Manga (まんが) are Japanese comic books; comic book writers are called Manga-ka (まんがか). The word Manga was first used by the 19th Century Ukiyoe artist, Katsushika Hokusai (かつしか ほくさい).
Tezuka Osamu (てづか おさむ), who lived from 1928 to 1989, is known as “The Father of Modern Manga” and “The Japanese Walt Disney” for his contribution to the Japanese manga and anime industries. Tokiwa-sou(ときわそう) is an apartment building in Tokyo where many popular manga artists lived before they became famous. Tezuka Osamu (who wrote Astroboy or てつわんアトム) and Fujiko Fujio (who wrote Doraemon or ドラえもん) were among the residents of Tokiwa-so.

Manga Kissa (まんがきっさ) or Manga Cafés are places where you can read manga as long as you would like for only a small entrance fee. Comic Market or Comiket (コミケット) is a Japanese bi-annual comic book convention in Tokyo that attracts over 700,000 people from all over the world.

Anime, also called Japanimation, is hand-drawn or computer-generated animation originating from Japan. The word Anime (アニメ) is the shortened form of the Japanese term for animation (アニメーション). The first anime in Japan was released in 1917. It was called Namakura Gatana (なまくらがたな), and it was a 5-minute-long film. In 1963, Tezuka Osamu’s (てづかおさむ) Astro Boy, or Tetsuwan Atomu (てつわんアトム), became one of the first Anime series to be broadcast on television in both Japan and the US.

By 2000, over 100 anime television shows were aired in Japan, including Pokemon (ポケモン), Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール), Sailor Moon (セーラームーン) and One Piece (ワンピース). Many television anime series are based on a best-selling manga whose popularity continues today. Today, many of these popular Japanese anime television shows can be watched in English in the US.

In the 1990s, Japan began incorporating computers into the animation process. Princess Mononoke (もののけひめ) by Miyazaki Hayao’s (みやざきはやお) Studio Ghibli (スタジオジブリ) began mixing cel animation and computer-generated images. Miyazaki Hayao’s Spirited Away (せんと ちひろの かみかくし), is the first and only hand-drawn non-English-language animated film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Film. That was in 2003. Shinkai Makoto’s (しんかい まこと) Your Name (きみの なは), released in 2016, is the highest-grossing anime film worldwide. Demon Slayer (きめつの やいば) is a popular manga series. In 2020, the movie version was released in theaters and became the highest-grossing Japanese film ever in Japan.

Popular anime have influenced traditional live performances. One Piece (ワンピース), Naruto (ナルト), and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (かぜの たにの ナウシカ) have been performed by Kabuki actors. The Rose of Versailles (ベルサイユのばら), Haikyu (ハイキュー) and Gundam(ガンダム)have inspired live musicals called 2.5 Dimension Musical (2.5じげんミュージカル). These performances are a combination of anime. video game stories and musicals that has been performed since the 1960s.

Kurosawa Akira (くろさわ あきら), one of the most well-known Japanese filmmakers of all time, influenced several Hollywood movies. His film, The Hidden Fortress (かくしどりでの さんあくにん) was the inspiration for Star Wars. The Seven Samurai (しちにんの さむらい) is the basis for the American movie, The Magnificent Seven.

The movie Godzilla (ゴジラ) first appeared in 1954. The success of the movie about the fictional monster, or Kaiju (かいじゅう), paved the way for many other similar films to be produced for over half a century in both the US and Japan.

Many people say that the plot and characters in Tezuka Osamu’s 1965 epic anime, Jungle Emperor Leo (ジャングル たいてい レオ), resembles Disney’s animated movie, Lion King, which was first released in 1994.

Princess Mononoke (もののけひめ), an animated film created by Miyazaki Hayao (みやざき はやお), is said to have inspired James Cameron’s movie, Avatar.

Neon Genesis Evangelion (しんせいきエヴァンゲリオン), a Japanese animated television series, is said to have inspired the designs of the Autobots and Decepticons in Michael Bay’s Transformers films.

J-Pop is short for Japanese popular music, and it refers to Japanese popular music with a Western influence, like rock-n-roll, R&B, Hip Hop, rap, etc.

Many popular Japanese boy bands belong to the talent agency Johnny & Associates, or Johnny’s (ジャニーズ). The boy band Arashi (あらし)’s 2019 compilation album became the best-selling album in the world at the time. The group suspended their activity on December 31, 2020.

Akimoto Yasushi (あきもとやすし) is a music producer who creates girl idol (アイドル) groups, like AKB48. AKB stands for AKIHABARA (あきはばら), the area in Tokyo that is popular among pop-culture fans. He later created other sister groups in Japan and abroad: HKT48 (Hakata), NMB48 (Namba), SKE48 (Sakae), JKT48 (Jakarta), MNL48 (Manila), BNK48 (Bangkok), BJE 48 (Beijing), SHY48 (Shanghai), SGO48 (Saigon), MUM48 (Mumbai), etc.

Anime Songs, or Anison (アニソン), refers to anime music and are among the most popular and best-selling type of music in Japan. Gurenge by LiSA became one of the top anime songs in 2020.

Songs made by Vocaloids (ボーカロイド), a music synthesizer created by Yamaha Corporation in 2007, are also popular. Hatsune Miku (はつねミク) is a popular vocaloid character. She is featured in over 100,000 songs released worldwide.

Japan has designed and produced many cute, or kawaii (かわいい), characters that have become popular around the world. Sanrio and San-X are two Japanese companies that have created some of the most iconic Kawaii Characters. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories that are sold worldwide, including at specialty brand retail stores in Japan. Sanrio's best-known character is Hello Kitty (ハロー・キティ), whose full name is Kitty White (キティ・ホワイト).

apan has mass produced sweets and candy since the 1860s. Many of them are loved by people all over the world. Many American products are also popular in Japan, though they may come in flavors that are exclusive to the Japanese market.

Many Japanese snacks are also loved by people all over the world.