Japanese Notebooks : A Journey to the Empire of Signs

“An insightful book... It's a fascinating glimpse into the traditions of Manga, and a thoughtful meditation on Japanese culture.” —Starburst Magazine Japan is a place of special fascination for the acclaimed international comics creator Igort, who has visited and lived there more than twenty times, and worked in the country's manga industry for more than a decade. In this masterful new book—part graphic memoir, part cultural meditation—Igort vividly recounts his personal experiences in Japan, creating comics amid the activities of everyday life, and finding inspiration everywhere: in nature, history, custom, art, and encounters with creators including animation visionary Hayao Miyazaki. With beautifully illustrated reflections on subjects from printmaking to Zen Buddhism, imperial history to the samurai code, Japanese film, literature, and manga, this is a richly rewarding book for anyone interested in Japan or comic arts practiced at the highest level. “Igort's memoir is a rich, complicated meditation on art, cultural infatuation and the seen versus the remembered, all told in a collage of words, images, diagrams, photographs, history, ideas, feelings—and most surprisingly—of conflict.” —Chris Ware, author of Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth “Drawn with precise yet densely lavish style, it balances comic interludes, stranger-in-a-strange-land parables, and side essays on notable writers, filmmakers, and madmen. It's an almost overpoweringly lush book that manages to simultaneously romanticize a foreign culture and lampoon that romanticization.” —The Boston Globe “A captivating glimpse into the mind of an artist.” —Booklist (starred review)