exhibition during the period of this research ʻOsamu moet

Tezuka Museum could be easily identified as that of the M

moso – Feat.Noizi Ito ʼ was a unique exhibition among thetype. At the same time, in contrast to the Kyoto

museums temporary exhibitions (Figure.3) which attracted

International Manga Museum where 30% of the visitors

a fan base different to that of traditional manga such as

displayed a prominent L pattern, the visitors who can be

Tezuka's; instead stepping into the territory of the genresclassified as primarily L type, or even a mixture of M andknown as ʻmoe-kei ʼ and ʻakiba-kei .ʼ The exhibition space

L types are largely non-existent in the Tezuka Museum

featured a section displaying reworked illustrations of(here, the L pattern should be observed at the ʻOsamu

Tezuka's characters Tetsuwan Atomu (Astro Boy) andTezuka Library,ʼ the 2nd floor reading space in the Tezuka

Black Jack etc, by moe-kei artists, as well as artwork by

Museum, where visitors can sit down to properly readbooks). In similarity, both the Tezuka Museum and the
Kyoto International Manga Museum attract visitors who
display W type behaviour patterns, that is, visitors who do
not pay substantial attention to the exhibits, nor do theyread manga, but rather take part in workshops, and focus
on a hands-on experience.
In summary, this confirms that the Tezuka Museum isabove all, a place which prompts its visitors to display
12 Murata, Yamanaka, Tanigawa, and Ito ibid.
13 Murata, Yamanaka, Tanigawa, and Ito ibid.

14

15

16

Held from the 24th of October to the 1st of July 2011. The
ʻOsamu moet mosoʼ series of exhibitions was first held Akihabara
in Tokyo in September of 2010, and was a nation-wide
collaboration between popular artists and Tezuka productions. The
temporary exhibition at the Tezuka Museum featured stars of Moe
style illustration, with one section which introduced the original
work of Noizi Ito (who was born in Hyogo, the prefecture inwhich Takarazuka City resides).
15 Moe-kei, meaning ʻmoe style.ʼ The term moe, originally derived
from the verb ʻto bud; to sproutʼ is a slang term used within the
anime, manga and game communities to describe a strong feelingof affection towards something (often a character), and thecharacteristic of evoking such an emotion.
16 Akiba-kei, meaning ʻAkihabara style,ʼ refers to the otaku, or geek,culture famously prevalent around the Akihabara district ofTokyo.
14

Visitor Survey at the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum

35environment. This reflects the most theme park style aspectof cultural institutions that deal with manga.
Finally, we can identify that while the Tezuka
Museum deals with manga, and makes manga accessible in
the Osamu Tezuka Library, most visitors do not enter the
library space. This can be viewed as a very peculiar
situation in comparison to the Kyoto International Manga
Museum. The spatial arrangement of the Tezuka Museum
does not place emphasis on reading manga books there (tobe discussed below). When manga are included inmuseums, the issue of how the manga are displayed(through the exhibition of original artwork, character
displays, manga books as they were originally distributed
placed for reading, etc.) forms a direct connection as towhether or not, as in this case, the visitors adopt a
primarily museum style behaviour pattern.

IV. Discussion

Fig. 3: Temporary exhibition poster.

Section three clearly outlined the characteristic
behaviour patterns displayed by visitors to the Tezuka
Museum. That is, the following four points: 1.) exhibit

Noizi Ito, an artist famous for her character designs forviewing in accordance with the route established by theseries such as Suzumiya Haruhi no Y utsu (Thecurators, 2.) high volume of photography, 3.) difference in

Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya). As previously

the viewing density between the first and second floors,

mentioned, the Tezuka Museum's entry ticket allows entry

and 4.) low significance placed on the museum library.

to both the permanent and temporary exhibitions, howeverThis section will undertake a deeper consideration of theon analysis of the visitor traffic flow it becomes apparent

museum's characteristics based on the relationship between

that the number of visitors who were eager to see thisthese four points.

temporary exhibition was rather low. This in itself, may

How can we interpret the fact that a large number ofseem natural based on the regular visitors to the museum,visitors take the same route in accordance with the curator

but of particular interest is the fact that conversely, visitors

designed exhibition viewing path? For most people, towho did display interest in the temporary exhibition wereview the museum in this manner from start to end, ison the whole disinterested in the permanent exhibition andassumed to be the ʻcorrectʼ method of museum visiting. As

simply passed through the first floor. (Figure.4)

a result, most visitors surveyed can be categorised into the

Visitor photography within the museum was also of

aforementioned Museum type; however, according to theinterest, and is one of its greatest idiosyncrasies. Most

sojourn time data and the behaviour notes made by theJapanese museums (and libraries) do not permit

observer, there was a relatively large number of cases

photography, and even in cases where it is permitted,

observed in which visitors simply passed by the exhibits

visitors taking photographs are, on the whole, not awhile barely looking at them. Therefore, it can be said that

common scene. However, during the period of study, atwhile the museum visitors have appreciation for the

least 1 in 3 people took at least one photo, and in mostʻcorrectʼ behaviour in the museum, it can also be said thatcases took several photos. The primary subjects ofthe museum side also expects this type of behaviour fromphotography were the statues and images of characters thatits visitors. This so called ʻcorrectʼ museum behaviour

decorate the building. There were also many observations

refers to both physical and mental conduct such as usingof visitors who had come together taking photos of eachpolite manners within the building (not speaking in a raised

other with the characters or in the surrounding

voice, running, or touching the exhibits), following the36

A Looks at each picture in detail. Talks while pointing.
“The pencil lines…” “In the novel…” “This expressionof Haruhi's is cute.”rdLooks at bottom picture 3 from the left for 2-3 mins,
as well as top one for 2-3 mins.
Speaks to their partner about the picture.
At first one-sided (Male also talks later)
About the line work and drawing methods.
“Haruhi is really in-group. Only fans get it.”
B "When moe is overdone it doesn't look moe at all","Do we get something if we do the questionnaire"
Here is seemed as if they would get something.
Followed by regular conversation. 20 mins between
A and B.
C Criticises roughness of lines.
Talks about the uniforms illustrated reference bookavailable for purchase at Village Vanguard.
Seems interested in the depiction of uniforms.

D Stands still. “I wonder if they have the 2011
face?”E “Kamijo Eri pictures look like Yazawa Ai's.”
F “Three-eyed One, he’s not this cool”
G “I don’t like pants fan-service much”
H “I’m surprised Murata Renji is in the exhibition”
I “Mori Chack’s work looks a lot like Tezuka’s. You
know, he started out as a street artist.”
J Gazes at picture of Haruhi solidly for about 5mins.
Criticises the way the body is drawn (proportions)Finished viewing E-J by 4pm.
K Walks around the furnishing several times for 23mins, then goes back to look.
L Mantan Vol.28 “Cute”
M Is interested in the Haruhi manga.
N Choses temporary exhibition goods, then goesback into exhibition room.
O Diligently choses temporary exhibition goods (78mins), buys document folders etc.

A Hands in quiz rally and receives postcard at reception desk.
Fig. 4: Tracking diagram, archetypal data of temporary exhibition focused visitor.

prescribed route, looking at the museum presented content

17

gained momentum only in modern times .

from start to finish, and therefore absorbing some sort ofAnother tangible issue of the museum includes the

new information and knowledge from the museum. This isvisitorsʼ subjects of photography. The visitor photography

not necessarily consciously recognised by the individual,
and the recognition of museums as social educational
institutions and spaces for enlightenment is a belief that has

17

For example, Michel Foucault's work on behaviour from
Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, Penguin,
1977=1975, Surveiller et punir: Naissance de la Prison,
Gallimard.

