Meiji Univ.'s manga library a new page in pop culture history

Kumi Matsumaru / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer

When manga critic Yoshihiro Yonezawa died in 2006, he left a huge collection of vintage comics that has become the foundation of Meiji University's Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library of Manga and Subcultures. The library, which opened Saturday in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, is meant to be a precursor to a much larger archive of pop culture.

The library houses Yonezawa's collection of about 140,000 items, including manga magazines and books as well as self-published dojinshi manga. Yonezawa, an early proponent of dojinshi, is credited with the spread of the homemade or underground comics, which sometimes borrow characters from existing series.

"Yonezawa's collection also is characterized by the inclusion of many early works of famous mangaka such as Osamu Tezuka and Shotaro Ishinomori and even minor erotic magazines. His collection is so huge and varied that I wonder if he tried to preserve the materials for fear that they would otherwise vanish from sight someday," said Meiji University Associate Prof. Kaichiro Morikawa, who has been involved in the manga archiving efforts after Yonezawa's death.

On one day in September, about five people at an old university facility were busily unpacking boxes of materials sent from Yonezawa's home and sorting them out while wiping away their sweat with towels. According to Morikawa, since the collection is so vast and wide-ranging, nobody knew exactly how many publications were included, or what kind all of them were.

In 2006, the university, which was planning to open in 2008 a new faculty dealing with anime and manga as part of Japan's modern culture, approached Morikawa to hear his opinion, as he was an Akihabara culture specialist who had been responsible for an otaku-themed exhibit at the Japanese pavilion at the 2004 Venice Biennale of Architecture. For his part, Morikawa was looking for a way to open a library of manga, including those of Yonezawa, who happened to be an alumnus of the university.

"Then we started to work together to open a large archive of manga, anime and games, taking advantage of the university's disused facilities, in 2014. As the university had bought a nearby smaller building at that time, we agreed to open the Yonezawa library there as a preliminary facility," Morikawa said.

At the museum, located off Meidai-dori avenue near Ochanomizu Station, the first floor is open as an exhibit space. Manga and other subculture-related materials are on display, changing from time to time.

The reference room is located on the second floor and operates under a membership system. Those aged 18 and over can obtain a one-day (300 yen), monthly (2,000 yen) or annual (6,000 yen) membership. Dojinshi and manga published in 1979 and before are available only to monthly and annual members.

The materials are stored on the third to fifth floors.

Morikawa hopes the library will serve as a good lever to the envisioned international facility.

"The planned facility will be a rare location where even a dojinshi market can be held. We hope the facility will serve as an intergenerational communication tool, too, as it will allow a parent and a child, for example, to share the same magazine published today and 30-40 years ago," Morikawa said.

For more information, visit the Web site at www.meiji.ac.jp/manga/yonezawa lib/index.html.