The Asahi Shimbun Display Manga now: three generations, explores manga’s diverse appeal through specially commissioned pieces by three contemporary manga artists. To celebrate the display, the exhibition’s three curators have each interviewed one of the featured manga artists.
In the first interview, Head of Japanese collections Tim Clark interviews Chiba Tetsuya – the leading master of manga in Japan. Born in Tokyo in 1939, Chiba Tetsuya has been creating best-selling works for over 50 years. He specialises in sports manga, in which an individual overcomes obstacles, experiences failure and finds eventual redemption. Chiba Tetsuya has a particular passion for golf and is known for his series Stay Fine (Ashita tenki ni naare), which tells the story of Mukai Taiyō’s journey from humble origins to the Open Championship at St Andrews. For this British Museum display, Chiba Tetsuya created a one-off scene of a young Japanese golfer crouching to contemplate a difficult putt on the green of Fair Isle Lighthouse Keepers golf course – one of the most remote courses in the world.
Chiba Tetsuya (b. 1939), Extract from ‘Stay Fine’ showing Mukai Taiyō in the Open Championship at St Andrews playing against Jack Niklaus. Ink on paper, 1990. (© Chiba Tetsuya)
Tim Clark: How do you create your storylines for your manga?
Chiba Tetsuya: Each work is different. It is always a human storyline intertwined with a particular sport. I go to where the sports are being played and watch the players – be it high school baseball or a Sumo dôjô. With golf there are so many tournaments all over Japan and the world. But the top is of course the British Open at St Andrew’s Old Course. I decided to travel there and play the course to understand it. Based on my personal experience, the Old Course played a pivotal role in Stay Fine.
Tim: What do you take as your inspiration?
Chiba Tetsuya: I read books, watch movies and meet people. I think that in the end individual people are my inspiration. One person whom I am inspired by is Helen Keller.
Tim: Do you play sports? What do sports mean to you?
Chiba Tetsuya: To be honest when I was young I did not have much to do with sports. But at one point I became unwell in my 20s for two years, from working too many long hours on manga, and I ended up staying at home. Then an editor asked me to try to write a baseball manga, which then I knew little about. He took me outside and we started throwing a ball around for a few hours. That evening I slept well for the first time in years and have not looked back since. I will try any sort of sport. It helps not only your body but also importantly your mind and well-being.
Chiba Tetsuya (b. 1939), ‘Fair Isle Lighthouse Keepers Golf Course, Scotland’. Ink and colour on paper, 2015. (© Chiba Tetsuya)
Tim: Does golf have a special place for you?
Chiba Tetsuya: Golf does have a special place for me. While I enjoy all sports, I feel golf is less a sport and more of a game against oneself. It is different from all other sports and so has a special place for me. I worked hard at my golf game and often went to the Arakawa River near my home in a local park to practice. It is hard to create a manga on golf as it is a solitary pursuit but that turned out to be a wonderful challenge for me.
Tim: Can you tell us how you created the protagonist of Stay Fine, Mukai Taiyō? What was your inspiration?
Chiba Tetsuya: There is a high school golf tournament in Japan called Midori Koshien. One team that surprising consistently won the tournaments was a rather average high school in Osaka. I went to see them practice. I realised they had an amazing coach, who, while rather chubby and silent, was inspirational and had the respect of the entire team, leading them to triumph. I based Mukai Taiyō loosely on that person.
The Asahi Shimbun Display Manga now: three generations is on display in Room 3 at the British Museum until 15 November 2016. Supported by The Asahi Shimbun.
