Conference of the 30th anniversary of the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology, co-organized with the Department of Japanology and Sinology of the Jagiellonian University, 3–5 October 2024.

In 1994 Krakow witnessed the opening of the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology, created on the initiative of the Kyoto – Krakow Foundation of Andrzej Wajda and Krystyna Zachwatowicz-Wajda. The name of the Museum is a tribute to the collector of Japanese art, Feliks Jasieński (1861–1929), who, fascinated with Japanese woodblock prints, adopted this artistic pseudonym. It is our great pleasure to invite you to the conference on the 30th anniversary of Manggha, organized jointly by the Museum and the Department of Japanology and Sinology at the Jagiellonian University.

The word “manga” sparkles with ambiguity. It is commonly associated with Japanese comics, although art exprets tend to associate it with sketches by such ukiyo-e masters as Katsushika Hokusai, for example. It brings to mind the museum in Krakow and the figure of Feliks Jasieński. Manga combines high culture and pop culture, past and present, art and technology, East and West. Manga teaches and entertains, inspires and irritates. And so does Japan.

The theme of the conference is “ambiguity and diversity”. Japan can be “read” in many ways. It would be truism, of course, to say that Japan is a country full of contrasts, combining tradition with modernity. It is also easy to be tempted to exoticize and “deconstruct” Japan. However, the world changing at a dizzying pace creates new context for interpreting social and cultural phenomena, and often sharpens images from history that have faded in our memory. For example, contemporary worldview frictions are shedding new light on pre-war Japan, which stood up against the Western narrative of the world order. On the other hand, understanding the processes that changed and shaped Japan since the mid-19th century can help clarify our contemporary disputes over the historical narrative, reckoning with the colonial past, or the vision of the educational system. Today’s concerns about the rapid development of AI technology can help us understand the soul of 19th century Japanese, who were told almost overnight to adopt a new way of understanding the world. Faced with new knowledge and new facts, our perceptions of Japan are broader and more multifaced, and its picture more complex. By sharing the results of our work and reflections, we want to educate and inspire each other, and perhaps most importantly, to develop good, friendly relations.

Our conference is a return to the good tradition of live meetings. We are not planning online lectures or long series of presentations. By creating an opportunity for academic discussion, we adhere to the idea that the most creative ideas can arise over coffee, during casual conversation in between lectures.

We invite specialist representing Japanese studies in the broadest sense (literary studies, linguistics, history, art history, social and political sciences, cultural studies, religious studies and philosophy). The conference is planned for about 60 presentations. The conference languages are English and Japanese.

PROGRAM OF THE CONFERENCE

Please download the following PDF files: Manggha and Manga Schedule and Book of Abstracts.


ESSENTIAL INFORMATION

Organizers:
Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology, ul. M. Konopnickiej 26, 30-302 Kraków, Poland
Department of Japanology and Sinology, Jagiellonina University, al. Mickiewicza 9, 31-120 Kraków, Poland

Conference venue: Manggha Museum

Conference website: manggha-and-manga.confer.uj.edu.pl

Conference fee: PLN 450 for regular participants and PLN 100 for PhD students.

Please send the abstract by email according to the following template:


Deadlines and schedule: