Subject: 3rd International Manga Award | 第三回国際漫画賞

Ceremony Date: December 4, 2009

Location: Iikura House　（飯倉会館）, Tokyo, Japan　

The International MANGA Award was established in May 2007, to honor artists who contribute to the promotion of manga overseas. The executive committee for the award is headed by the Japan's foreign minister, and includes representatives of the Japan Foundation, and the special committee for pop culture of the Council on the Movement of People Across Borders. The Japan Cartoonists Association also cooperates and helps out. In 2009, there were 303 entries from 55 countries. On December 4, the awards were handed out for the third time. The results were as follows:

Until 2009, the award was exclusively for manga artists, but in that year a "Special" category (特別賞) was added, which allowed non-artists such as Yours Truly to be considered. So there's hope, fellow writers!

For me, the "Special Award" involved a badge and a commemorative plaque, and being invited to Japan and treated like royalty for nearly ten days. Coming shortly after having receiving the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in San Francisco in June, I really felt like my ship had come in, or that the whole cosmos had turned in my favor. It was a wonderful, if not dizzying, experience, and I can't thank my extraordinarily gracious hosts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs enough. It gave me an opportunity to meet the other award winners from around the world, and to not only see how manga are becoming internationalized, but also to see how the Japanese government now views manga as a vital slice of modern Japanese culture, with global appeal. More specifically, as a result of this trip I was able to revisit old acquaintances in the manga industry, and for the first time meet legends such as Keiko Takemiya and Naoki Urasawa. Among other things, I visited the Kyoto International Manga Museum, gave a talk on manga at Kyoto Seika University, saw the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum (which showcases many early Showa-era buildings that have inspired Hayao Miyazaki), toured the Pierrot animation studio, and visited the Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library of Manga and Subcultures at Meiji University in Tokyo (where the Tokyo International Manga Library is also being created).

The award ceremony was attended by members of the Foreign Ministry, the judging committee, industry representatives, the media, and numerous legendary artists, including Machiko Satonaka, Go Nagai, and Monkey Punch. Each awardee was asked to say only a few short words but, given the international nature of the award, their words also had to be interpreted into Thai, Chinese, French, and Korean, creating a fascinating medly of languages. Hoping to maximize my limited time and entertain, I spoke in Japanese along the following lines, and of course went over my allotted time:

「40年ほど前から日本の漫画を読みはじめ、マンガにはまってしまいました。


30年ほど前、日本のマンガ現象を英語圏の人たちに紹介するため、一冊の 本を書いたことがありますが、どんな題名をつけたらよいかということで、喧嘩までいかなくっても当時の編集者だったPeter Goodmanさんとかなり議論したのを覚えています。彼は 「Manga! Manga!」にしたい、というのですが、私は反対で した。なぜかといえば、当時のアメリカでは、図書館の検索用のカード目 録では、稀少金属であるマンガンと混乱し、もしくは、イタリア語の 「mangia」（食べましょう）と混同されるのではないか、と思った からです。

 

今や、私の国では、マンガとアニメは若い人たちの 間では完全に定着してしまっています。それを裏付けるかのように、先日アメリカの「広辞苑」に匹敵するような大辞典、Oxford English Dictionary を覗いてみたらば、さすが、MANGA と　ANIME　は歴とした英 語の言葉として載っていました。

 

今回の受賞に関して、私は果たしてこれこの賞に値するようなことをやっているのかどうかは分かりませんが、自分にとっては夢のような、この上ない光栄なことです。日本においても、アメリカにおいても、長年、多くの方々に大変お世話になりながらやってきましたが、今後もどうぞよろしくお願いいたします。」

In essence, I said the following:

"I began reading Japanese comics nearly forty years ago and promptly became hooked.

 

Nearly thirty years ago, I wrote a book that attempted to introduce Japan’s manga phenomenon to people in the English-language world. In trying to come up with a good title, I recall having, not quite an argument, but a heated discussion with Peter Goodman, who was my editor at the time. He said that he wanted to use “Manga! Manga!” for the title, but I was opposed. I was opposed because I was afraid that in in the old style card catalogs of American libraries in those days the word “manga” would be confused with the rare metal named "manganese,” or with  the Italian word mangia, “to eat.”

 

Today, in my country, both manga and anime have been completely accepted by young people. In support of this fact, the other day I checked in the Oxford English Dictionary, or our equivalent of Japan’s Kojien, and was amazed to find both “manga” and “anime” both listed as English words.


I am not certain that I have done anything truly worthy of receiving this award today, but receiving it is like a dream for me, and it is an extreme honor.  Over the years many people in both Japan and America have given me a great deal of help, and I am greatly indebted to them all. I thank you all, and ask for your continued support in the future."

[Photos: Plaque

 

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