University of Hawaiʻi
Yoshiko Okuyama
How characters with disabilities are represented in Japanese graphic novels, known as manga, and how disabilities affect people in Japan, are highlighted in a new book by a professor of Japanese studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.
Reframing Disability in Manga is Yoshiko Okuyama’s second published book supported by research and grant awards related to disability studies. In the new book, she focuses on several representative conditions of disabilities, including Asperger’s syndrome and visual impairments, as depicted in manga.
“Informed by numerous interviews with manga authors and disability activists, [the book] reveals positive messages of diversity embedded in manga and argues that greater awareness of disability in Japan in the last two decades is due in part to the popularity of these works, the accessibility of the medium, and the authentic stories they tell,” said Okuyama.