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Subject: rec.arts.manga: Frequently Asked Questions
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Archive-name: manga/faq

                            Usenet manga Glossary

                                 version 1.2
                                  January 1998

             originally compiled by Iain Sinclair ([email protected])
                      Copyright (C) 1995 Iain Sinclair

This FAQ, as well as the other anime/manga newsgroup FAQs and info
articles written by Steve Pearl, are available from the Official
Anime/Manga FAQ page at
http://www.cybercomm.net/~starbuck/FAQ.html
The FAQs on that page are always the most recent version (The monthly
posts are posted directly from that directory!)

This is a monthly list of questions that have been frequently asked in this
newsgroup.  This article can be freely distributed for non-commercial use, as
long as all credits and notices remain intact. If this is used in any
publication, including APAs & CD-Rom Collections, a copy must be sent to:

Steve Pearl
PO Box 11044
New Brunswick, NJ 08906

Please send all additions/corrections/comments to:

Steve Pearl
PO Box 11044
New Brunswick, NJ 08906
Internet: [email protected]

This glossary lists important terms relating to manga and the manga industry.
It was compiled as a bare-minimum reference for Usenet, intended to resolve a
large number of questions and repetitive discussions. While it is not by any
means an exhaustive reference, those subjects most often discussed on the net
are dealt with in reasonable detail.

Entries are listed in alphabetical order, and JIS code is given for most
Sino-Japanese words. The glossary can be read sequentially, or browsed
randomly; if you can't find a specific term, try the index, listed at the end.
Many entries provide background information and pointers to other sources.

Some good general net references for those interested in manga terminology:

  * Jim Breen's Japanese page lists many links to electronic Japanese-language
    resources. Jim Breen is the compiler of the on-line Japanese-English
    dictionary EDICT and the kanji dictionary KANJIDIC, both of which are
    comprehensive, useful, and in the public domain.
    <http://www.cs.cmu.edu:8001/cgi-bin/jdic>
  * The sci.lang Japan FAQ briefly deals with colloquial Japanese used in
    manga.
    <ftp://ftp.uwtc.washington.edu:/pub/Japanese/JimBreen/sci.lang.japan.FAQ>
  * A Guide to Japanese Culture for Role Playing Games contains several
    introductory articles on subjects that are found often enough in manga:
    Japanese mythology, religion, history, traditional weapons, and the
    yakuza. <http://www.io.com/user/nishio/japan/>
  * The Internet and Unix Dictionary is a simple reference for computing
    terms, which often crop up in manga discussion on the 'net.
    <http://rci.ripco.com:8080/~kadokev/answers.html>

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

amecomi ^[$@%"%a%3%_^[(B
    Contraction of "American comics". The term variously describes any comic
    originating in the West; the short 20-40 page booklet or "comic book"
    format of Western comics; and the styles and graphic devices popularly
    ascribed to them. The word "manga" is never used to describe any of these.

    Some amecomi are known to the Japanese public, mainly classic titles such
    as Superman, Spiderman and Peanuts - the Japanese editions of the latter
    exceed 100 volumes. Parts of X-Men and Ghost Rider have been translated
    into Japanese by Shougakukan Productions and Take Shobou, and manga using
    X-Men characters has been published. Original English editions of some
    lesser-known amecomi, such as Marshal Law, also enjoy a very small cult
    following.

    However, despite the limited awareness of some titles, it should be
    understood that amecomi are regarded as a very minor cultural curiosity,
    at most. The world of manga and American comics has been totally dysjunct
    for several decades. Japanese audiences regard amecomi as ugly, cliched
    and difficult to follow (with manga, the reader is not supposed to take
    more than about 15-20 seconds per page). The proportion of manga
    personalities who know anything about amecomi, or who want to, is
    negligible.

    One of a handful of exceptions is Ono Kosei, a well-known Japanese critic
    and amecomi authority. As a child, Ono read American comics left behind by
    the post-WWII US Occupation forces. (Most amecomi fans in Japan were also
    exposed to amecomi in this way, and few have appeared since this era.) He
    has contributed English-language articles to digests such as Raw and
    translated many amecomi titles, including Fritz the Cat, The Fantastic
    Four, Mighty Thor, Incredible Hulk, Spider-man, Doonesbury, and Maus. (Ono
    regarded Yiddish-accented English as a translation challenge.) Such
    translations have found only miniscule readerships in Japan; Ono believes
    this is because Japanese readers, who are used to the fluid storytelling
    of manga, regard amecomi as unreadable.

    See also: Comics 'n' Stuff
    <http://www.phlab.missouri.edu/HOMES/c617145_www/comix.html>

anime ^[$@%"%K%a^[(B
    Animation. The word "anime", NOT "manga", is now used to describe any type
    of cel-based animation. (Before the 70s, the term "TV manga" or "manga
    eiga" ^[$BL!2h1G2h^[(B was sometimes used.) Manga (and novels, to a lesser
    extent) have traditionally been the source material for nearly all of the
    Japanese animation industry's output since the early '70s. Most animes
    take considerable liberties with characters and storylines, and often
    assume some knowledge of the original manga.

    Contrary to the belief of some Western fans, most anime is intended for
    children or teenagers, where the marketing dollar lies. The anime industry
    has always been more or less a merchandising subsidiary of the manga
    industry. A few animes have been been targeted at college-age fans, but by
    and large, manga's large adult readership is unconcerned with anime. Anime
    seems to have reached the height of its economic viability in the late
    80s; the popularity of manga and anime are now losing ground to video
    games.

    See also:
       o  rec.arts.anime FAQs
         <http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/anime/faq/faq.html>
       o  Anime & Stuff @ Berkeley <http://anime.berkeley.edu/Anime/>

assistant ^[$B%"%8%9%?%s%H^[(B
    Generally, manga-kas have a team of one or more assistants to help with
    the production of their manga. Assistants are usually responsible for
    drafting, inking, screentone, sound effects, cutting and pasting,
    typesetting dialogue, taking photographs, and doing research.

    In the manga industry, potential assistants are frequently asked to submit
    their own manga first. Once selected, skills are passed onto the assistant
    over a number of years, not unlike the master-apprentice relationship to
    traditional Japanese art. After learning the ropes from a pro, many
    assistants go on to create their own manga, and their styles often
    resemble that of their mentor. However, some assistants of a highly
    proficient level present themselves as a "studio", which denotes
    "consultants" more than "assistants" or "apprentices".

bukyou (wuxia ^[$BIp6"^[(B)
    A Chinese word roughly translatable as "chivalrous knight" or "martial
    wanderer", describing a genre of adventurous martial arts fiction. The
    wuxia genre is relatively unknown in Japan, except indirectly, through
    some Chinese classics. But in Taiwan and Hongkong, the growth of local
    manga and comics industries has been stimulated by wuxia literature,
    especially the work of popular novelists like Jin Yong ^[$B6bMG^[(B and Gu
    Long. At least twenty or so wuxia-inspired manga titles are published
    weekly, in 40-page "comic books" with spectacular color covers. While the
    quality remains generally low, the scene is fiercely competitive, and most
    titles have been running for years. At one stage, Jademan Comics were
    regularly translating their bestsellers into English.

    Japanese readers have had some limited exposure to the wuxia manga style
    via the work of Taiwanese artist Chen Wen (Toushuu Eiyuuden)
    ^[$@El<~1QM:EA^[(B and Korean artist I Jie-Hak ^[$BM{:\U\^[(B (Ryuugin
    Houmei ^[$BN66cK1LD^[(B, who now both draw specifically for Kodansha. At
    one time, there was also a possibility that the work of famous Hongkong
    artist Mah Wing-Shing (Tien Ha ^[$BE72<^[(B) would be translated into
    Japanese. But generally speaking, Chinese martial arts mangas are usually
    a totally different world to their Japanese counterparts, despite the
    influence and popularity of Japanese manga-kas such as Hara Tetsuo,
    Ikegami Ryouichi and Houjou Tsukasa.

CG
    Acronym for "Computer Graphics". In the manga context, it refers to
    computer-assisted illustration or animation of any kind. In recent years,
    computer-generated halftone patterns and computer painting software have
    become almost standard tools for manga-kas. The former technique was
    popularised by manga-kas such as Tetsuya Saruwatari and Inoue Noriyoshi,
    while pioneers of the latter include Kia Asamiya, Terasawa Buichi and
    Tsudzuki Kazuhiko ^[$BETC[OBI'^[(B. Macintoshes seem to be the computer of
    choice among manga-kas.

    See also:
       o  Silicon Graphics Gallery <http://www.sgi.com/free/gallery.html>
       o  Siggraph Artist's Connection
         <http://www.siggraph.org/artresource/sigartists.html>

circle ^[$B%5!<%/%k^[(B
    A group of doujinshi artists or writers. Many circles have been
    established for years, and have a large number of loyal readers. A small
    proportion of circles do business by mail order, and will send their
    catalog on request. For those enquiring from outside Japan, the following
    should be enclosed to maximise the chances of a reply:
       o at least two International Reply Coupons, or the equivalent in
         current Japanese stamps;
       o self-addressed envelope or adhesive label;
       o a letter written in Japanese.

comiket ^[$@%3%_%1%C%H^[(B
    Short for "comic market". Comiket is Japan's largest market for manga
    doujinshi, established since the late 70s, and held twice per year over
    two days. It is a gathering of epic proportions, now featuring nearly
    20,000 doujinshi sellers at each event. Its current character and success
    has largely been due to the efforts of Yonezawa Yasuhiro.

    The bulk of doujinshis are devoted to whatever manga and anime is popular
    at the time, but a vast range of tastes are catered for, with doujinshis
    devoted to video games, pop music, animals, machines, novels, movies,
    RPGs, and much more. A comprehensive catalogue of attendees goes on sale
    some months before each event.

    Japan has many other comic markets, which are generally tolerated by
    publishers because they are thought to increase sales of manga and anime,
    not decrease them. But this tolerance is not without limits - in one major
    incident, Japan's second biggest comic market, Comic City, was cancelled
    in August 1994 after official warnings that Chiba police would check
    doujinshis for breaches of censorship laws.

doujinshi ^[$BF1?M;o^[(B
    Literally "same people publication", where "same people" refers to a group
    of people who are interested in the same field. The word "doujinshi" came
    into use among literary groups that wrote in the style of a particular
    author or classic work, and is not specific to the world of anime and
    manga. A group of doujinshi artists or writers is called a "circle". In
    the manga world, "doujinshi" today refers to any amateur, self-published
    manga, especially those based on existing manga or anime.

    There is a large fan culture associated with the contemporary doujinshi
    scene. Manga doujinshis are advertised and reviewed in some magazines, and
    sold en masse at "comic markets". Most manga doujinshis are at the level
    of Western fanzines, though a significant proportion are of remarkably
    high quality. These sell thousands of copies, and some people can make a
    living drawing doujinshi alone. Popular doujinshi artists often go on to
    become professional manga-kas (eg. Sonoda Kenichi, Ozaki Minami). On the
    other hand, some professional manga-kas have been known to publish
    doujinshis, often under assumed names, parodying their own work (eg.
    Hagiwara Kazushi, Ueshiba Reach).

    See also: List of Internet Manga Creators (in Japanese)
    <http://yindy1.aist-nara.ac.jp/muneto-t/ncaa/ListOfIMC.html>

G-pen
    G-pens are distinctively shaped ink pen nibs, held in wooden shafts. Their
    name comes from the small "G"-shaped indentation at the base of the nib.
    G-pens are bought by the dozen, since they wear out fairly quickly. They
    produce a variety of line widths and effects, and are an essential tool
    for most manga artists. Other popular types are kabura pens and maru pens.

gensaku-sha
    Story writer; someone who writes a story or synopsis to be drawn by a
    manga-ka. By far the most prolific gensaku-sha is Koike Kazuo, who has
    penned stories for hundreds of mangas. Royalties are usually split 50/50
    between gensaku-sha and manga-ka.

gekiga ^[$B7`2h^[(B
    "Drama pictures". As its name implies, gekiga is straight, serious
    storytelling much like traditional theatre and cinema. It is characterised
    by direct, literal narrative, pictorial realism, and uncomplicated
    character drawing. Artists such as Shirato Sampei and Saito Takao, the
    latter influenced by Kurosawa films, popularised gekiga in the 1960s.
    Subsequently, even Tezuka introduced gekiga elements into some of his
    stories (eg. Eulogy to Kirihito). However, gekiga is now in decline, and
    is regarded as a subset of manga. It hardly ever appears in today's
    shounen manga magazines, although the style still sells to readers in
    their 40s and above.