Visitor Survey at the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum37

of characters embedded throughout the museum areand pedagogical materials that feature tales of heroes, andextremely suggestive of behaviour that can be observed atlife story documentaries that appear on television.

theme parks, and diverge from the ʻcorrectʼ museum

Therefore, whether the well-known figure being depicted isbehaviour as discussed above. In spite of the Tezuka

Edison, Picasso, or a manga artist, audience members canMuseum having been created with museum style spatial

be drawn into the narrative with relative ease. But many

construction, and having encouraged a museum style

visitors face a high hurdle in undertaking art museum style

visitors path, the fact that the building is studded withbehaviour that forms a direct connection between viewer

decorations which engender theme park style behaviour

and artwork as is intended by the temporary exhibitions.

from its visitors has created a environment in which spatial

Additionally, even those who have some art exhibition

navigation of the museum involves adjusting to or at times

literacy may still be bewildered by the manga contents ofconfusing layers of a dual corporeality. This is illustrated in

the exhibition; or indeed, many of them may be thuslythat while photography is permitted in the permanent

bewildered precisely because of their literacy, to have toexhibition, visitors only take photograph in spots where aadopt this to manga contents.

character statue or image has been placed, while on the

Ultimately, if the fact that most visitors exhibit

other hand, influenced by the theme park style atmosphere,

Museum type behaviour is seen to be consistent with thevisitors commonly chat while viewing the exhibition, andmuseumʼ s desire to function as a social educational

the level of conversation is much greater than can befacility, then adopting the so called ʻcorrectʼ museum

observed in general museums.

viewing method for the manga exhibition sections

So then, what is the significance of the duality of

inadvertently runs the risk of sending a bad message. To

ʻcorrectʼ museum behaviour alongside theme park

put it another way, as the social significance of manga isbehaviour in the Tezuka Museum?

not generally recognized in the first place, the significanceWorthy of notice, is the aforementioned issue ofof any message put forth by a manga related social

visitor density between the first and second floors. For a

educational facility is after all ambiguous by nature. As asmall scale museum such as this to have such disparity inresult of this, the message of an institution such as thespite of its aim towards a ʻcorrectʼ museum environment is

Tezuka Museum is naturally obfuscated, and so its visitorsa peculiarity of the Tezuka Museum which brings forth thelack the necessary framework to decode manga related

question of whether manga exhibitions in particular can be

exhibitions. Neither does the museum have the opportunity

viewed in the way of traditional museum exhibitions.

to tangibly develop such abilities through its exhibitions in

The first floor permanent exhibition introduces

the present social situation.

Tezuka in the format of a tribute to the individual, and as a

As a result of the aforementioned difference in the

result seeks to present Tezuka as a ʻgreat figureʼ to visitorslevel of literacy required between the first and second floor

through the exhibition materials on display. The temporary

exhibitions combined with the building design which

exhibitions on the second floor however, display artwork

encourages a theme park style disposition toward its

curated with intent to encourage art appreciation as in acontents, visitor behaviour which at first glance appears to18

fine art museum and therefore has a more traditionalcome under the Museum type behaviour, is in actuality,

museum aesthetic approach in anticipation of eliciting

consistently ambiguous in nature.

visitor behaviour similar to that of fine art museums.

This phenomenon is, as a matter of fact, directly

Generally speaking, visitors usually have the literacy toconnected to the scarcity of visitors who make use of theinterpret the Tezuka Museum's permanent exhibition stylemuseum library pointed out in the survey results discussedof a historical figure's biographical narrative. This is

above in section three. Where the first floor focuses on

because this type of narrative is commonplace and familiar

Tezuka's personality and life, the second floor exhibition

to visitors in their daily lives such as in children's literatureand library are positioned as a junction to promote directcontact with Tezuka's work. The temporary exhibitions are

18

38

Art museums are museums specializing in ʻfine artʼ such as
painting, sculpture, installations etc. Characteristically they
display original artwork presented with only the bare minimum
information that is required, in a white cube (a white straight lined
space without ornamentation). Visitors are assumed to be literate
in art history and in forming a direct connection with the artwork.
In most cases when museums are spoken of as high culture, thespeaker is referring to art museums.

designed to do so through the exhibition of artwork, rather
than focusing on Tezuka personally, and the library aims topromote his works through direct access to his printed
manga. Nevertheless, museum literacy is necessary to
make contact with manga artwork on the second floor, andthe library merely consists of books lined up on shelves invisitors. Should manga related cultural institution provea far corner of the museum. Exhibiting manga within theitself to be a ʻcontributingʼ institution which adds to themuseum requires more than simply lining up orenrichment of manga culture, it should provide anjuxtaposing artwork and books with the expectation thatenjoyment of manga obtained uniquely by visiting the site.

visitors will engage with the works of their own volition.

In other words, if they were to utilize the manga for their

An exhibition that heightens accessibility to the works

resource, then some kind of resolve should be carried outof manga themselves rather than focusing on the humanity

for manga culture itself within that process. In order toof the artist is not easy from either a planning or reception

establish sustainable cultural institutions which have theirpoint of view. The difficulty of this matter lies in the veryroots in the local regions, it eventually becomes essential

format of the book as a bound medium, not to mention its

that those institutions aim to make cultural (i.e. not only

natural characteristic as a print media which is read byeconomic) contributions both in width and depth.

oneself. Exhibition of this medium therefore requires newstyles of display. In short, the question of what method to
employ in exhibiting manga is compounded with the

V. Conclusion and Future Prospects

questions: what kind of media is manga presented as? And
Examination of the survey results suggests that thesubsequently, how is it read?
Along these lines, it becomes apparent that not only is

Tezuka Museum has two purposes, firstly as a social

there no established form for manga exhibitions, but that

educational facility in the traditional sense, as well as athere is also the lingering question of how the medium of

theme park style institution with the expectation to provide

manga, which allows its readers a most intimate contact

positive economic effect, with varying degrees of effectwith artwork, is actually read in community cultural

towards each of these purposes. The expectations placed

centers. Furthermore, there remains no predicate for how to

upon the museum are in part also due to the situation inposition this manga reading behaviour within culturalthat while the museum was envisioned as a social

institutions such as museums. Certainly manga reading

educational facility for youths, it is managed not by the

takes place in spaces such as manga cafés and bookstores,

Board of Education, but by the Tourism Planning Division.

but could manga reading in community cultural centers

However, the fundamental problem facing the Tezuka

really be comparable to these facilities? A consideration ofMuseum is not the contradictory nature of these two

the position of reading behaviour within museum is

purposes, but rather that they have not been sufficiently

required in order to respond to this question, in short, thecalled into questioned.

issue of how regular, daily-encountered manga books are

The Tezuka Museum's exhibition framework is ofplaced in the museum should be considered as of equal

depicting Tezuka as an important historical figure,rank to the issue of how manga is displayed in exhibitions.

exhibiting original artwork, and seeking to make the

To return to the specific issue of the Tezuka Museum

visitors view contents through museum-type behaviour as ain that visitors have little interest in the library in spite of itsocial educational facility. In order to realise this, thebeing the part of the museum with the most direct

behaviour of the visitors who read museum's building andconnection to Tezuka's manga. This visitor disinterest

statues as emitting a theme park message is partiallycombined with the apparent lack of thought that the

restrained. On the other hand, what exactly is educational

museum itself has given to that part of the building bothabout the facility is unclear. Based on this, a situation has

illustrate that insufficient attention has been directeddeveloped where it seems difficult to ascertain what the

towards the fact that manga are the actual artifacts of thevisitors are getting beyond theme park style consumption.

museum's collection. Naturally this problem is not uniqueThis state of affairs is linked to the museum's status as ato the Tezuka Museum. The culture to display manga

forerunner for this kind of facility, as an exhibition based

within a greater public context is still at its infancy

museum that dares to exist in an age in which manga is not

throughout the country.

truly valued as having its own worth. However, now with

In fact, what can be observed from the visitorsʼ
behaviour is the fact that there is little evidence of thoughtsome years behind them and an increasing amount ofsimilar institutions arising, they are reaching an impasse.

or ideology in how manga culture is presented in the

The pursuit of this kind of public institution that deals

museum and in what disposition it is to be decoded bywith manga henceforth should be to create a framework to

Visitor Survey at the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum39

address the above mentioned issues through experimentation,

cultural contribution, but in actuality regional revitalization

trial and error. Thusly, the Tezuka Museum needs tothough manga related cultural institutions is debatedexplore solutions in developing the required exhibition

without enough consideration of alternative understandings

methods and facilities to promote transmission andaside from economic growth of regional development andappreciation of Tezuka's works amongst a wide audience.

cultural contribution (here specifically referring to

However it is not as though the staff who actually run thecontribution towards manga culture). As a result, there aremuseum do not have aims towards a new format that

more cases where economic growth has not been realized

would solve this contradictory nature, as this was

through this means than otherwise.

mentioned plenty of times in the staff interviews.

