San Francisco - Opening Sept. 27 at the de Young museum, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) invites visitors to fully immerse themselves in the world of manga through genga, exclusive programming with acclaimed manga artists and editors, and exciting on-site activations.
Art of Manga exhibition will run through January 25, 2026.
Featuring rarely exhibited, original drawings by legendary artists, Art of Manga spotlights manga, a genre of innovative Japanese comics and graphic novels.
Through more than 600 drawings, Art of Manga will enable visitors to gain an understanding of the medium’s immersive power and the social impact of manga in the world today.
Visitors will become fluent in reading manga after viewing the exhibition. Holding an extensive historical Japanese prints collection, the Fine Arts Museums is the first North American museum to have a large-scale exhibition presenting original drawings (genga) of manga, which traces its roots back to Japanese painting forms, 18th- and 19th-century woodblock prints, and Western comics and satire.
Manga by Akatsuka Fujio and Chiba Tetsuya kick off the exhibition and individual sections are dedicated to the work of artists Araki Hirohiko, Oda Eiichiro, Tagame Gengoroh, Takahashi Rumiko, Taniguchi Jirō, Yamashita Kazumi, Yamazaki Mari, and Yoshinaga Fumi.
The museum will come alive with the spirit of manga. Beshi, a slightly naughty but much-loved manga frog character created by Akatsuka Fujio, is known to many from the popular Catch BESHI!! Nintendo Switch game. Beshi will make the de Young museum its new home as it accompanies visitors through their Art of Manga exhibition experience.
How Manga is Made: ONE PIECE ONLY, an accompanying display shown for the first time in the US, will give museum visitors a glimpse into the creative process behind the celebrated ONE PIECE manga series.
The installation will follow the creative journey of the manga from the hand of Oda Eiichiro to the printing presses. A series of “treasure boxes” and films will reveal how a single sheet of paper is transformed into millions of printed volumes. Serialized in over 1,151 episodes and collected in 111 volumes (as of 17th of June 2025), ONE PIECE follows the thrilling adventures of protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, The Straw Hat Pirates.
Art of Manga concludes with a presentation of publishing company Shueisha’s innovative Shueisha Manga-Art Heritage (SMAH) initiative featuring work by artist Tanaami Keiichi. Blurring the boundaries between manga and fine art, SMAH examines new ways to enjoy and acquire manga art, such as limited-edition print runs created from genga that are linked to the blockchain.
Without the collective efforts of the following colleagues, this manga exhibition would not be possible: Chiba Tetsuya Production, Fujio Production, Furari Co., Futabasha, KADOKAWA, Kodansha, Hakusensha, Shogakukan, Shinchosha, Shueisha, and Smile Company.
Art of Manga is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and curated by Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere, Research Director of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, University of East Anglia in England.
For more information, visit https://www.famsf.org/exhibitions/art-of-manga
