An institute in Tokyo is displaying more than a dozen illustrations from among 3,000 collected from around the world to help victims of the March 11 disaster in northeastern Japan.
An institute in Tokyo is displaying more than a dozen illustrations from among 3,000 collected from around the world to help victims of the March 11 disaster in northeastern Japan.
Answering the call from award-winning animator Jean-David Morvan of France, hundreds of artists, including those from France, Belgium and Argentina, drew illustrations using the Great East Japan Earthquake as the theme to support disaster-hit Japan, the heartland of animation.
About 250 of the illustrations were used in the "Magnitude-9" collection book published in France. Fifteen of those pieces are being exhibited at the Institute of France-Japan in the Iidabashi area of Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward until Oct. 11.
"'Magnitude' also refers to an index for the brightness of stars," said Morvan, the chief editor of "Magnitude-9." "This implies the shine of the country that spawned Japanese animation, the most sought-after pop culture in the world. The book was compiled as a token of love for Japan."
Morvan was in Tokyo on the day the Great East Japan Earthquake devastated the Tohoku region. He experienced the shaking and then watched in horror at footage showing the tsunami sweeping away houses and buildings.
The price for the book is 3,800 yen ($49.74) and available from the Omeisha publishing house (phone number: 03-3262-7276). All proceeds from the project will be donated to disaster-affected areas. For inquiries, please contact the Institute of France-Tokyo in Tokyo at 03-5206-2500.