H-manga (H, ecchi, hentai) ^[$@%(%C%A!$JQBV^[(B
    "Hentai" means "abnormal/perverted" and lately, just "pervert" or
    "perverted sex". "H" or "ecchi" is a slang abbreviation for "hentai", and
    refers to sexual activity of any kind. Mangas featuring explicit sex or
    other erotic content are called "ero-manga", or "H-manga". The degree of
    sexual perversion in any manga is sometimes described as its "H-factor".

    Pornographic mangas account for a staggering 25% of the manga industry's
    output. They are as available to the consumer as any other type of manga,
    though they are technically age-restricted and are often wrapped in
    plastic. H-manga boasts a large fandom; there are several sub-genres of
    H-manga, and the degree of artistry varies widely. Exceptional H-manga
    artists sometimes, but not always, move to mainstream publishers. Many
    minor publishers specialise in H-manga and are closely associated with
    pornographic game software, CDROMs and the doujinshi scene.

    See also:
       o  H Manga homepage - ambitious.
         <http://tam2000.tamu.edu/~css3415/ecchi_manga.html>
       o  Team H's CD-ROM directory <http://best.com/~doki/cdrom.html>
       o  Evil in Your Mind - contains lots of links to other H sites.
         <http://www.a6.com/a6.html>

-hoka
    "et al", "and others". Used to denote that the author is a contributor to
    an anthology.

illust-shuu
    "Illustration collection", a deluxe-format book of illustrations by a
    particular artist (or on a particular theme). Their price usually ranges
    between Y1000-Y4000.

image album
    A CD of "mood music" for a particular manga (or novel, video game, etc).
    Hundreds of image albums are released every year. Image albums based on
    mangas are also known as "manga CDs" or "drama CDs".

japonisme
    A term used to describe the influence of Japanese culture on the West.
    Rutgers University hosts the International Center on Japonisme at the
    Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick, NJ.

kara-settei ^[$@%-%c%i@_Dj^[(B
    "Character design", the construction of personalities for manga, anime,
    movies, games or anything else. This usually includes costume design, and
    significant physical and psychological traits. The balance or overall
    quality of a character sketch is known as "dessin" ^[$B%G%C%5%s^[(B, after
    the French for "sketch".

ketsuekigata ^[$B7l1U7?^[(B
    "Blood type". In Japanese pop culture, blood type is thought to be related
    to personality. This belief became popular in the early '80s. Profiles of
    manga artists or characters from manga will often include blood type along
    with other statistics like age and place of birth. A very rough guide to
    blood types:

     A nervous, introverted, honest, loyal
     B  outgoing, optimistic, adventurous
     AB proud, diplomatic, discriminating
     O   workaholic, insecure, emotional

kakioroshi ^[$B=q$-2<$7^[(B
    Describes manga which were never serialized on magazines, but instead were
    published first in tankoubon form.

kodomo-manga ^[$B;R6!L!2h^[(B
    Children's manga. The bulk of kodomo-manga is simple and unpretentious,
    aimed at 6-11 year olds. Stories with robots and fantasy settings are
    popular; there can sometimes be unusual levels of violence, by Western
    standards. Successful kodomo-mangas are almost always made into anime and
    merchandised to the hilt. The really popular kodomo-mangas, such as
    Doraemon, retain readers well into adulthood. Kodomo-manga styles and
    cliches are sometimes used for comic effect in other manga genres. The two
    monthly magazines are Korokoro Comic and Comic Bonbon.

lady's comic/josei ^[$B=w@-^[(B
    Manga aimed at the over-20s female market, particularly housewives and OLs
    (office ladies). They fulfil a similar role to Western pulp romance
    novels. A proportion of lady's comics are fairly racy.

lolicom/rorikon ^[$B%m%j%3%s^[(B
    Contraction of "Lolita complex". A Lolita complex (named after the
    character in Nabokov's novel) is an unhealthy desire for very young girls;
    the Japanese word is more slang and less clinical, but means more or less
    the same thing. The sub-genre of H manga featuring young-looking girls is
    known as "loli-manga". In the world of H-manga, the words "Lolita" and
    "bishoujo" ^[$BH~>/=w^[(B (pretty girl) are often used interchangeably.

mah-jong ^[$BKc?}^[(B (maajan)
    A whole sub-genre of manga centres around the Chinese tile game of
    mah-jong, which became popular in Japan about a century ago. Mah-jong
    mangas appeared in the late '70s, and their growth was propelled mainly by
    the work of artist Kitano Eimei ^[$@KLLn1QL@^[(B. The readers of mah-jong
    mangas are mostly in the 18-25 age group, and the market currently
    sustains about four magazines. One of the most popular mah-jong mangas of
    recent times is Naki no Ryuu ^[$@S-$-$NN5^[(B (by Nojou Jun'ichi
    ^[$@G=[j=c0l^[(B, serialized on Bessatsu Kindai Mahjong 1986-91, 9
    volumes/Y530).

manga ^[$BL!2h^[(B
    Etymology
    "Manga" is loosely translatable as "cartoon" or "caricature", or
    literally, "involuntary pictures". The term was coined in 1814 by the
    famous artist Katsushika Hokusai, and conveys a sense of free-flowing
    composition and quirky style. In Chinese and Korean, it is pronounced
    "manhwa", but is written with the same characters. First applied to
    scrolls and illustrations, the word "manga" does not mean "comic" or
    "comic books" any more than "karate" (lit. "empty hand") means "boxing".
    And it does not mean "sequential art" (for which there are many other
    words, such as "renga"), or "graphic novel" (a great deal of manga is
    neither fictional nor in novel format).

    The "man" character ^[$BL!^[(B in "manga" is composed of the radicals for
    "water" and "expansive" ^[$BRX^[(B. It previously meant "flooding", and
    later, "inexorably" or "indiscriminately". By association, it came to mean
    "involuntary" and "random". Publicity material from Western companies with
    "Manga" in their names (who distribute translated anime, not manga) states
    that "manga" means "irresponsible pictures"; this is utter, misleading
    nonsense.

    History
    A 12th-century drawing, the choujuu giga ^[$BD;=C5:2h^[(B ("birds & beasts
    frolicking pictures"), is conventionally regarded as the first work in the
    Japanese manga tradition. It was drawn by the Buddhist monk Toba, and
    light-heartedly depicts animals behaving like humans. Nowadays, it is
    regarded as a cliche and has been frequently satirised.

