Danica Davidson
May 19, 2025 
In 1970, the Japanese island Takaikamishima had 184 residents, and in 2025, that number had dropped to 11. Residents on the island came up with a creative idea to get more people to move there, or at least visit: their own manga school.
The Takaikamishima Manga School opened last month. Resident Sadamu Kimura and Osamu Hasebe, who lives elsewhere but visits the island frequently, came up with the original idea.
Starting out, they got manga creator Takatoshi Yamada to help them. One of Yamada’s series is called Dr. Koto’s Clinic (it hasn’t been licensed in America, but its live-action adaptation previously streamed on Crunchyroll). That manga also takes place in a very rural island setting, and Yamada was sympathetic to the situation. He created a wall painting design for the island, and encouraged other manga creators to help out as well.
Now more than 30 giant manga illustrations can be seen on various buildings on the island.
Multiple professional manga creators were at the school’s opening ceremony. The opening came with a workshop for kids in elementary school and junior high. And the various mangaka who painted the illustrators are on-hand to teach students.
This is not a full-time school. It’s only open part of the spring and summer, and it provides six lessons and two full days of classes each month. It’s open to people of all ages, and it costs 80,000 yen (about $555). This money will also go toward things like meals. It takes no more than 30 students at a time.
Masanori Baba, another resident, commented, “Time passes slowly here with abundant nature and a community evoking a bygone era, providing inspiration for creativity. In addition, enrollees can learn manga techniques from prominent mangaka.”
Kimura also stated, “One of the graduates may become a famous mangaka some day. Some may even choose to live on the island because manga artists can work remotely.”
Source: Asahi Shimbun
Image Credit: Shinbo Nomura’s “Tsuru Pika Hagemaru” drawing via Asahi Shimbun
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
