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Kaoru Mori's A Bride's Story Gets First Original Art Exhibition

Kaoru Mori's popular manga A Bride's Story (Otoyome-Gatari) is getting its first original exhibition at TOKOROZAWA SAKURA TOWN in Tokorozawa city of Saitama prefecture. The exhibition is hosted by Kadokawa and will run from February 23 to March 21, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm JST. Tickets went on sale on January 28.

The Dai-Otoyome-Gatari Exhibition (dai simply meaning big) contains over 100 impressively detailed illustrations in both color and black and white, all hand-drawn by Mori herself.

Aside from the artworks, the exhibition will also feature a special lunch menu inspired by Central Asian cuisine, joint cultural events in cooperation with the representative embassies of Central Asia, and event merchandise designed with original illustrations by the author.

Mori also left a personal message about the exhibition, which reads as follows:

"A Bride's Story, set in Central Asia (or Central Eurasia at large), is a region that doesn't get much exposure in Japan. For it to be enjoyed by fans to the extent that I'm now able to share it to an even wider audience through an exhibition makes me very happy.

The exhibition isn't just about the manga, but also an introduction to Central Asian culture. Fans will of course enjoy the show, but even non-readers should have a good time learning about the region and each country's respective culture. Through the manga medium, a manga-ka like me is able to form a distant connection with my reader. With this exhibition however, I hope we are able to close that distance and establish an even deeper connection, even if by a little. The show runs about a month, which is longer than your typical exhibition, so please do give it a visit. I'm looking forward to it too."

Tickets for the exhibition can be purchased at Lawson Tickets. Two types of tickets are available: Regular and Special. Regular tickets cost 1,000 yen each, while Special tickets cost 2,500 yen each and come with a flat pouch and two character badges (randomly selected from five designs). Further details about the exhibition can be found here.

Kaoru Mori's A Bride's Story follows the journey of Henry Smith through 19th century Turkic Central Asia and the “otoyome” (beautiful brides) he meets along the way and their tribes. It began serialization in 2008, and has since been recognized by multiple awards, including the 2012 Intergenerational Award by the Angoulême International Comics Festival, the 2014 Manga Taisho Award, and being nominated for the 2016 Eisner Award. It is currently being published under Kadokawa's Aokishi magazine, with 13 volumes already released.

Source: Press Release