    Related traditions include "zenga" ^[$BA52h^[(B, caricatures of Zen monks
    used as aids to enlightenment; Shumboku Ouka created "Toba-e" (c.1702);
    there were "Ootsu-e" ^[$BBgDE3(^[(B, popular comical drawings, named after
    the place of their origin; "kyouga" ^[$B682h^[(B ("crazy pictures"),
    single-panel scenes of strange events; and explicit, erotic woodblock
    prints, called "shunga" ^[$B=U2h^[(B ("spring pictures"). (The latter are
    well known to the West, but due to censorship laws, cannot be fully
    reprinted in the country of their origin.)

    The 19th century saw the re-emergence of ukiyo-e and the appearance of
    satirical drawings such as "tanuki-e" and "namazu-e" ^[$BrP3(^[(B
    ("catfish pictures"); the catfish being associated with social upheaval.
    The magazine Punch came to be particularly influential, with a Japanese
    version appearing in 1862. The word "ponchi-e" subsequently came to
    describe European-style caricatures. In the same style, but more local and
    innovative, was the Marumaru Chinbun ^[$BT%T%DAJ9^[(B, released in 1877.
    It used speech balloons and some Western drawing techniques. The first
    4-panel strip, featuring typeset speech, was published in 1902. The
    American comics explosion of the 1920s influenced many Japanese
    cartoonists and had some impact at the popular level, although most titles
    had to be re-drawn for Japanese audiences.

    Manga did not enjoy widespread popularity until after WWII, when Tezuka
    Osamu began his experiments in the early 50s. Tezuka drew on many artistic
    traditions from Japan and elsewhere, searching for the most effective
    techniques. He was particularly interested in cinema, and all his manga
    have a highly developed cinematic quality. Tezuka was also interested in
    animation, and eventually studied at Disney studios in the late 60s.
    (Ironically, Disney's 1994 movie, The Lion King, is widely believed to
    have copied Tezuka's 1960s manga Jungle Emperor.) But rather than
    slavishly copying Disney's aesthetic, Tezuka strived to understand the
    relationship between character drawing and economical storytelling. His
    success led to a new, distinctly Japanese form of graphic narrative, and
    paved the way for the rapid growth of the manga industry. Many prominent
    artists in the 60s and 70s were former assistants of Tezuka.

    Outside Japan
    In Taiwan, translated Japanese manga and anime have been popular for many
    years. This growth was in part made possible by the proliferation of
    bootleg translated mangas, which were very cheap, widely available and
    closely resembled the originals. Their crude translations and
    correction-fluid censorship did nothing to dampen buyers' enthusiasm. The
    1992 crackdown on manga piracy in Taiwan (and other Asian countries, where
    the situation was similar) catalysed the pirates into quickly buying
    translation rights and "legitimising" themselves. (The translation quality
    of the official versions is said to be variable, but generally better.)
    Today, manga in Taiwan is booming, with many dedicated bookstores and
    libraries. Shoujo manga, doujinshi and Japanese cult artists (such as
    CLAMP) have considerable followings. Seinen-manga is said to be less
    popular because of compulsory military service. The local manga scene has
    produced some accomplished manga-kas, such as Tsai Chih Chung and Chen
    Wen, who have both had their work translated into Japanese; some Taiwanese
    manga-kas now draw exclusively for Japanese magazines.

    The weekly Hong Kong magazine Family Comics, which for years carried
    informed manga news, reviews, and translations of several cult titles,
    ceased publication in 1993; a mad scrabble for Japanese manga rights
    ensued. Today, the price and quality of manga translations has increased
    markedly, and manga translation has become big, legitimate business.
    Shounen mangas such as Dragonball and Slam Dunk, which are well-known
    throughout Asia, are especially popular in Hong Kong.

    Japanese manga and magazines are becoming increasingly widespread in South
    Korea. Korean manga pirates have also disappeared recently, with royalties
    being paid for all translations of Japanese manga. The Korean market
    currently has about twice as many shoujo-manga magazines than
    shounen-manga magazines. Martial arts mangas are also popular. and Korean
    manga-ka I Jie-Hak ^[$BM{:\U\^[(B was commissioned to draw the wuxia manga
    Ryuugin Houmei ^[$BN66cK1LD^[(B for Kodansha.

    In Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, many 60s-era mangas have been
    translated for local audiences. Original Japanese and Chinese-translated
    manga can be found in all major Malaysian cities. Several children's manga
    (e.g. Doraemon) have been translated into Malay. However, in general, one
    cannot obtain manga containing 'gratuitious sex and graphic violence' in
    Malaysia. The situation in Singapore is similar, but pages are sometimes
    torn out of imported Japanese magazines, in accordance with local
    censorship laws.

    Manga has been slowly gaining a readership in many Western countries. In
    most cases, Westerners have been introduced to manga via anime, which is
    now fairly accessible via mainstream outlets. At the moment, mangas are
    particularly popular in Spain, Italy and France, where a wide range of
    titles have sold well. In the United States, translated manga has been
    trickling into comic shops for the best part of a decade, witht some
    minimal impact. They have been largely released in 30-page comic-book
    format, which most Japanese call "honyaku komikkusu"
    ^[$BK]Lu%3%_%C%/%9^[(B (translated comics) or "eigo-ban" ^[$B1Q8lHG^[(B
    (English version), not "manga". Comic artists such as Adam Warren and Ben
    Dunn have used anime as the main inspiration for their work, the former
    releasing licensed adaptations of the Dirty Pair and Bubblegum Crisis
    animes. (Usually, only titles with an accompanying anime are considered
    for adaptation.) Some American fans have drawn anime doujinshis and sold
    them at Comikets, and a few superficial, cosmetic aspects of manga art are
    now being appropriated by "mainstream" American comics.

    See also:
       o  fj.rec.comics Comic Lists - a hugely useful reference, listing all
         manga titles, artists, publishers and prices since 1987. (in
         Japanese).
         <http://www.comm.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp/~tanaka/comic-page/comic_list.html>
       o  Database of Manga Bookstore in Japan - (in Japanese).
         <http://yindy1.aist-nara.ac.jp/ncaa/comics_map.html>
       o  Tezuka's Jungle King and Disney's Lion King - some images and
         several useful articles.
         <http://bronze.ucs.indiana.edu:80/~tanaka/Tezuka_Disney/Tezuka_Disney.html>
       o  Index of Anime and Manga information - an index of vaguely
         manga-related links.
         <http://www.cec.co.jp/usr/hasegawa/VirtualLibrary/Comic_Anime/e-index.html>
       o  The AFS Manga Gallery - a couple of scans from various manga.
         <http://www.cs.mun.ca/~anime/afs/manga.html>

manga-ka ^[$BL!2h^[(B^[$B2H^[(B
    Anyone who creates manga; a manga artist. Manga-kas are typically
    responsible for layout, pencilling, character design, and supply
    assistants with "art direction" information. about inking, screentone,
    sound effects and other details. In addition, the great majority of
    manga-kas write their own stories and dialogue. (Those who write stories
    for manga are called "gensaku-sha".) The professionalism of a manga-ka is
    often measured by the number of mangas they have running concurrently.

