Aspiring manga-ka in Nagoya city in Japan have recently been blessed with a manga café geared specifically toward them. Café owner, Yashuhiro Naitou — not to be confused with the creator of Trigun — has even outfitted the shop with equipment for manga-ka-in-training to use.
The establishment, named Manga Kukan, is no ordinary manga café though.
In addition to a collection of 10,000 volumes of various manga and offering equipment for manga production, the café is also host to professional lectures, the first of which was given by a Weekly Shounen Jump creator and a two-time Akatsuka Award-winning creator. Included in Manga Kukan’s vast collection are several out-of-print works by Shigeru Mizuki, Yumekichi Minatoya, Yoshiharu Tsuge and various other items from Naito’s own personal collection.
Naito, a manga enthusiast, says he established the café in order to help preserve the uniqueness of individual manga-ka after witnessing the closure of numerous manga magazines in recent years. Manga Kukan, he hopes, will help preserve and foster the creation of unique works.
