Current Status Report20251025
Added 2025-10-25 08:06:37 +0000 UTCHi, This is muchi.
I took a short trip to Nagasaki.
Nagasaki sits on the western side of Japan, in the Kyushu region, and is characterized by its intricately indented coastline and numerous islands.
Even during the centuries when Japan restricted contact with foreign countries, Nagasaki absorbed Dutch and other influences through trade. I could really feel the trajectory of many cultures blending together and flowing into the present.
As a busy trading hub, it’s naturally a port city—and Japan’s old port towns tend to share a certain atmosphere: architecture that mixes Japanese and Western elements, food clearly influenced by the West, mountains cupping a broad bay, and streets that climb steep, narrow slopes. Nagasaki was no exception.
Since Japan is so mountainous, gentle seas and rugged mountains often come as a pair.
I’ve also heard that, when it comes to manga backgrounds, Japanese artists tend to draw mountains. Now that I think about it, that rings true. On the flip side, we don’t have much to do with endless horizons, so there aren’t many chances to draw those.
Natural scenery and school settings in particular seem to show strong regional differences. It made me want to see a list of the kinds of scenes manga artists and illustrators around the world tend to draw!
