Eight hundred years ago an artist, whose life story is now lost to time, created what would become a national treasure in Japan. This was the first of four scrolls that now comprise the Choju Jinbutsu Giga, which translates roughly to “Caricatures of Animals and People”. This particular scroll is known for its anthropomorphic rabbits, frogs, monkeys, and other animals jumping, dancing, engaging in archery tournaments, having wrestling matches, and preparing feasts and prayers. Manga artist Fumiyo Kouno, probably best known to English-speaking audiences for her moving manga-turned-anime In This Corner of The World, brings the essence of this incredibly popular medieval artwork to Giga Town: A Guide to Manga Iconography!
Kouno’s art is, as always, gentle and captures the spirit of the Choju Jinbutsu Giga well, drawing the well known medieval animals in a more modern, pastoral setting. The reader follows the daily life of a small rabbit family and their frog and monkey neighbors. While most characters are not named, they wear items of clothing as identifiers, which utilizes some gender stereotypes. Female presenting characters are mostly denoted by aprons, bows, or skirts and are often seen doing domestic activities that male presenting characters do not participate in.
Giga Town is more of a reference book than a story readers should experience cover to cover. Each page is devoted to a symbol commonly found in manga that might represent a sound effect, time or seasonal context, or situations and emotions that would otherwise be difficult to fully depict visually. Along with a brief, clear description of the icon and its possible uses is a four panel vignette demonstrating the use of the symbol. Kouno’s work successfully increases the reader’s understanding and deepens their manga reading experiences. Some of these brief vignettes flow together in a short sequence, but most stand on their own. There is no overarching plot in Giga Town, just small slices of life illustrating common manga situations.
Originally published in Japanese in 2018, there are references to cultural situations that might be unfamiliar to English speaking audiences. The translated version solves this with cultural context boxes where necessary, briefly explaining what characters are doing or what item they are using so that they can be better understood by all readers. Making the guide even more accessible, a visual table of contents that includes just symbols and page numbers makes searching simple and straightforward. Tokyo based writer and reporter Matt Alt provides the book’s introduction, with a brief but helpful history of the Choju Jinbutsu Giga, along with a short overview of the manga industry and Kuono’s work as an artist.
There are a few depictions in Giga Town that some readers might find insensitive, beyond the rare, mild cartoon violence. In one of the vignettes, a female coded character requests and is shown being dragged across the floor by her hair. In another, a usually white rabbit returns from a trip with completely black fur and what seems like a large belly. As her friends comment on her size and dark complexion, it becomes clear that she was actually holding a sack and covered in dirt. Situations like these are rare, and are meant to comedically illustrate how a specific icon is used, but they could rub readers the wrong way.
Overall, Giga Town is a delight to read and learn from. As a reference, this would be at home in any tween, teen, or even adult focused manga collection. Regular and new manga readers, as well as aspiring manga artists will find the deeper understanding of manga iconography and cultural context valuable.
Giga Town: The Guide to Manga Iconography!
By Fumiyo Kouno
UDON, 2024
ISBN: 9781772943085
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Teen (13-16), Tween (10-13)
Creator Representation: Japanese,
