Manga arrives at the British Museum

Culture of popular Japanese artform celebrated in display

London's British Museum is hosting a manga exhibition that delves into the history of the artform, how it emerged in Japan and how it went on to become a global cultural phenomenon.

The name manga translates as "pictures run riot". Its art is done in the form of comic books or graphic novels which have been popular in Japan for over 200 years, and are now a multi-billion-dollar industry.

The exhibition features high-profile loans from leading internationally famous manga artists including Astro Boy and Princess Knight's Tezuka Osamu, Toriyama Akira, creator of the popular Dragon Ball series, and Higashumura Akiko's Princess Jellyfish.

"Japanese manga has been translated into all languages all around the world and what that means is we can engage with the story," Tim Clark, curator and head of the Japanese section in the department of Asia at the British Museum, told China Daily.

"It's the pictures that grab our attention but then it's the story that keeps us reading and turning the pages. It's the power of the story telling, it creates a world for us, just between us and the manga book."