There is a need to requestion what the very term

Ideally speaking, the original expectations of a mangaʻregional promotionʼ is aiming for. Increasing tourists andrelated community cultural center was for it to be a placemoney to the region is not regional promotion alone. And itthat endeavored to develop ways to highlight the unique

is probably that the residents of comparatively affluent

characteristics of manga through exhibition etc. andcommuter towns such as Takarazuka have no particular

contribute to not only manga research but also ainterest in seeing their town become crowed as a tourist

revitalisation of manga culture itself. But however much

location. To these local residents ʻregional promotionʼ may

the Tezuka Museum wanted to experiment with ways of

be a revitalisation of communication between locals withshowing Tezuka's artwork to the museum visitors, it will

hope toward a service that satisfies intellectual desire to be

still be limited by its many structural and organizational

continually transmitted by the Tezuka Museum.

limitations. For one thing, manga are fundamentally

What is most important for cultural institution isdifferent from the typical contents that museums are gearedsustainability. Thus, the potential continued existence of

toward in ways that make it difficult to treat them as publicmanga related cultural institutions can only exist where

goods. Within the present marketplace situation, dealing

regional promotion and cultural contribution (contributing

with commercial goods for which artistsʼ copyright is

to manga culture) as well as the sustainability of culture are

single-handedly controlled by corporations, forces

mutually related.

prioritisation of the wishes of profit orientated production

In closing we would like to express our sincere

houses and publishers.In the Tezuka Museum, thegratitude to Associate Manager Matsumoto Yumiko,

permanent and temporary exhibitions have both been

Director Maekawa Takeshi, and all the staff at theoutsourced to Tezuka Pro; the museum staff, rather than

Takarazuka City Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum as well as

consisting of professional exhibition staff such as curators

FukuhiYoshihito of Tezuka Production Co.Ltd. for theirand museum professionals or researchers specializing in

generous cooperation.

Tezuka and his works, are expected only to manage andoperate the contents which the production house has

References

created. In other words, the Tezuka Museum staff members

Drill Project (eds.) Seichi junrei NAVI - anime & komikku.
Asukashinsha Publishing, 2010.

have no authority to manipulate the specific contents of themuseum which transmit its message, that is, the social
education potentiality of encouraging visitors to explore
manga reading, or the elements that affect the tourism
policy. In actuality, many municipal manga related cultural
institutions share this structural problem.
Even by putting up with this kind of restrictedorganisational structure, the city and museum hope to makemanga the core of economic stimulus for regional
promotion. However be that as it may, the profit of one
company cannot directly lead to the economic stimulationof a region. Here the significance of bringing manga into
the region and creating a regional manga cultural center
needs to be fundamentally requestioned.
Cultural facilities built by the city are aimed at

40

Harada, Yasuhiro ʻChotto ki ni naru Library 6 – Takarazuka-shi
Tezuka Osamu kinenkanʼ Toshokan zasshi. 88(9), Nihon
bunko kyōkai, pp.698-699, 1994.
Inaizumi, Ren ʻYōkoso myūjiamu e 6 - Tezuka Osamu
kinenkanʼ Ushio. 532, pp.190-193, 2003.
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kinenkan o jirei tosite [An Investigation of Culture andTourism promotion measures in Takarazuka City: The
Case of the Tezuka Osamu museum] master's dissertation,
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, 2009.
ʻJinbutsu Myūjiamu kikō 14 - Takarazuka shiritsu Tezuka
Osamu kinenkan - manga o bunka ni kaeta manga-kaʼ
Asahi gin s ken rep to 11(5), Asahi Ginsō kenkyūjo,
pp.65-68, 2002
Masubuchi, Toshiyuki. Monogatari o tabi suru hitobito –contentsu/ts rizumu to wa nani ka. Sairyusha, 2010.
Mizuki, Shigeru (ed) & Igarashi, Keiko. Connani tanoshii!
Youkai no machi. Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha, 2006.
Murakami Tomohiko ʻTatsujin ga iku 4: Takarazuka shiritu
Tezuka Osamu kinenkan ni Murakami Tomohiko ga ikuʼToshokan no gakk . 73, pp.12-16, 2006.
Murata Mariko, Yamanaka Chie, Tanigawa Ryuichi and ItoYu
ʻVisitor Survey at the Kyoto International Manga
Museum: Considering Museums and Popular Cultureʼ
Journal of Kyoto Seika University, vol.37, pp.78-92,
2010. (English version in Ryuichi Tanigawa(ed), Manga
Comics Museums in Japan: Cultural Sharing and Local
Communities, CIAS Discussion Paper, No.28, 2013.)
Nakamura, Ichiya & Onouchi, Megumi (eds.) Nippon no
poppu pawaa. Nihon Keizai Shimbun, 2006.
Okuda, Nanami ʻNihon no manga hakubutsukan - Sono genjō
to kadaiʼ Museum Studies, Vol.39 No.10, Japanese
Association of Museums, 2004
Omote, Tomoyuki; Kanazawa, Kodama; Murata, Mariko.
Manga to my jiamu ga deau toki. Rinsen Shoten. 2009.
Takarazuka City Municipal Industry Vitality DivisionInternational Industry Office ʻHeisei purojekuto Tezuka
Osamu kinenkan o kaku tosite Takarazuka no kasseikaʼ
[Takarazuka Revitalisation with the Heisei-era Project
Tezuka Osamu Museum as its core]. Hito to kokudo 21,
22(2), Kokudo keikaku kyōkai, pp.43-45, 2007.
Takeuchi, Shin'ichi ʻʻBunka mono-gatariʼ mite, furete, kanjiru
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This study was funded by MEXT*-Supported
Program for the Strategic Research Foundation at Private
Universities 2010-2014 and was carried out as a project
under the Kansai University Research Center for Social
Trust and Empowerment Process with the full support of
the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum. The survey was
undertaken with the assistance of university students ofKansai University.
* Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology

Visitor Survey at the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum

41

Visitor Survey at the Hiroshima City
Manga Library:
What It Means to Deal with Manga in Libraries
ITO YuResearcher, Kyoto Seika University International Manga Research Center, Kyoto International Manga Museum

TANIGAWA Ryuichi
Assistant Professor, Center for Integrated Area Studies, Kyoto University

MURATA Mariko
Associate Professor, Faculty of Sociology, Kansai University

YAMANAKA Chie
Associate Professor, Faculty of Human Studies, Jin-ai University

Translated by Cathy SELL
manga o teiky suru ni wa [Special feature: Offering

I. Scope of the study

manga in libraries], published in Issue 269 of Minna no
toshokan (Toshokan Mondai Kenkyūkai, 1999), hitherto

In recent years the number of cultural institutions

discussions have centered around viewpoints from which

dedicated to manga has been on the rise. Throughout Japanto purchase manga, and how best to provide open shelffifty to sixty institutions that can be said to fall under thisaccess to the books.

thematic category have been established, but in reality theySpecialist libraries that are devoted to collecting

deal with manga in various ways. For example, there aremanga are rare, and the usual pattern of events has beenʻmanga art galleriesʼ which conceptualise manga as an art

that manga tend to be introduced as one part of theform, and equate it with original artwork; ʻmangacollection of pre-existing general libraries. Around the year

museumsʼ which deal with manga related materials as2000 the rise of Manga Studies as an academic field led tohistorical artefacts; and ʻmanga artist memorial hallsʼ whicha conscious preservation of manga as a form of academic

focus on a single artist as a celebrated local figure. Yet it

research material. After the opening of the Kyoto

remains true that in most cases manga as a medium takes

International Manga Museum in 2006, the closing of thethe format of a book, and so these institutions time andInternational Institute for Children's Literature in 2008, andagain are conceived of as ʻmanga libraries.ʼ This paper will

the opening of Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library of

consider a manga related cultural institution in discussion

Manga and Subcultures in 2009, discussion arose as to the1necessity for the archival of manga as a research material,of its role as a manga library.

Previous research on the treatment of materials by

for example, in Issue 192 of Kindai no toshokan [Modern

manga libraries has frequently been approached from an

Libraries]. (Japan Library Association, Gendai no toshokan

educational perspective. (Ito, 2006) Furthermore, as

henshū iinkai, 2009).

exemplified by the articles of Tokush : Toshokan de1

Our research on manga related cultural institutions with the dual
function of ʻmuseumʼ and ʻlibraryʼ, and of ʻmuseumʼ and ʻmemorial
hallʼ is discussed in the following papers: ʻVisitor Survey at the
Kyoto International Manga Museum: Considering Museums andPopular Cultureʼ (Murata, Yamanaka, Tanigawa, Ito, 2010); ʻWhat
Do People Do in Manga Museums?: Rethinking ʻManga
Environmentʼ through Visitor Behaviourʼ (Yamanaka, Ito, Murata,
Tanigawa, 2011); and ʻVisitor Survey at the Osamu Tezuka Manga
Museum: Do Manga Museums Really Promote Regional
Development?ʼ (Murata, Yamanaka, Tanigawa, Ito, 2012).

