HK artist wins 1st Manga award
2007-06-29 12:17
Tokyo - Hong Kong artist Lee Chi Ching was named winner of Japan's first international "manga" comic award on Friday.
The 43-year-old won the award for his work Sun Zi's tactics which portrays the life of the famous Chinese military strategist at the end of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the government announced.
The comic has been translated into Japanese and published here.
Runner-up awards go to Kai, a 28-year-old from Hong Kong, Benny Wong Thong Hou, 30, from Malaysia, and Madeleine Rosca, 26, an Australian.
The creation of the International Manga Award was announced last month by Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso in an effort to promote Japanese culture.
Entries from 25 countries
It entails a 10-day visit to Japan for an award ceremony on Monday and meetings with Japanese manga artists, but no prize money.
"We had only a short period of time to promote the award, but we received 146 works from 25 countries," said Kazuhiro Nakai, director of the cultural affairs division at the foreign ministry.
Comics and cartoons, referred to as "manga" in Japan, are hugely popular among both adults and children.
The Japanese selection committee was headed by leading Japanese manga artist Machiko Satonaka.