Manga and Ancient Mysteries of British Museum
Sutton Hoo, Easter Island Moai , Dogu and Professor Munakata
Nov 9, 2009
Brainchild and black-and-white alter ego of Japan's leading manga artist, Hoshino Yukinobu, Professor Munakata is into ancient mysteries. A giant black-cloacked figure, bald, moustachioed, donning a bowler hat, Munakata is professor of folkore and delights in finding the clues to unsolve the mysteries of the past. And what more appropriate challenge for this Japanese Sherlock Holmes than British Museum's iconic treasures, the helmet of Sutton Hoo and the Eastern Island Moai.
Manga and Ancient Mysteries
Hoshino Yukinobu whose Munakata Kyouji Ikouroku won an Excellence prize in the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2008 placed the manga professor within the context of some of British musuem's most iconic exhibits: the Sutton Hoo helmet, the Easter Island moai and the Dogu, the ancient Japanese clay figures. Hoshino's "satisfying elegant black and white graphics, delienated with exquisite detail, shading and emotional subtlety", writes Ken Russel in the Times (6/11/09) and the giant displays of graphic art submerge the visitor into the Manga character's exploration of ancient mysteries.
Sutton Hoo, Easter Island Moai, Dogu
The Sutton Hoo, Eastern Island and Japanese artifacts that feature in Hoshino's manga are all surrounded by the aura of ancient mysteries. The famous stone statue (or moai) of Eastern Island exhibited in Room 24 of the British Museum is a monumental carving standing over 2.4 m tall and weighing around 4 tons. Carved out of dark-grey volcanic rock the extraordinary Eastern Island moai with its empty eyesockets and stern expression is steeped in mystery.
The Sutton Hoo helmet is another iconic treasure that features in the manga character's adventures. Found in the famous Sutton Hoo ship burial site, the helmet is thought to have belonged to the Anglo-Saxon king burried there. But who was buried in Sutton Hoo? Opinions are divided between Raedwald and Sigebert, the Anglo-Saxon kings that reigned between 575 and 620 AD. The helmet is exhibited in Room 41 of the British Museum.
No manga adventure would be complete without the mysterious ancient clay figures from Japan, called Dogu. Said to possess spiritual and healing powers, their purpose remains elusive. Dogu have iconic status in Japan and feature in many popular manga stories. Equally popular, Professor Munakata, first created in 1990, now appears every two weeks in the manga magazine Big Comic and is read by millions.
Professor Munakata in the British Museum
The exhibition features 20 works of Hoshino Yukinobu. Large reproductions of the original drawings of Professor Munakata cover the walls and the floor immersing the visitor in Munakata's world. Manga comics in original Japanese are available to browse in a specially designed corner of the room. Hoshino plans to return to the British Museum to produce new drawings featuring iconic treasures of the museum.
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