However previous discussions concerning manga andlibraries have in general centered on how manga should beconsidered and dealt with by libraries, and there has been
little reference to the reality of how visitors to these ʻmanga
librariesʼ make use of the institutions. On the other hand,issues related to library visitors have largely remained
limited to statistical information such as the number ofbook loans and visitor attendance numbers, while visitor

Visitor Survey at the Hiroshima City Manga Library43

experiences and motivations have rarely been addressed.

2of manga were borrowed from the library , and the numberof library visitors has remained at about 230,000 to

II. History of the Hiroshima City
Manga Library

240,000 people every year without any observable increaseor decrease trend. In the fiscal year of 2010 the figure
rested at 241,959 people. (Hiroshima City Library 2011)

The Hiroshima City Manga Library (Photo 1 and 2)

The number of visitors to the Hiroshima City Manga

located in Minami-ku of Hiroshima city, approximately 70

Library is 369 people per square meter, placing it third

metres above sea level on the peak of Mount Hiji, is aamong the 13 public libraries in Hiroshima City. (Table 1)

public manga library which is promoted as ʻhaving the

These statistics certainly indicate that Hiroshima City

predominant feature of contributing towards theManga Library can be considered a ʻsuccessʼ in terms ofdevelopment of manga culture through the systematic

civil service, and many stakeholders interested in making

collection and preservation of manga and manga related

manga library have been keeping their eye on the library.

3

materials together with the hosting of various eventsʼ.
(Hiroshima City Library 2011, 2011:79)
In 1979, in commemoration of Hiroshima City
becoming a government ordinance-designated city,
planning underwent to turn Mount Hiji into a centre of
civic culture as a forest of the arts. In 1980 the master planof Mount Hiji Art Park was finalised with the Museum ofContemporary Art at its heart. In 1983, as one part of thisplan, the predecessor of the Manga Library was opened,
Hiroshima City Mount Hiji Park Blue Sky Library. It was
not a specialist manga library at the time. However, due to

Photo.1: External view of the Hiroshima City Manga Librarypoor patronage the city council put forward the suggestiont o ʻm a k e B l u e S k y L i b r a r y f a m i l i a r a n d f u n b y
incorporating manga and so forthʼ (Kurui, 1998: 784) Due
partly to this suggestion Blue Sky Library was remodelled
and reopened in 1997 as Hiroshima City Manga Library.
(Kurui, 1998)
As of the 31st of March 2011, the library held 99, 488
volumes in its collection. (Hiroshima City Library 2011)
Part of the collection covers manga criticism and manga
studies publications, as well as instructional books on how
Photo.2: Inside the Hiroshima City Manga Library

to draw manga, but the majority of publications are manga
works such as manga magazines and tankobon (collectedvolumes). The library also holds several newspapers andTable.1: Hiroshima City Library ranking according tovisitor numbers in the 2010 fiscal year.

Visitors/Floor space2(people per m )general magazines in its collection. According to thelibrary staff, in spite of the fact that the library was

Asa Reading Room

538.9

Asaminami-ku Library

406.9

times that amount in its collection and this has become aManga Library

368.8

major challenge in the management of the library.

Nishi-ku Library

299.0

Naka-ku Libarary

278.8

originally planned to hold 30,000 volumes, it now has three

As a public library, there is no entrance or usage fee,and the manga can be borrowed. There is also provision for2

books to be taken outside of the library temporarily to beread elsewhere such as under the shade of the trees inMount Hiji Park.
In the fiscal year of 2010, a total of 453,709 volumes

44

3

In the 2010 fiscal year the total number of books loaned fromacross all libraries in Hiroshima City was 5,422,659 volumes;
among this, the manga loaned came to 1,183,615 volumes.
The library with the highest attendance was Asa Reading Room,a branch office of the Hiroshima City Manga Library. Whenconsidering the fact that other libraries in Hiroshima are combined
community center facilities which can attract a certain amount ofincidental visitors, we can say that manga is a relatively highneeds commodity.

female), and age range (elementary school and below,

III. Survey Outline

middle school, 20s-30s, 40s-50s, 60yrs and above). These
were recorded along with the visitor's time of entrance andOur research was conducted in order to consider theexit.

issues of what sort of underlying concept is this library

The distribution of the tracked visitors is plotted inoperating from, and as a result, how visitors to the librarygraph 1 according to the measured length of their sojourn,are received within the library space. Both a survey ofwith the particulars of gender and age range outlined insojourn time and a tracking survey of the entire building

tables 2 and 3. When compared against the distribution ofwere conducted with an aim to understanding how long

visitor sojourn times which is a data of all visitors to thevisitors stayed in the building and how they spent theirlibrary, it is safe to say that the tracking data reflect generaltime there. Additionally, staff interviews were conducted invisitor trends to this library. Most visitors spent aorder to grasp the management concept and present

comparatively short amount of time in the library, andconditions of the library.

comprised of young and middle aged generations. Table 2

In a tracking survey undertaken for the purpose ofshows the figures from the average length of stay, as welldetermining the flow of visitor traffic, the observers draw

as the longest and shortest stays recorded during the survey

the route which visitors followed by hand onto floor plans

period.

of the target area. Where the visitors stopped and where
they looked was noted down using symbols and otherppl

points of interest were taken in memorandum. This is aconventional method used in museum visitor surveys, andDistribution of visitor
sojourn times for
Fri 9 Sept 2011
(220 ppl)

although rarely used by libraries we have applied it to our
research carried out in other manga related cultural
institutions and chose to also employ these techniques for4

the present study .
The tracking survey undertaken in this study is thecontinuation of a cross-institutional survey including the

Mins

ppl

Distribution of sojourntimes for tracking survey
results (69 ppl)
*2 partials omitted.

Kyoto International Manga Museum and the Osamu
Te z u k a M a n g a M u s e u m . I t w a s u n d e r t a k e n a s acollaborative research project headed by the four authors,
Murata, Yamanaka, Tanigawa and Ito, and full cooperation
was received from the institutions. University andpostgraduate students from Hiroshima City were recruited

Mins

Graph.1: Results of the tracking and sojourn time surveys
divided by age brackets.

as surveyors and inducted on Tuesday the 6th of September
2011. The survey ran for the following five days, from

Table.2: Results of the tracking and sojourn time surveys.

Tracking survey
results

Sojourn timesurvey results

Survey period

Wed 7-Sun 11
Sept 2011

Fri 9
Sept 2011

Data collected

71 (2 partial surveys)*

220 people

Wednesday the 7th to Sunday the 11th, therefore the datacollection period encompassed both weekdays and a
weekend. The surveyors were broken in to three groups (ofa total six people) for data collection. The data does notprecisely reflect the population of the library visitors, as we
did not intend to do a sampling.
The survey of visitor sojourn times was conducted on
Friday the 9th of September. The demographics of thevisitors was judged by appearance, both gender (male/4

Tracking surveys are generally conducted in a manner in which
the visitors are unaware of being observed, therefore age andother contextual statistics regarding the subjects are unknown, andthe researchers cannot collect data on the subjectsʼ thoughts.
However, in this case the subjects were informed of the purposeof the survey before tracking was commenced.

Gender of surveyee

M: 41, F: 30

M: 138, F: 82

C / T / Y / A / S **9 / 3 / 24 / 27 / 8

9 / 9 / 81 / 73 / 48

44 minutes

58 minutes

Longest stay

4 hrs, 56 mins
(Male in his 60s)

4 hrs, 44 mins
(Male older than 60s)

Shortest stay

0 mins(Male in his 30s)

2 mins(Male in his 40s-50s)

Average stay length(excluding partial data*)* Partial data represents cases in which the observer lost sight ofthe surveyee during tracking.
** C: Elementary school and below, T: High school student, Y:
20s-30s, A: 40s-50s, S: 60s and above.

Visitor Survey at the Hiroshima City Manga Library45

Table.3: Results of the tracking and sojourn time surveys
divided by age brackets.

