"Knowing History via Manga," presented by Sean Michael Wilson


This lecture (in English) will be held Wednesday, May 23 at 7:00 PM at Lakeland University in Shinjuku.



Manga can be useful a way to make history easier to learn and more accessible and appealing to younger readers. Studies have shown that the mix of visuals and text in comic books is an excellent way to process and recall information. In this lecture, Sean Wilson will show examples from his own 13 manga books about Japanese history, including a focus on his new book, out in May 2018, on Saigo Takamori and the Satsuma Rebellion--the same subject of this year's popular NHK Taiga drama.


Scotland native Sean Michael Wilson is a graphic novel writer living in Japan. His books are often on themes of history, biography and social issues. He has had more than a dozen books published with a variety of US, UK and Japanese publishers, including a comic book version of /A Christmas Carol /('Best of 2008', Sunday Times), /AX:alternative manga /( 'Best ten books of 2010', Publishers Weekly), /Parecomic /(with an introduction by Noam Chomsky, his first contribution to a book in graphic form), /Fight the Power! A Visual History of Protest Amongst the English Speaking Peoples'/ (introduction by Tariq Ali) and several manga versions of Japanese classics, such as /The Book of Five Rings, Hagakure /and/ The 47 Ronin. /In 2016 his book /The Faceless Ghost/ was nominated for the prestigious Eisner Book Awards, and received a medal in the 2016 'Independent Publisher Book Awards'. In 2017, his book /Secrets of the Ninja /won an International Manga Award from the Japanese government - he is the first British person to receive this award.



For a map and directions to Lakeland's Shinjuku Campus, see our website:

_http://luj.lakeland.edu/Campus-Life/lakeland-lectures <http://luj.lakeland.edu/Campus-Life/lakeland-lectures>_


Lakeland Lectures are a forum for researchers, students and members of the public to discuss contemporary issues affecting Japan. Lakeland University has offered a U.S.-accredited liberal arts program in Tokyo since 1991. Lakeland's main campus is in Wisconsin, USA and was founded in 1862.