    In Japan, many manga-kas have celebrity status comparable to popular
    novelists or film directors in the West. They are often household names,
    and can command handsome salaries, especially if their work is animated or
    otherwise merchandised. (For example, Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball was
    licensed by over 70 companies for nearly 700 different kinds of products.
    Toriyama is reportedly paid 50,000 yen for each page.) Publishers stand to
    gain millions of yen if one of their artists' manga becomes a hit - as
    with Takeuchi Naoko's Sailor Moon, which more than doubled the circulation
    of Nakayoshi magazine within a few months of its debut. But until
    recently, even the most successful manga-kas usually had fairly informal,
    trust-based relationships with their publishers. (In 1993, Shougakukan
    paid Takahashi Rumiko a 7 million yen "loyalty" fee.)

    The most prolific manga-kas of recent years, in terms of numbers of
    tankoubons published (including reprints), are: Fujiko Fujio, Mizushima
    Shinji, Tezuka Osamu, Ishinomori Shoutarou, Tachihara Ayumi, Yokoyama
    Mitsuteru, Chiba Tetsuya, and Yagisawa Kimio.

    See also:
       o  Peter Evans' favourite manga-kas
         <http://www.tcp.com/doi/peter/down1/manga.html>
       o  Hiroyuki Hironaga's favourite manga-kas - with pictures.
         <http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~susanooh/manga.html#fav>

manga library
    The first dedicated Japanese manga library, located in Kawakami (Okayama
    Prefecture), was opened in May 1988. It boasted about 100,000 mangas,
    exhibits of original mangas, and antique manga magazines.

    There are few manga libraries in Japan, where the price and availability
    of manga makes them mostly unnecessary. However, manga rental libraries
    proliferate in Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. A handful have also appeared
    in some Western countries. These libraries usually stock thousands of
    tankoubons and the latest issues of best-selling magazines, along with the
    occasional CD or video collection. Most of these can be borrowed overnight
    or read on-site for as little as a few cents, charged by the hour or by
    the tankoubon.

mecha ^[$@%a%+^[(B
    Contraction of "mechanical(s)". A blanket term for any machinery, robots
    or equipment. It particularly refers to "giant robots", probably first
    used in the titles of some Godzilla films. Mecha design seems to have
    reacheda high art for anime productions, but has been less important for
    the success of manga. Contemporary manga-kas noted for their mecha designs
    include Nagai Gou, Nagano Mamoru, and Masamune Shirow.

    See also:
       o  Mechs & Machinery Gallery
         <http://www.cs.mun.ca/~anime/afs/mecha.html>
       o  rec.games.mecha <news:rec.games.mecha>
       o  Mel's Godzilla Page <http://www.ama.caltech.edu/~mrm/godzilla.html>

mook ^[$@%`%C%/^[(B
    Contraction of "magazine book". Mooks are books whose text is
    imaginatively typeset, and lavishly illustrated with photographs (mostly
    color) and drawings. "Roman album" is the brand name for anime mooks
    published by Tokuma Shoten.

otaku ^[$@%*%?%/^[(B
    "Fanatic". Slang word for hard-core fans of anything, roughly equating to
    "geek", "nerd", "fanboy", or "freak". Thus, a manga otaku is someone whose
    life revolves around manga to an extreme degree. (In Japan, this would
    probably entail reading or buying well in excess of 2000 pages/week;
    outside Japan, probably about half that.) The word usually has neutral
    connotations within fan culture, but in other contexts, it can carry very
    negative connotations. In Japanese, the word "mania" means much the same
    as "otaku", but has less extreme connotations.

    Literally, "o-taku" ^[$@$*$?$/^[(J is formal speech for "your house",
    which is also a polite, somewhat distant, second-person way of saying
    "you". The word came to be applied to those fans or hobbyists who rarely
    got out and mingled with the rest of society.

    (It is interesting to note that the English "fanatic" derives from the
    Latin "fanum", or temple/house - "fanaticus" being a devoted worshipper.)

    It has been speculated that the slang usage of "otaku" was coined by
    Shinda Mane ^[$@?7ED??;R^[(B, a manga artist active in the early '80s. The
    term was popularised by freelance writer Nakamori Akio in an article for
    the June 1983 issue of Manga Burikko. The otaku entered public
    consciousness in 1989 with the arrest of serial killer Miyazaki Tsutomu, a
    dedicated anime/manga otaku.

    See also:
       o  Anime Otaku: Japanese Animation Fans Outside Japan - a thoughtful
         assessment of Western anime otakus.
         <gopher://uclink.berkeley.edu:52673/00/issue13/anime>
       o  [...] Alienated Japanese Zombie Computer Nerds - from Wired
         magazine, a detailed but sobering account of otaku culture.
         <http://www.ncb.gov.sg/wired/1.1/otaku.html>
       o  Are You An Otaku? - a highly romanticised view, from Viz's Trish
         Ledoux. <http://www.internex.net/axcess/Issue6/contents.html>
       o Otakus were discussed in Mediamatic Magazine vol.5, #3.

nijikon ^[$BFs$8%3%s^[(B
    "2-dimensional complex". Refers to those who are more interested in
    two-dimensional (ie. anime or manga) girls than real people.

    See also: otaku

OAV (OVA)
    Original Video Animation, or anime created specifically for sale to the
    home market, without TV broadcast or theatrical release. Most OVAs sell
    for around 3000 yen (VHS format) or 6000 yen (laserdisc format).

    See also: Hitoshi Doi's ranking of OAV and anime movies

phonecard ^[$B%F%l%U%)%s%+!<%I^[(B
    A cheap, disposable credit card that can be used to make calls from public
    telephones, usually about 55mm x 80mm in size. They exist in Japan and
    elsewhere, though phone cards of different countries are not normally
    compatible. Manga magazines of all kinds often advertise or give away
    phonecards decorated with images from their most popular mangas. These
    often become collectors' items, like stamps or bubblegum cards.

    See also: Welcome to the world of Telephone Cards
    <http://www.funet.fi/pub/doc/telecom/phonecard/>

phonebook
    Western manga fans' word for thick, cheap manga magazines, which resemble
    phonebooks in their size and paper quality.

renga ^[$BO"2h^[(B
    "Sequential art/pictures". Another type of printed, graphic storytelling,
    differentiated from manga by its liberal use of page space (often only one
    panel per page), and sparing use of dialogue. Kodansha has been recently
    using renga to boost the circulation of its seinen-manga magazines. The
    word "renga" is not a contraction of the term "rensai manga"
    ^[$BO":\L!2h^[(B, which means "serialized manga (published regularly in a
    magazine)".

screentone ^[$@%9%/%j!<%s%H!<%s^[(B
    Transparent, adhesive plastic film printed with a pattern, usually
    mechanical halftone dots or lines. Illustrators and draughtspeople cut off
    pieces of screentone as a quick, accurate method of shading to artwork.
    (Another type of mechanical tint is rub-down tone, or transfer screens,
    where the pattern is burnished onto the artwork with a blunt implement.)
    There are many hundreds of screentone patterns and colours available. Some
    brands of screentone (usually only available in Japan) can have their
    printed surface scraped off to create highlights. Retail price is around
    500 yen for an A4 sheet.

    Most recent how-to-draw-manga books cover the basics of screentone use.
    Since the late 80s, many shoujo and shounen mangas are increasingly
    dependent on screentone as an artistic device. Pioneers in the field of
    screentone technique include Asamiya Kia, Hagiwara Kazushi, Katsura
    Masakazu, Kitagawa Shou and many others. However, an even newer trend is
    the use of computer-generated tone, which can be customized for individual
    panels.

    Screentone is sometimes mistakenly called "letratone", "ziptone",
    "zip-a-tone", "IC tone", etc., which are names of individual brands of
    screentone.

super-deforme
    A style of caricature which stunts the subject's height and simplifies
    their facial features, making them seem child-like. Also "SD" or
    "deforme".

seinen-manga (1) ^[$B@DG/^[(B
    "Youth" or "young man". (Manga magazines with "Young" or "Big" in their
    title are all seinen-manga magazines.) Nearly all seinen-manga is aimed
    primarily at 18-25-year-old males, though many readers continue to follow
    seinen-manga into their 30s and 40s.

    Compared to shounen-manga, which is aimed at a younger, broader audience,
    seinen-manga features even more graphic sex and violence, but tends to be
    less comic or outlandish in its depiction. Shounen-manga stories of exams,
    sport, and school life give way to stories about the world of salarymen,
    university students and drop-outs. Dramas and stories with political or
    corporate themes are especially popular, though there are a few
    SF/occult/fantasy seinen-mangas.

    Shuueisha offers Young Jump, the biggest selling seinen-manga magazine;
    Super Jump, for artists (and ostensibly, readers) who have "graduated"
    from Shounen Jump; and Business Jump, whose sex-sex-violence-sex formula
    is aimed at salarymen. Shougakukan's seinen-manga stable includes Big
    Comic Spirits and Big Comic Original; Futabasha's magazine Action has
    hosted many important seinen-manga titles. Kodansha sells Young Magazine,
    more or less aimed at delinquents, plus Morning and Afternoon, aimed at
    salarymen and otakus respectively, and known for their innovative
    character.

    Accomplished seinen-manga artists of recent times include Kawaguchi Kaiji,
    Hirokane Kenshi, Egawa Tatsuya and Urasawa Naoki, many of whom were
    disciples of the previous generation of seinen-manga artists.

    In 1992, the biggest-selling seinen mangas were:
     Rank        Title        VolumesNumber of copies sold
     1   Golgo 13             1 - 86 59,000,000
     2   Oishinbo             1 - 38 57,000,000
     3   YAWARA!              1 - 26 32,000,000
     3   Be Bop High School   1 - 21 32,000,000
     5   The Silent Service   1 - 17 15,000,000
     6   Kachou Shima Kousaku 1 - 17 13,000,000
     6   3 x 3 Eyes           1 - 13 13,000,000
     8   Crayon Shinchan      1 - 5  9,000,000
     8   Shonen Ashibe        1 - 6  5.000,000
     10  AKIRA                1 - 6  3,900,000

seinen-manga (2) ^[[email protected]/^[(B
    "Adult", ie., a synonym for H-manga. Warning labels bearing the words
    "seinen komikku" were added to H-manga in January 1991, after the
    much-publicized stir caused by a housewife who found erotic material being
    sold within easy reach of 14-year-olds.

sensei ^[$B@h@8^[(B
    Honorific title roughly equivalent to "Master", "Dr.", "Teacher", bestowed
    upon senior, respected professionals of any kind. These days, most manga
    artists are addressed as "sensei".

shoujo-manga ^[$B>/=w^[(B
    "Girls' manga". Shoujo-manga is the genre targeted at young female manga
    readers between 6 and 18 years of age. The classification is not based on
    storytelling style, artistic style, or even content - if a publisher
    designates a manga as intended for a young female audience, then it is
    shoujo-manga. Full stop. (Of course, girls do not limit themselves to
    shoujo-manga and many are readers of Shounen Jump.)

    A pioneering shoujo-manga was Tezuka's Ribon no Kishi
    ^[$B%j%\%s$N53;N^[(B. Published in a girls' magazine in the mid '50s, it
    inspired other artists to draw for female readers. Many of these were
    women who thought they knew their audience better than male manga-kas, and
    fostered the rapid growth of the shoujo-manga market. Some of the most
    famous names from this era are Ikeda Ryouko ^[$@CSEDM}Be;R^[(B, Hagio Moto
    ^[$@GkHxK>ET^[(B, and Ohshima Yumiko ^[$@BgEg5];R^[(B. Today, there are
    many successful female manga-kas, and most shoujo-manga artists are women.
    Of course, there are also male shoujo-manga artists (eg. Wada Shinji),
    just as there are female shounen-manga artists (eg. Takahashi Rumiko).