Distribution of tracking All visitors to the librarysurveyed visitors
on 9th September
Age bracket

M&F

M

F

M&F

M

F

Elementary
school &below (C)

9

5

4

9

4

5

High school
student (T)

3

2

1

9

4

5

t h e s p a c e m o s t r e s e m b l i n g a t r a d i t i o n a l l i b r a r y.
Nevertheless, only 5 of the 62 visitors whose movementsin the library were tracked in the present study, set foot inthis space, only 3 of whom sat down to read there. These 3
were all males in their 50s-60s who visited the library bythemselves. Upon entering the library they headed directly
there and sat down, then used it as a base from which theywould go to search for manga and then return. From this20s-30s (Y)

24

12

12

81

46

35

behaviour we can surmise that the space was a ʻregular40s-50s (A)

27

14

13

73

40

33

spotʼ for the visitors in question. Directly beside them lay

60s andabove (S)

8

8

0

48

44

4

the display cabinets of antique manga and other precious

Totals

71

41

30

220

138

82

materials but none of the surveyed visitors looked overthem.
The fureai (contact) room (Photo 3) at the eastern end

IV. Space usage and thecharacteristics of visitorsof the building is separated by a glass wall, and functions
as an independent reading space; a seated area to readmanga volumes and magazine, it houses a table and chairs.

The library is housed in a broad two story building in

Events are also held in this space throughout the year.

the shape of a folding fan. The majority of the collection is

There is also one of the glass display cabinets to facilitate ashelved on the second floor and the administration office issmall exhibition of manga. Within the surveyed visitors 11

on the first floor (ground level). Most of the space on theindividuals entered the fureai room. These 11 visitors weresecond floor, including along the walls, is taken up byof various ages and both genders, and those who sat at the

shelves. Arranged throughout the remaining space aredesk were males of the 50-70 age range. As the newspaperloans and returns counters, newspaper racks and databaserack is nearby there were also visitors who brought insearch terminals etc. In proportion to the number of open

newspapers to read rather than manga. Among these, there

access manga and the number of visitors, the library is awere visitors who came to read only the newspapers, andconfined space (see table 1), and at the time of the survey

those who read newspapers, magazines and manga. The

the floor was often lined up with numerous cardboard

younger visitors to this room headed towards the mangaboxes full of manga that could not fit on the shelves. Theremagazines shelved at the back of the room, and read whilst

are reading spaces on both the east and west ends of thestanding in front of the shelves or took the magazines out

second floor, and a circular sofa that seats 7 to 8 people inof the room to read elsewhere.

the central area. Additionally, there are seats placed beside

None of the 11 visitors looked at the exhibition

shelves and under pillars in consideration of allowing thedisplay cabinet. The manga library ʻdefendsʼ the exhibition

maximum amount of visitors to be seated in the narrowdisplay in spite of the limited space available by giving it

space available. The reading spaces on either end both havethe role of an archive and information (see staff interview

display cabinets in which precious books are on exhibit,
introducing a collection of manga according a theme.
Let us now discuss the way in which the space is usedin actuality, and the behaviour of the visitors inside thebuilding.
The first characteristic is that the population density
within the building is not uniform. The comparatively
spacious reading spaces at the east and west ends of thebuilding are sparsely used, rather, the narrow spaces are
preferred and therefore become even more constrained
through congestion. In particular, the west side reading
area is situated at the furthest, most quiet end of thebuilding. With its large tables surrounded by chairs, it is46

Photo.3: The east end reading space.

in the latter part of this paper), but the result shows that it

long case of 756 minutes, the average stay of the remaining

is rarely given attention by the library visitors.

9 was 56 minutes long. It can be viewed that for these

Both reading spaces at the either end of the second

visitors the library acts as a place that they ʻsearchʼ forfloor had few readers and through-traffic. The users of themanga to borrow, more than a place for them to ʻreadʼ

room inclined towards middle-aged and older men, thus

manga.

encompassing an age bracket and gender bias, and they

The average length of stay of the entire surveyed

spent a relatively long amount of time in the libraryvisitors was 44 minutes. However, as seen in graph 1, thecompared to other visitors.

visitors stay for only a short time, as over half (53%) of

In contrast to these two sparsely populated, low traffic

visits recorded were under 30 minutes. These results seem

areas on either end of the building, the remaining space

to indicate that many visitors come to the library with thethat lies between them performs various functions.

purpose of borrowing and returning manga, rather thanThe circular sofa that stands in the center of the6reading it on site .

second floor tends to be primarily used by adult females, inMany of the visitors observed either stood reading thecontrast to the largely male population of the reading

manga near the shelves, made round trips between the seats

rooms. One cause for this gender bias is that the book casesand shelves, or walked among the shelves, occasionally5

near the sofa contain series of Harlequin Comics , and it isstopping to browse. This explains the crowding in the areas

flanked by manga magazines aimed towards adult females.

where the shelves and seats were adjoining, in opposition

A behaviour pattern was identified in which the visitors

to the expectation of the library that people would readmade multiple trips between these shelves and the sofa.

manga while properly seated. In reality the above

Numerous seats were lined up along the inside wall of

mentioned behaviour patterns were prevalent; in particular

the fan shaped building (the south wall), as were cardboard

there was a variety of observed reading styles of children

boxes containing overflow books from the shelves, overall

reading manga. For example, situations were observed increating a crowded space. Even the distance between seats,

which readers were told off by staff for piling manga on

and between the seats and shelves was quite short resulting

the floor beside them to sit and read, or for pushing thein the space for people to pass by to be extremely narrow;manga into the walls with both hands as they stood leaning

yet the readers perched there gave no indication ofagainst it to read. Our cross-institutional visitor survey

concern. This indicates that reading manga isolates one

conducted since 2009 across several manga related culturalfrom all surrounding information and constructs a private

institutions has clearly indicated that reading manga whilst

space around the reader.

idly lying down is a characteristic behaviour. However

The reason for the high population density in thereading manga while sitting on the floor or lying down inlibrary is not only that readers are crammed in throughout

the corner is generally not permitted in libraries. The

every nook and cranny of available space, but also thatlibrary staff confirmed that children seen acting in this way

there are visitors who return frequently to the same place.

are cautioned against such behaviour. Additionally, as the

At least ten of the surveyed visitors to the library returnedbuilding lacks the space to allow notebooks to be spread

multiple times to the same spot, interspersed with trips

out for research, exam study or doing school homework is

walking around the entirety of the central bookshelf area toalso prohibited.

the point that it became impossible to draw their paths on

The result of the spatial conditions is that there is a

the map. (See figures 3 and 5) These visitors would flick

limited activity choice between borrowing manga to readthrough the books to decide whether they would read themelsewhere or staying to read manga on site. Based on theseor not, and whether they would borrow them or not before

conditions the behaviour of visitors to the library can bemoving on to the next bookshelf. Their stay in the library

analysed according to whether or not they read manga on

was reasonably long. Of these ten cases the shortest stay
was 28 minutes and the longest was 756 minutes, theaverage being 126 minutes. Even excluding the especially
5

The Harlequin series of manga are based on romance novels by
the Canadian publishing company Harlequin Enterprises. Thesenovels which are distributed throughout 97 countries into 27
different languages have recently also come to be periodicallyreleased as manga editions, drawn by Japanese artists.

6

There were also 13 cases of visitors coming to the library for the
purpose of searching for manga at the database terminals.
Additionally, 30 visitors (approximately half) returned borrowed
manga during their visit. This indicates a high possibility that atleast half of the visitors to the library are returning customers.
There were also visitors who had made self notes, recording
which manga and what volumes they had already read. These areheavy users, who make exhaustive and efficient use of the library.
They were observed holding their notes in one hand, and checking
the manga they intended to borrow against their list.

Visitor Survey at the Hiroshima City Manga Library47

site and whether or not they borrow manga. These trends

they did not sit to read. Visitors who were observed tohave been plotted on figure 1, and will now be discussed.

follow this behaviour pattern were common and were

The most prevalent visitor behaviour noted in thisparticularly prevalent among women in their 30s-40s.

study was to ʻborrow without reading (behaviour pattern

The next most common pattern was visitors who readIII)ʼ of which 27 cases were observed. Figure 2 illustrates

without borrowing (I) of which 24 cases were observed. As

the path taken by one of these visitors. Their stay within

can be seen in the example illustrated in figure 4 these

the library was extremely short and their primary aim in

visitors tend to read by deciding on a place in the library tovisiting the library was simply to return books and makeuse as a ʻbaseʼ and then make numerous trips to and fromuse of the reservation system to borrow books which they

the shelves from their chosen seat.

had come to collect. Another example path of a visitor whoborrowed without reading is illustrated in figure 3. In thisreadcase the visitor walked throughout the building in order to14

select books for borrowing. In examples of this type theof the books contents would for most visitors consist of

borrow

open books and confirm their contents. This confirmation

(II)

(I)

(III)

(IV)

merely flipping through the book, a far cry from actuallyRental store
typeʻreadingʼ and there were few visitors among this category

27

not borrow

visitors spent a comparatively long amount of time in thelibrary and would repetitively stop in front of shelves to24manga café
type

5

who sat down to read the books which they picked out

not readfrom the shelves. Even in the example illustrated in figure

Fig.1: Behaviour types of manga library visitors.

3, where the visitor stayed in the library for 49 minutes,

A:

Returned books

B:

Borrowed 2 reserved books

Fig.2: Visitor pattern ʻborrow without reading (III)ʼ [data#1]

48

Leaves child. After 2 places childʼs book forborrowing in basket, and leaves child again.

F:

B:

Meets up with child.

H: 13:20-13:22 sitting, looks at book from basket.

C:

Child uses PC, 3 mins apart.

I:

A:

Child uses PC.

G: Uses PC alone.
Child puts many books (over 10) in basket.

D: PC again.

J:

Borrows 20 books at self service loans desk.

E:

K:

Asks about non-returned books.

Attempts asking about various in hand materials.

Fig.3: Visitor pattern ʻborrow without reading (III)ʼ [data#2]

A:

Moves directly to ʻtaʼ bookcase and takes 3 volumes of.

E:

13:10 leaves books and goes to use bathroom taking
only bag.

B:

10:04 sits and begins to read.

F:

13:13 continues reading.

C:

13.03 stands from chair.

G: 14:57 returns books. They do not fit in the shelf, so
leaves them lying on top of other books.

D: Returns books. Looks troubled that their space has
been taken. 13:05 picks up the next 2 volumes ofand returns to seat.

Fig.4: Visitor pattern ʻread without borrowing (I)ʼVisitor Survey at the Hiroshima City Manga Library

49

A:

Returns 4 books.

B:

Picks up 2 reserved books.

C:

Leaves belonging on a chair andstands to read.

D: Reads the manga
E:

Puts down book.

F:

14:54 sits down.

G: 16:00 stands from chair.

♪

H: Returns manga magazine they
have finished reading. Picks up
magazine and put it down again.
Picks up a different magaine() and returns to previous
location.

L:

I:

P:

16:18 一通り読み終え返却、BLOCK
を手に取る

J:

Returns books.

K:

Picks up manga.

Stands, reading manga.

M: Stands, reading manga by
Takahashi Yoko.
N: Checks belongings.
O: Stands, reading manga.
Picks up.

Q: Stands, reading.
R:

Picks upS:

Picks upsofa.

and goes to

Fig.5: Visitor pattern ʻread & borrow (II)ʼ

Visitors who both read and borrowed (II), that is,pattern as ʻmanga café types.ʼ In our visitors survey of thethose who would borrow books after reading in the library

Hiroshima City Manga Library, these ʻrental-store typesʼ

were comparatively scarce, with only 14 cases observed. Inand ʻmanga café typesʼ collectively comprised 70 percent of

the example given in figure 5, characteristically for thisthe data collected.

behaviour pattern, the visitor walked all around the roomand spent a long time in the library (147mins in this case).
This particular visitor made use of the reservation system

V. Manga readers and the library

to request books for borrowing. Then walked around theroom again to browse and returned to their ʻbaseʼ with theWhat can be understood from the results of thebooks chosen while browsing to read for a short time

tracking survey? What kind of manga readers does thebefore returning home with their reserved books.

Hiroshima City Manga Library attract, and what kind of

The least common pattern was visitors who neither

manga reading and consumption does it promote?

read nor borrowed (IV), of which there were 5 in the

Even within the field of Manga Studies, there are few

present study. They did not particularly seem to come tostudies which have attempted to understand the reader

the library with the aim of reading or borrowing manga,from the way that they read manga and their behaviourand did not appear interested in manga. Visitors exhibiting

related to reading. Manga readers are generally considered

this kind of behaviour mostly accompanied other people

to be a homogeneous group and that image has rarely been

who were visiting the library.

examined. Even in rare cases which the study does talk

For the purposes of this study we will refer toabout the readers, they tend to be categorized as aborrowing without reading pattern of behaviour (III) as

stereotyped subsection attributed to fans of a particularʻrental-store typesʼ, and the read without borrowing (I)genre. However, this sort of categorization becomes an

50

obstacle when trying to discuss beyond the borders of

publications. Therefore, most visitors displayed ancontent or genre selection in institutions such as Manga

indication of ʻreading manga as informationʼ above ʻreading

Libraries which cater to various age ranges and hold amanga with a world viewʼ, and ʻdismissalʼ over ʻmemory.ʼ

variety of genres in their collection.

The reading behaviour of the visitors to the library is

Let us look into one of the rare studies that has
focused on the reading behaviour of manga readers.

to consume manga in great numbers. To apply Ishita'sclassifications, the library visitors would be representative

Sociologist Ishita Saeko classifies manga readersof the third category ʻreading manga as information,

against two axes; that of manga reading and possession.

dismissalʼ (III) and it can be surmised that the Hiroshima(Ishita, 2001) (See figure 6) This first axis, manga reading,City Manga Library is becoming an institution for readers

identifies readers according to a scale in which they display

who primarily follow this behaviour pattern. If the librarybehaviour indicating those who enjoy discussing theirwere to become a facility largely dedicated to readers of

opinions and viewpoint of a manga, in contrast to those

this reading behaviour then it could exclude readers

who primarily treat it as a simple source of information,

belonging to the other categories I, II and IV as they may

which she labels ʻreading manga with a world viewʼ andfind it difficult to make use of the library.

ʻreading manga as informationʼ respectively. The second

Naturally, the library staff are unsatisfied with theaxis examines manga consumption. Suggesting ancurrent situation: ʻIt is the duty of the public library to

opposing axis related to the purchase and re-reading ofpresent manga as culture. It should be distinguished from amanga, as well as how the books are stored, which extends

neighbourhood manga rental store, the likes of which

between ʻmemory, storage, collection, possessionʼ andmight shelve only books which everyone wants to readʼ,ʻdismissal, disposal, lack of possession.ʼ There is no debate

claims one library staff.

that there is a predominance of readers across all of Ishita's

The library considers certain matters necessary in aid

identified categories (I to IV) and it has beenof this situation. One being in regards to the dilemma that

acknowledged that behaviour patterns attributed to all four

libraries cannot help but periodically dispose of books

categories may be displayed by a single given reader.

from their collection (the process of ʻweedingʼ). As is the

As mentioned in the previous section, the observedcase with all public libraries, the manga library stored

behaviour of visitors to the Hiroshima City Manga Library

unpopular books in a closed stacks system and upon

centered around ʻrental-store typesʼ and ʻmanga café types.ʼ

confirmation of their low rotation they were disposed of. In

In consideration of the number of books loaned and thesuch an event, the staff tries as much as possible to contact

fact that most visitors showed no interest in the exhibition

manga archival institutions such as the Kyoto International

designed with the potential to enrich the manga reading

Manga Museum in search of the possibility that theexperience it cannot be said that the manga library has

materials could be preserved. In other words, they do makebeen successful in prompting readers to develop further

an effort to take actions on the ʻmemoryʼ and ʻpossessionʼinterest in manga: i.e., an interest towards repeatedly

scale wherever possible and the initial ideal of the library

re-reading the same manga, or reading manga criticism

has also been ʻpreservation.ʼ

books and other manga-related and background

They also seem to take into account the participationof visitors ʻreading with a world view.ʼ This can bediscerned through the treatment of the display cabinets

Read with a world view

(III)

(I)
(IV)

Memory, storage,
collection, possesion

Dismissal, disposal,
lack of possession(II)holding precious books in the library as the staff assert thatthey are important and people occasionally come to viewthe materials, not letting the displays be lost even in lightof the bookshelf space shortage.
At the same time however, it is precisely these sorts ofproprieties which enable the institution to be treated as alibrary administratively and guarantees its identity as alibrary, not only for the visitors but also for the staff.

Read as information
Fig.6: Ishita Saeko's manga reader categories (Ishita
2001: p.169), graphed to the same structure as
fig.1.

