Meiji University President
There was a time when manga, anime, and games were considered to be new media exclusively for children and young people. However, in reality, it is favored by a wide range of generations in Japan and is already a deep part of Japanese history. Along with its diversity, it has also functioned as a mirror that brilliantly reflects the society and the state of the world in Japan at that moment.
In addition, recently, it has become a huge part of the culture exported from Japan to the rest of the world. Many other countries view this as a core aspect of Japanese culture. The government has also begun to promote and utilize the culture as an important part of Japan's soft power.
Public institutions do not have the systematic and multidisciplinary collection of documents necessary to spread manga, anime, and games and clarify their history despite their importance that spans culture, industry, and academia. There is an urgent need to preserve and organize these documents so that they can be used in a multifaceted way for future generations, both as objects of academic research and as cultural materials.
In 2009, Meiji University announced its plans to establish one of the world's largest archiving facilities for manga, anime, and games as a university-wide initiative while promoting research and education in this field mainly at the School of Global Japanese Studies. This project, the "Meiji University Tokyo International Manga Museum" (temporary name), aims to preserve the materials that have been collected and maintained, mainly through personal efforts of knowledgeable and voluntary people, and to contribute to a wide range of research and cultural applications.
In the same year, in 2009, we received a donation of the late Yoshihiro Yonezawa's collection from his bereaved family and opened the "Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library," a library specializing in manga and subcultures. In the following year, in 2010, we took over the "Modern Manga Library," which was built by the late Toshio Naiki. Since then, we have been accepting donations of various collections of manga, anime, and games and organizing them, while preparing for the establishment of the "Meiji University Tokyo International Manga Museum" ( temporary name), which serves as a venue for the preservation and operation of these collections.
We will realize this facility as an institution with the public mission of social cooperation in various fields from an international perspective.
Eiko Yonezawa
As I was writing these words of greeting I recalled talking with fellow manga collectors at the time over drinks or whatever about “how great it would be if there were a library of antique manga, and how we might be able to create one together by pooling our comic books”. This was just before I met Mr. Yonezawa. When I later told Mr. Yonezawa about this idea he laughed as he said, “That would be impossible since you’re all collectors.” Around the mid-1970s there was a manga bubble in the world of antique books, and there much talk flying about “How much such-and-such’s B6 edition sold for” and “How much X magazine sold for altogether.” It was also a time when people were scolded for “reading manga at your age,” and so when “lowly” manga sold for such amazingly high prices, I was both surprised and somewhat pleased by this recognition. However, in response to all this Mr. Yonezawa simply said, “I’m not a collector.” To him, manga was just reading material like any other. Science fiction, film, rock music, pop music, theater, and painting—he was interested in everything, but even so, I think that he was most familiar with manga.
In cooperating in the creation of the Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library of Manga and Subculture, I first of all wanted to show everyone as far as possible the manga that Yonezawa had been the most familiar with, after which I hope to gradually present other of his books. What wonders will await us? Actually, I myself do not know the whole picture. Through the operation of the library, I believe that aspects of Yoshihiro Yonezawa that even I do not fully understand will gradually become clear. This is something to look forward to in the future…That's alright, isn't it, dear "Brother"? (I referred to him as "brother" when he was with us.) You are the one who said, “I am not a collector.”
Last but not least, I would like to express my appreciation to everyone involved for their cooperation in making this library a reality. Thank you very much.
Co-Representatives of the Comic Market (Comiket) Committee;
Kahoru Yasuda, Yoshiyuki Fudetani, Kouichi Ichikawa
When speaking of Yoshihiro Yonezawa, people’s strongest impressions of him may be as president of the Comic Market or as a manga critic, but the scope of his interests was not limited to manga, but also included various subcultures as well: Music, film, science fiction, antique books, erotica, bizarre / grotesque material and absurd / nonsensical presentations. He expressed interest in a diverse range of genres and endeavored in numerous projects. The interests he required for his work blended harmoniously with his personal interests, and on his death, he left an enormous library containing several thousand boxes of books and other documents. Now, entrusting and donating the Yonezawa collection to his alma mater, Meiji University, has led to the creation of the Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library of Manga and Subculture, and the establishment of this structure, which can be used by researchers and many others, is a truly joyous occasion for the Comic Market fostered by Yonezawa himself.
The Comic Market specializes in the medium of dojinshi (self-published material), but it has functioned for more than 30 years now as a forum for promoting new and free expressions and works as much as possible, as a forum for communication through fan activities, and as a forum for people seeking new possibilities in encountering works. Libraries, however, function as forums for collecting, cataloging, preserving, and providing various materials and have been the foundation for new intellectual encounters and discoveries. We cannot help but anticipate something new being born from the forum provided by the Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library of Manga and Subculture.
Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to express our warmest appreciation to Prof. Kaichiro Morikawa and numerous Meiji University faculty members, in addition to others involved for their tremendous efforts to make this library a reality, as well as to everyone else who lent their support to this endeavor.