The newly-opened “Shueisha Manga-Art Heritage: Tokyo Gallery” is the very first permanent gallery operated by Shueisha, a publisher which will be celebrating its 100th anniversary soon. Under the vision of “manga is an artform that deserves to be passed down,” it displays and sells printed artworks with uncompromised quality ensured through the supervision of the authors and the publisher and by using the best materials and techniques.

Shueisha Manga-Art Heritage: Tokyo Gallery has opened in Azabudai Hills, a building that has recently opened in Azabudai, one of Tokyo’s prime locations. The gallery’s interior features spaces with many curves inspired by the way papers go through the inside of printers. It also has a 5.5 square meter ‘tearoom’ for displaying works such as wall scrolls, as well as a reservation-only lounge where you can take your time to choose works you may want to purchase. Furthermore, since these works are sold in limited quantities, their authenticity and history will be secured and recorded using NFT blockchain.

(C) 2023, Eiichiro Oda / Shueisha Inc. Exterior view of the gallery. Located in the newly opened Azabudai Hills.

(C) 2023, Eiichiro Oda / Shueisha Inc. The interior with many curves inspired by the way papers go through the inside of printers.

(C) 2023, Tite Kubo / Shueisha Inc. "A-an" is a 5.5 square meter tea room that fills the space with light and sound.

(C) 2023, Eiichiro Oda / Shueisha Inc. The reservation-only lounge space. You can put printed artworks on the table and consider what to buy.

Currently (as of December 2023) at the gallery, you can enjoy two exhibitions that invite you to think about the beginnings and the future of manga.

One of them is “Eiichiro Oda: ONE PIECE / Regenesis” that brought back an old manga printing method, which was used from 1945 through the late 1970s. With this method, etched metal plates (zinc plates) are used for the pictures of the manga, and the speech bubbles are cut out with a jigsaw, then embedded with letters. In recreating the method, one of the pages from the first episode of One Piece was chosen as the subject, making it a truly valuable art print.

They recreated the old method of printing using a metal plate with embedded letters.

One of the pages from the first episode of One Piece was printed.

The other exhibition is “Tite Kubo: BLEACH / The Millennium,” which focuses on passing on the manga culture for the next one thousand years to come. By having the paper go through a printer 18 times and printing black over and over again to create a multi-layered ink color and delicate lines, it has been given a unique texture as if it has been drawn on a Japanese paper with an ink brush in one go. The paper used for printing is a Mino-style Japanese paper, which is said to be the oldest type of paper in Japan. On top of its uncompromising quality of paper and printing, it comes with a special box to make sure that it will be preserved in a good condition for a long time.

(C) 2023, Tite Kubo / Shueisha Inc. Exhibition of “Tite Kubo: BLEACH / The Millennium,”

The print is also signed and stamped by the artist, Tite Kubo.

These exhibitions are set to be replaced with new exhibitions going forward. We highly recommend that you visit the gallery, which would definitely have a pivotal role in boosting the Japanese manga industry further.

■DATA Shueisha Manga-Art Heritage Tokyo Gallery Address: Azabudai Hills Garden Plaza A B1, 5-8-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo ※1 minute walk from Exit 5 of Kamiyacho Station on the Subway Hibiya Line Hours: 11:00~20:00 (by appointment only) ※Reservations are not required for the gallery. ※Reservations are required for the lounge, where works can be purchased. Closed: Mondays Official website:https://mangaart.jp Eiichiro Oda "ONE PIECE / Regenesis": November 24, 2023 (Fri) - February 29, 2024 (Thu) Kubo Taito "BLEACH / The Millennium": Friday, November 24, 2023 - Thursday, February 29, 2024

(Information as of December 2023)