On the other hand, it is also an alternative to expand
the concept of the third (III) category of readers who
exhibit the ʻreading manga as information, dismissalʼ

Visitor Survey at the Hiroshima City Manga Library51

behaviour pattern; such institution could be consideredintention, including a substantial archive and reference

beneficial to conceive a different mindset from that of afunctions. This would in turn endanger the carefree

traditional library.

atmosphere which allows visitors to encounter manga on a

According to the results of our tracking survey in thecasual level. Additionally, administrative speaking a

Hiroshima City Manga Library the minority behaviour

specialist institution would naturally be evaluated by thepattern was of visitors who neither read nor borrowed, andcity as incapable of contributing to the local community.

as mentioned previously, these visitors were observed to

In the end, it can be said that the treatment of manga

have come to the library for the purpose of accompanying

within a ʻlibraryʼ setting will always have the possibility of

another visitor. It may be possible to examine thisexcluding several of the reading behaviours which are

behaviour as an extension of the ʻmanga experienceʼ so toinherent to manga. While manga take the form of a boundspeak, in which visitors participate in activities such as

printed publication, they are a media format which doestalking about manga or relaxing in an environment

not fit into the normal library treatment of books; requiring

surrounded by manga. However that possibility is unlikely

a re-thinking of how they should be dealt with.

in the case of this institution, as rules befitting a library are
upheld, with talking prohibited and misbehaving children
cautioned. If libraries are places which allow their visitors

VI. Conclusion and Future Prospects

to gain access to a wide variety of books, and act as awindow to the world of books, perhaps such ʻambiguityʼ
should be taken into account within the library space.

Based on the high number of visitors, Hiroshima City
Manga Library is often cited as a successful example of a

For example the Aritagawa-cho Lifelong Education

manga related cultural institution. In addition, it functions

Center (ALEC) in Aritagawa-cho, Aritagawa-gun ofeffectively as a space to encourage reading. Even though

Wakayama prefecture is also a public library that holds a

the physical capacity of the space has been well surpassed

manga collection (or more correctly, is equivalent to aby its visitors, this is miraculously solved thanks to manga

library). Rather than functioning as a library per se, ALEC

readersʼ characteristic ability to mentally create a private

was established with the primary aim to create aspace as if surrounded by invisible walls. A situation which

community space with books. The spacious rooms havecauses the librarian and staff voices to fall on deaf ears attables and chairs that visitors can eat and drink at, whiletimes. As indicated by the staff interviews conducted in

7

chatting with each other and enjoying themselves.

Naturally this kind of ʻlibraryʼ image is necessary inallowing diversification of manga reading behaviour.

this study, the institution suffers from various dilemmas
typical of a library, one of which appears to be the largely
overlooked display cabinets.

ALEC boasts a high number of visitors and is gaining

In the end it is a question of what exactly the

popularity. But the driving force of this institution is after

institutional aim is of manga libraries. For example shouldall, the behaviour pattern of ʻreading manga as information,

the aim be to become a specialist information center suchdismissalʼ and in this respect can be viewed as no different

as the Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library of Manga

8

than the Hiroshima City Manga Library.

and Subcultures, it would be difficult to allow casual

On the other hand, changing the institutional direction

public access. On the other hand should the aim be totowards the first category of ʻmemory, possessionʼ (I) who

function as a space for the carefree consumption of mangaʻread with a world viewʼ would require a stronger specialist

by the wider community, it might come under criticism ofwhether or not it were any different from a manga café or

7

8

52

During the conceptual planning stages for ALEC, Misumi
Osamu, the Aritagawa Social Education Division Section
Manager and later Director of the ALEC center, visited theHiroshima City Manga Library. He was surprised by the power of
attraction that manga has, and on the other hand also felt thelimitations of the ʻlibraryʼ framework. (Interviews with Misumi
conducted by Ito, Murata, Yamanaka and Tanigawa on the 15 and
16 of Jan 2012)
Although this can only be stated as such when we consider
ALEC within the framework outlined in figure 1. If we rememberthat ALEC was originally established aside from the juncture ofʻread/not readʼ, ʻborrow/not borrowʼ, the institution may wellpresent broader discussion on manga cultural institutions
unlimited to manga libraries.

rental store. Either way, surely both styles of institution
have merit. Whether an institution can exist somewhere
along both vectors is not a problem exclusive to manga
libraries; indeed it applies to the very system of libraries
and also involves the issue that public awareness securesthe continued existence of libraries.
Regarding the way that manga are treated bymunicipal libraries, it is administratively difficult to do
anything beyond providing a service for the community toaccess manga for free that a large selection of people wish
to read. This means that conceptualising a manga library asa public facility is not as easy as it may look.
The issue of manga libraries is however not
something that can be solved by questioning the ʻlibraryʼsystem. This paper has examined manga libraries from a
broader context of how manga is dealt with by cultural
institutions. Discussing about manga related cultural
institutions of various forms will consequently shed lighton the possibilities and future forms of manga libraries.

References
Hiroshima City Library. Hiroshima-shi no toshokan (youran)2011 fiscal year. Hiroshima City Culture Foundation
Main Library, 2011.
Ishita, Saeko. "Dare no tame no manga shakaigaku: Manga
dokusho-ron saikō." Manga no Shakkaigaku. Sekaishisosha,
2001
Ito, Yu. "Hadashi no Gen no minzokushi: Gakkō o meguru
manga taiken no shosō." "Hadashi no Gen" ga ita f kei:
Manga, sens , kioku. Yoshimura, Kazuma, and Fukuma,
Yoshiaki (Ed). Azusa Publishing, 2006.
Japan Library Association, Gendai no toshokan henshū iinkai(Ed.) "Tokushū: Toshokan ni okeru manga no yukue."
Gendai no toshokan, Dec 2009, vol.47, no.4 (Issue. 192).
Japan Library Association, 2009.

[Visitor Survey at the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum:
Do Manga Museums Really Promote Regional
Development?] Bulletin of the Faculty of Sociology,
Kansai University] vol.43, no.2, 2012. (English version in
Ryuichi Tanigawa(ed), Manga Comics Museums inJapan: Cultural Sharing and Local Communities, CIAS
Discussion Paper, No.28, 2013.)
Toshokan Mondai Kenkyūkai (Ed.) "Tokushū: Toshokan demanga o teikyō suru ni wa." Minna no toshokan, vol.269.
Kyōikushiryo Publishing, 1999.
Yamanaka, Chie; Ito, Yu; Murata, Mariko & Tanigawa
Ryuichi. "Hito wa manga myūjiamu de nani o shiteiru no
ka: Manga bunka shisetsu ni okeru raikansha kōdō toʻmanga kankyōʼ o megutte." Manga Studies, vol.17. Japan
Society for Studies in Cartoon and Comics, 2011.

This study was funded by MEXT*-Supported
Program for the Strategic Research Foundation at Private
Universities 2010-2014 and was carried out as a project
under the Kansai University Research Center for Social
Trust and Empowerment Process with the full support of
the Hiroshima City Manga Library. The survey was
undertaken with the assistance of university students andgraduate program students.
* Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology

Katayama, Kuniko. "Hiroshima-shi manga toshokan asa
etsuranshitsu ōpen: Kōritsu hatsu no manga senmon
toshokan no un'ei kara." Minna no toshokan, vol.269.
Toshokan Mondai Kenkyūkai (Ed). Kyōikushiryo
Publishing, 1999.
Kobayashi, Ikuji. "Manga to toshokan: Manga toshokan no
un'ei kara oshierareta koto." Gendai no toshokan, vol.47,
no.4 (Issue. 192). Japan Library Association Gendai no
toshokan henshū iinkai(Ed). Japan Library Association,
2009.
Kurui, Hiroo. “Hiroshima-shi manga toshokan no tanjō:
Manga bunka o atarashii shimin bunka ni." Library
Journal, vol.269. 1998.
Murata, Mariko; Yamanaka, Chie; Tanigawa Ryuichi & Ito,
Yu. "Kyoto kokusai manga museum ni okeru raikansha
chōsa: Popyuraa bunka myūjiamu ni kansuru
kisokenkyū." [Visitor Survey at the Kyoto International
Manga Museum: Considering ʻMuseums and Popular
Cultureʼ] Journal of Kyoto Seika University vol.37, 2010.
(English version in Ryuichi Tanigawa(ed), Manga
Comics Museums in Japan: Cultural Sharing and Local
Communities, CIAS Discussion Paper, No.28, 2013.)
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Yu. "Takarazuka shiritsu Tezuka Osamu kinenkan ni
okeru raikansha chōsa: Chiiki kasseika no tame no mangakanren bunka shisetsu no jittai to zehi o megutte."

