“The Art of NAOKI URASAWA” runs at Japan House Los Angeles (6801 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. 90028) from January 23 to March 28, 2019

Legendary manga artist Naoki Urasawa will drop by Japan House January 23 for a rare book signing and sold out talk to kick off “The Art of NAOKI URASAWA.” Frederick L. Schodt, manga historian and Osamu Tezuka biographer, will moderate the live drawing and talk.

Urasawa is a pioneer of the manga world. His stories “touch upon the hopes, dreams, and at times underlying fears of humanity.” Urasawa contributions have netted him three Shogakukan Manga Awards, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, the Angouleme International Cartoon Festival Intergenerational Award, and multiple Eisner Awards.

The free exhibit will introduce more than 400 original drawings and storyboards, as well as selected stories from seven of his major works. In addition, four consecutive YAWARA! stories will be released every other week to emulate the style of popular manga anthologies. Japan House Los Angeles will also offer manga-drawing workshops for all ages to run in tandem with the exhibition.