Jōmon art comes to Niimi: manga artist Sakai exhibits 150 original works

Manga artist and archaeological illustrator Sakai presents her solo exhibition “Sakai Hiroko no Jōmon Manyūki” at the Infulai Museum in Niimi, Okayama Prefecture. The show brings together around 150 pieces, including original manga art, illustrations and costumes, and will be open until 29 November.

Sakai, 60, who lives in Ibaraki Prefecture, became interested in Jōmon culture when she was a student. She has spent four decades visiting archaeological sites across Japan and made her manga debut in 1996. Since then she has combined creating manga with reproducing hairstyles and clothing from the Jōmon period.

A journey through prehistoric Japan

The exhibition includes an aerial view of the Sannai-Maruyama archaeological site in Aomori, illustrations of the flame-style pottery from the Okinohara site in Niigata, and the series IBK48, which portrays 48 dogū figures found in Ibaraki in a pop style. Sakai explains that each Jōmon site has its own personality and that she hopes the show sparks public interest.

The museum is open from 9:30 to 17:00 and closes on Mondays, unless it is a public holiday, in which case it closes the following day. General admission costs 400 yen, 200 for high school students, and is free for junior high school students and younger.

For those of us who follow manga and archaeology, this exhibition is a chance to see how an author puts the richness of an ancient culture on paper. The Jōmon period keeps inspiring stories, and Sakai proves it with four decades of work.