Visitor Survey at the Hiroshima City Manga Library53

執筆者および翻訳者、共同研究者プロフィール

谷川竜一

伊藤遊

1976 年、大分県生まれ。東京大学大学院工学系研究1974 年、愛知県生まれ。大阪大学大学院文学研究科

科博士課程中退。Ph.D（工学）東京大学生産技術研

博士後期課程単位取得退学。現在、京都精華大学国究所技術職員、同助教を経て、現在京都大学地域研

際マンガ研究センター／京都国際マンガミュージア

究統合情報センター助教。専門は日本アジア関係をム研究員。専門はマンガ研究、民俗学（考現学の方中心にした近現代建築史・都市空間論。主な研究と法論研究）。主な著書として『「はだしのゲン」がいして、「東アジア近現代の都市と建築」（『岩波講座

（吉村和真・福間良
た風景―マンガ・戦争・記憶』

東アジア近現代通史

アジア研究の来歴と展

明編、梓出版社、2006 年）、『マンガは越境する』（大望』、岩波書店、2011 年）、『< 境界 > の今を生きる』（荒城房美・一木順・本浜秀彦編、世界思想社、2010 年）

川歩らと共編著、東信堂、2009 年）など。

など。

TANIGAWA Ryuichi

ITO YuPosition:

Position:

Assistant Professor（Ph.D.）Center for Integrated Area

Researcher, Kyoto Seika University International Manga

Studies, Kyoto University

Research Center / Kyoto International Manga Museum

Specialty:

Specialty:

M o d e r n A s i a n A r c h i t e c t u r a l a n d U r b a n H i s t o r y,

Manga Comics Studies, Folklore

Architectural Theory

Main Works:

Main Works:

Yu Ito, Tomoyuki Omote, ʻBarefoot Gen in Japan:An

別巻

Arakawa Ayumu, Atsuko Kawakita, Ryuichi Tanigawa,

Attempt at Media Historyʼ, In Reading Manga: Local

Junko Naito, Akiyoshi Shibata, Kyokai no ima wo

and Global Perceptions of Japanese Comics,

ikiru［Living on the Borders of Today］, Toshindo,
Tokyo, 2009.
Ryuichi Tanigawa, ʻHigashi ajia kingendai no toshi tokenchiku［Modern and Contemporary Cities andUniversity of Leipzig, 2006.
Yu Ito, ʻExported Japan: On Japanʼs Popular Culture
Policyʼ, In Image of Japan in Europe, Vytautas
Magnus University, 2007.

Buildings in East Asia］ʼ, Wada Haruki et.al.（eds.）,
Iwanami Modern and Contemporary History of East
Asia series, Bekkan, Iwanami-shoten, 2011.

執筆者および翻訳者、共同研究者プロフィール

139村田麻里子

山中千恵

1974 年、東京都生まれ。東京大学大学院学際情報学

1972 年、兵庫県生まれ。大阪大学大学院人間科学研

府博士後期課程満期退学。Ph.D（学際情報学）京都

究科博士後期課程修了。Ph.D（人間科学）。大阪大学

精華大学人文学部社会メディア学科専任講師を経て、大学院人間科学研究科社会環境学講座助教を経て、現在関西大学社会学部准教授。専門はメディア論、

現在仁愛大学人間学部准教授。専門は社会学、マン

ミュージアム研究。主な著書として『メディア・ワー

ガ研究、韓国研究。主な著書として『ポスト韓流のクショップ

学ぶ・遊ぶ・表現する』（水越伸・東京

メディア社会学』（石田佐恵子・木村幹と編著、ミネ大学情報学環メルプロジェクト編、東京大学出版会、

ルヴァ書房、2007 年）、『コモンズと文化―文化は2009 年）、『マンガとミュージアムが出会うとき』（表誰のものか』（山田奨治編、東京堂出版、2010 年）、『差智之・金澤韻と共著、臨川書店、2009 年）、『ポピュラー

別と排除の今―文化・メディアが初出す排除と開文化ミュージアム―文化の収集・共有・消費』（石放』（荻野昌弘編、明石書店、2011 年）など。

田佐恵子・山中千恵と編著、ミネルヴァ書房、2013 年）など。
YAMAMAKA Chie
Position:
MURATA Mariko

Associate Professor（Ph.D.）Faculty of Human Studies,

Position:

Jin-ai University

Associate Professor（Ph.D.）Faculty of Sociology, KansaiSpecialty:

University

Sociology, Manga Comics Studies, Korean Studies.

Specialty:

Main Works:

Media and Cultural Studies, Museum Studies

Chie Yamanaka, ʻManga, Manhwa and Historical

Main Works:

Consciousnes: Trans-national Popular Media and the

Mariko Murata, ʻReconceptualizing Museum Communication:

Narrative De/Construction of Japanese-Korean

A Call for Media Studiesʼ, The Bulletin of the Institute ofHistoryʼ, In Richter, Steffi, ed., Contested Views of a

Socio-Information and Communication Studies, The

Common Past: Historical Revisionism in

University of Tokyo, Vol.66, pp.77-95, 2004.

Contemporary East Asia. Frankfurt and New York:Tomoyuki Omote, Kodama Kanazawa, Mariko Murata,
Manga to my jiamu ga deau toki［When Manga andMuseums Meet］, Rinsen Shoten, 2009.
Saeko Ishita, Mariko Murata, Chie Yamanaka, Popyul
karuch my jiamu: Bunka no sh sh kyoy , shouhi,［The Popular Culture Museum Collecting, Sharing,and Consuming Cultures］, Minerva Shobo, 2013.

Campus, 2008.
Saeko Ishita, Kan Kimura, Chie Yamanaka eds. Posuto
Kanryu no media shyakaigaku［Media Sociology of
the Post-Korean Boom］, Minerva shobo, Kyoto,
2007.
Chie Yamanaka, ʻDomesticating Manga? National identity
in Korean comics cultureʼ, In Jaqueline Berndt &Steffi Richter, eds., Reading Manga: Local andGlobal Perceptions of Japanese Comics, Leipzig
University Press, 2006.

140

翻訳

アンケート調査・データ分析

キャシー・セル脇田貴文

1978 年、メルボルン生まれ。モナシュ大学（オース1979 年、愛知県生まれ。名古屋大学大学院教育発達

トラリア）通訳・翻訳学修士課程修了。

科学研究科博士後期課程単位取得退学。Ph.D（心理現在、モナシュ大学翻訳学研究科博士過程の大学院学）。京都大学大学院医学研究科産官学連携研究員を生／京都国際マンガミュージアムにて研究生。専門経て、現在、関西大学社会学部准教授。専門は、心はマンガ翻訳研究、博物館・美術館翻訳研究。主な

理調査法、心理計量学。主な研究として、Likert 法の研究として、「マンガ翻訳とインターカルチャ」（2011

基礎的研究 ʻPsychological Distance between Categories

年）。主な翻訳として、「原画ʼダッシュ」（竹宮恵子編、in the Likert Scale: Comparing Different Numbers of

京都精華大学国際マンガ研究センター、2011 年）など。

Optionsʼ（Educational and Psychological Measurement,2012 年）、尺度開発 ʻDevelopment and validation of asymptom scale for lumbar spinal stenosisʼ（Spine, 2012）

Cathy SELLなど。

Position:
Doctoral student, Monash University / Research Student
Kyoto International Manga Museum.

WAKITA Takafumi

Specialty:

Position:

Manga Translation Studies; Museum Translation Studies.

Associate Professor（Ph.D.）Faculty of Sociology, Kansai

Main Works:

University

Cathy Sell, 'Manga Translation and Interculture',

Specialty:

Mechademia: User Enhanced, vol.6, pp.93-108, 2011.
Keiko Takemiya, ed., Cathy Sell, trans., Gengaʼ（Dash）,
Kyoto Seika University International Manga ResearchCenter, Kyoto, 2011.

Psychological survey method, Item Response Theory
Main Works:
Wakita, T., Ueshima, N., & Noguchi, H., ʻPsychological
Distance between Categories in the Likert Scale:C o m p a r i n g D i ff e r e n t N u m b e r s o f O p t i o n sʼ,
Educational and Psychological Measurement, 72,
pp.533-546, 2012.
Sekiguchi, M., Wakita, T., Otani, K., Onishi, Y., Fukuhara,S., Kikuchi, S., Konno, S., ʻDevelopment andvalidation of a symptom scale for lumbar spinal
stenosisʼ, Spine, 37, pp.232-239, 2012.

執筆者および翻訳者、共同研究者プロフィール

141

CIAS Discussion Paper No.28
TANIGAWA Ryuichi (ed.)

Manga Comics Museums in Japan
Cultural Sharing and Local Communities© Center for Integrated Area Studies, Kyoto University
46 Shimoadachi-cho, Yoshida Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi,
Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan
TEL: +81-75-753-9603 FAX: +81-75-753-9602
E-mail: ciasjimu@cias.kyoto-u.ac.jp
http://www.cias.kyoto-u.ac.jp
January, 2013