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Kyoto hopes traditional houses will breed manga talent

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Kyoto hopes traditional houses will breed manga talent

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Kyoto hopes traditional houses will breed manga talent

Aspiring manga artists are being encouraged to live together in traditional "kyo-machiya" row houses as part of an effort to make Japan’s ancient capital into a force in 21st century pop culture.

Kyoto city government says it will provide financial assistance and help find the artists’ side jobs to cover their rent and living expenses.

The idea was inspired by Tokiwa-so, an apartment building which once stood in Tokyo's Toshima Ward and famously housed a community of manga artists, including well-known figures like Osamu Tezuka, Fujio Akatsuka, Fujiko Fujio and Shotaro Ishinomori. The building was torn down in 1982.

The city has been trying to build itself into an incubator of manga talent. Kyoto Seika University and Kyoto University of Art and Design in the city's Sakyo Ward both offer manga courses, but no graduate from either program has yet made their name as an established, professional comic book artist.

via AJW

Published on Wednesday, 22 February 2012