    Shoujo-manga is at least as diverse as any other type of manga,
    encompassing a huge variety of styles and genres. In fact, shoujo-manga
    accounts for about 35% of all manga published in Japan today. Because of
    this diversity, it is difficult to talk about general defining
    characteristics of shoujo-manga. There are always many exceptions to the
    rule. But as a very rough guideline, it might be said that the typical
    shoujo manga:

       o emphasises emotions, atmosphere and mood, rather than action.
       o uses less literal ("A then B then C") storytelling, and more
         impressionism and montage.
       o rarely depicts "ugliness", unless heavily stylized.
       o shows considerable attention to details of costume and dress.
       o is rarely made into anime. (This is mainly due to marketing reasons;
         shoujo-manga have less fanatical followings. Those few which have
         been animated are mostly targeted at under-10s. There are some
         exceptions, but in most of these cases, males were part of the
         anime's target audience.)

    A common misconception about shoujo-manga is that the genre is limited to
    romance stories only, or that some subject matter is off-limits. This is
    wrong - it is true that drama and romance stories are prevalent, but they
    are only a part of the shoujo-manga tradition that also includes fantasy,
    SF, "mystery" (thriller), and horror. (Some shoujo mangas contain no
    romantic or sentimental elements whatsoever.) For example, shoujo horror
    mangas can be at least as explicit or shocking as anything aimed at a male
    audience, and shoujo-manga actually dominates the horror manga market.

    Another misconception is that certain shoujo-manga for pre-teens, such as
    Sailor Moon, Magic Knight Rayearth, Akazukin Chacha and Wedding Peach are
    typical or mainstream shoujo-manga titles. In fact, they are exceptional
    titles whose cuteness makes them popular among male otakus.

    An increasing number of men are turning to shoujo-manga, often after
    burning out on years of formulaic shounen-manga, or via the influence of
    female friends and relatives. ("It was just lying around the house...")
    While this may have been slightly stigmatic in the past, it turns no heads
    these days. There is also the rise of "unisex" manga magazines such as
    Wings and South, and artists such as CLAMP and Kouga Yun, whose audience
    is increasingly less gender-specific.

    A few important shoujo-manga magazines are: Nakayoshi and Ribbon (for
    under-6th graders), Lala and Hana to Yume (for teenagers), Susperia
    (horror), Wings ("unisex"), and Margaret.

    There are many shoujo-manga fans on the net, mostly posting to a mailing
    list devoted to shoujo manga and anime:
         send subscription requests to [email protected]
         send postings to [email protected]

    NB: The word "shoujo" should be written and spoken with the long "ou", to
    avoid confusion with the word "shojo" (^[$B=h=w^[(B, meaning "virgin").

    See also:
       o Miho Nishida's Griffin Manga Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8.
       o Shoujo Anime/Manga List
         <http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~susanooh/manga.html#shoujom>
       o Images of some Shoujo Manga
         <http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~susanooh/Manga/shoujoimages.html>
       o Puff magazine synopses
         <http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~susanooh/manga.html#puff>
       o Takayuki Uchikoba's home page (in Japanese).
         <http://www.komaba.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~g340563/comics.html>

shounen ^[$B>/G/^[(B
    Boy, or youth. The first mangas to achieve mass circulation, and to be
    printed in "phonebook" format, were aimed at the shounen audience. Today,
    shounen-manga still have the largest market share, and most shounen
    magazines are weekly "phonebooks". However, quite a few adults and teenage
    girls are loyal shounen-manga readers.

    Some significant shounen mangas and their specialties are Shounen Jump
    (aimed at everyone), Shounen Sunday (inner-city dwellers), Shounen
    Magazine (sports-oriented, also the longest running manga magazine
    currently in print), Shounen Champion (catering to macho types), and
    Shounen Captain (for otakus). Of these, Shounen Jump is the biggest
    seller. It is a weekly of about 450 pages' length, read by nearly 7
    million people each week, making it the most popular manga magazine in
    Japan. Up-to-date Japanese issues of Shounen Jump can be even be found in
    Chinatowns all over the world. Shounen Jump's success is due to a winning
    formula of combining action, drama, and sensationalism in addictive,
    drawn-out sagas. All its mangas contain three essential elements:
    "doryoku, yuujou, shouri" ^[$BEXNO^[(B,^[$BM'>p^[(B,^[$B>!Mx^[(B (effort,
    friendship, triumph). While competitors have tried to emulate the formula
    (with limited success), it also has its down side. Shonen Jump mangas are
    infamous for dragging on well past their use-by date, and draining the
    hardiest manga-kas of their creativity and artistic freedom. However,
    Shounen Jump has retained its leading position for years, and will
    probably stay at the top for years to come.

tachiyomi ^[$BN)$AFI$_^[(B
    "Browse", literally "Read while standing". Many bookstores frown on those
    who tachiyomi, and take precautions to stop customers stealing free reads.
    There will often be signs forbidding tachiyomi - if ignored, bookstores
    often respond by sealing their stock in plastic bags.

tankoubon ^[$BC19TK\^[(B
    "Separate volume", or book. Mangas are sold in tankoubon format after
    being serialized in magazines, with each tankoubon containing around 5-11
    instalments. Most manga tankoubons are softcover, of about 200 black &
    white pages in length, and sell for around 400 yen. However, there are a
    large number of semi-standard formats, generally conforming to metric page
    sizes.

    Some common versions ("-ban"):
    aizou-ban ^[$@0&B"HG^[(B (special or hardcover version)
         Around 300-1200 pages, costing Y600-2000.
    anime-ban ^[$@%"%K%aHG^[(B (colour anime comics)
         Normal tankoubon size, at about twice the price.
    kaizoku-ban ^[$@3$B1HG^[(B (pirate or bootleg version)
         Same as the original, more or less.
    wide-ban ^[$@%o%$%IHG^[(B, gouka-ban ^[$B9k2ZHG^[(B (deluxe version)
         Around 400-1200 pages, costing Y400-1200. Pages may be slightly
         larger than the original printing. (Often just another name for
         aizoku-ban.)

    Tankoubon sales account for a large proportion of a publisher's profits,
    while magazines barely recover their costs, especially those with high
    circulations. However, magazines may occasionally include short stories or
    colour pages which rarely, if ever, find their way into tankoubons.

    The English word "comics" ("komikkusu") is used interchangeably with
    "tankoubon", although "komikkusu" is not usually used to describe Western
    comics.

    See also: Yomuzou's Weekly Manga Bestseller Lists
    <http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~susanooh/manga.html#weekly>

ukiyo-e ^[$BIb@$3(^[(B
    "Floating world pictures", depicting life in Edo-period Japan. The
    "floating world" was originally a Buddhist term referring to the transient
    nature of life, but later came to mean a hedonistic obsession with living
    for the present. Thus, ukiyo-e were pictures of life's ephemeral
    pleasures.

