We didn’t go to many museums, but we did go to two small ones.
Manga and all things related are in the Manga Museum. There are single examples and books. The collected books go right back to the beginning of Manga. Visitors are welcome to sit and read the books and magazines in the library.
The museum shows how Manga has inspired artists and writers all over the world. In the Manga shop, you can buy Manga books (and those that have been influenced by Manga) from many countries.
Whilst walking around we came across various shops and a temple. Temples are everywhere and this one had some cherry blossom trees too.
The Kanji Museum was fascinating. It had a history of how the Japanese language has developed. The exhibitions were in Japanese, but the audio guide had brief translations.
The Japanese language seems formidable. When I previously went to Japan, I read a Teach Yourself Japanese book. Although I remained an absolute beginner, some things became more accessible. The language itself consists of three syllabaries. Kanji (which resembles Chinese characters) is used for the roots of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Hiragana is used to express the past, present and future, as well as articles and prepositions. Katakana is used for foreign words: the nearest sounds are picked to say a foreign word, which is why some Japanese words sound similar but not identical to English words. Since sometimes the exact sounds don’t exist in Katakana, the English pronunciation can’t be exactly replicated.
One thought on “Manga and Kanji Museums”