    Moronobu Hishikawa created the first ukiyo-e in the 1670s after
    discovering how to make monochrome woodblock prints. (Moronobu is also
    known for producing at least 150 illustrated books.) With with further
    improvements in publishing technology, such prints became very popular in
    the mid-18th century. Harunobu Suzuki created full-colour nishiki-e
    ^[$B6S3(^[(B and Kitagawa Utamaro created ookubi-e with detailed
    backgrounds, often adorned with mica. The standard declined as the market
    became saturated, but in the 19th century, Katsushika Hokusai and Ando
    Hiroshige reinvented ukiyo-e with their vibrant, dynamic approach. In the
    Meiji period, ukiyo-e sometimes appeared in packing material for goods
    sent to Europe, and caught the attention of impressionists such as Degas,
    Manet and Van Gogh.

    Today, ukiyo-e seems to be more appreciated in the West than in Japan.
    However, some manga artists, such as Maruo Suehiro, feature a strong
    ukiyo-e sensibility in their work. Characteristics of ukiyo-e can also be
    found in many mainstream mangas, though this is due more to cultural
    diffusion than direct influence.

    See also: Jim Breen's Ukiyo-E Gallery
    <http://www.rdt.monash.edu.au/~jwb/ukiyoe/ukiyoe.html>

UFO catcher
    A type of game machine found in Japanese game arcades (and elsewhere,
    where it is known by other names). The machine is filled with dolls, often
    of manga/anime characters, which can be grabbed by a mechanical hook under
    the player's control.

    See also: Hitoshi Doi's UFO Catcher Doll Image Gallery
    <http://www.tcp.com/doi/doi/ufo/ufo.html>

yon-koma (4-koma)
    A short manga, aka "gag strip", usually (but not always) four panels in
    length. 4-koma manga are carried in newspapers and most manga magazines.
    Panels are arranged vertically, finishing at the bottom of the page.
    Themes of 4-koma manga are typically light-hearted and heavily stylised
    but, like their Western counterparts, can have serious intent. Many
    elements of 4-coma manga style have found their way into full-length
    mangas.

    In the late 70s, Ishii Hisaichi gained attention for his alternative
    approach to 4-koma manga, which soon became the norm. Other important
    4-koma manga artists include: Aihara Kouji, Akizuki Risu, Asakura
    Sekaiichi, Hori Nobuyuki. Igarashi Mikio, Kikuni Masahiko, Nankin, Saibara
    Rieko, Togashi Yasutaka, Yaku Mitsuru, and Yoshida Sensha. There are
    4-koma monthlies (eg. Manga Club) and on occasion, popular 4-coma mangas
    have been animated (eg. Shonen Ashibe).

yaoi ^[$@$d$*$$^[(B
    Abbreviation for "yama-nashi ochi-nashi imi-nashi", which can be roughly
    translated as "no climax, no resolution, no meaning". The characteristic
    feature of yaoi manga is male homosexual love, usually between characters
    from well-known stories. It is also known as "shounenai" ^[$B>/G/0&^[(B
    (boys' love) or "shotacom" (regarded as the opposite of "lolicom"). The
    yaoi phenomenon closely parallels the growth of "slash" fan fiction in the
    West.

    Yaoi more or less began in the early '80s, after the publication of the
    magazine June. (Strictly speaking, June is a "tanbi-kei" ^[$BC?H~;e^[(B
    magazine.) Today, there are several yaoi manga magazines, but doujinshis
    still account for the greatest proportion of yaoi in print. It is believed
    that doujinshis of the shounen soccer manga Captain Tsubasa were largely
    responsible for the growth of yaoi. As a result, Comiket is currently
    dominated by yaoi doujinshis, although yaoi doujinshis are thought to have
    already reached saturation point, according to a chairman of Comiket.
    Mainstream publishers are increasingly turning to yaoi anthologies to
    compensate for the declining sales of gekiga-based lady's comics.

    Nakajima Azusa (aka Masuyama Norie) is an important novelist and essayist
    specialising in the yaoi/shounenai genre.

    See also:
       o  Yaoi Magazines List (from Puff).
       o  Susan Schnitger's Slash FAQ
         <ftp://ftp.lysator.liu.se:/pub/blake7/misc/slash.defense>
       o  The Alternate Universes of Women's Fan Fiction - an appraisal of
         "slash" fandom. Many of the observations are also relevant to the
         yaoi genre. <http://bhasha.stanford.edu/~cherny/slash-cut.html>

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The pictures in the HTML version of this document are included for review
purposes. They are left uncaptioned as an "exercise for the reader". (^_^)

Many thanks to the following contributors, who provided information for various
entries:

    Gene Fornario ([email protected]) - seinen
    Christopher Fu ([email protected]) - manga (Malaysia)
    ITO, Takayuki ([email protected]) - 2dc, doujinshi, deforme
    Tonghyun Kim ([email protected]) - manga (Korea)
    Chih-Ping Kuo ([email protected]) - wuxia
    Cynthia Ma ([email protected]) - yaoi
    David Mou ([email protected]) - wuxia, manga (Taiwan)
    Miho Nishida ([email protected])- shoujo
    Steve Pearl ([email protected]) - japonisme
    Crystal Poon (via [email protected]) - blood type
    Kenichiro Tanaka ([email protected])
    Alex Wong ([email protected]) - manga (Hong Kong)
    Ishigami Yoshitaka (74110,[email protected])

Special thanks to Kunio Muto and Ryo Shiroma, who proofread this glossary,
checked most entries and greatly improved its quality:

    Kunio Muto ([email protected])

    Ryo "W2/JH1CUV" Shiroma ([email protected])

References (books and magazines):

    Henshall, Kenneth G. A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters. Charles
    E. Tuttle & Co., Japan, 1988.

    Kobayashi, Tadashi. Ukiyo-e: Great Japanese Art. Kodansha, 1983.

    Schodt, Frederik. Manga! Manga! The world of Japanese comics. Kodansha,
    1982.

    The Concise Oxford Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 1985.

    Marco Polo magazine, May 1993.

    Japan as it is - Nihon tateyoko. Gakken, 1990.

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Copyright (C) 1995, Iain Sinclair and the aforementioned contributors. Comments
and corrections are welcome, and should be e-mailed to the editor. Sale of this
  FAQ and its sub-FAQs, or their use in commercial publication, is strictly
    forbidden without written consent of the editor. This work may not be
              reproduced or redistributed in whole, or in part.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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