Lukas R.A. Wilde - Character Street Signs (hyōshiki) - “Mangaesque” Aesthetics as Intermedial Reference and Virtual Mediation

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys

Examines how “manga-ization” appears in Japanese everyday communication, especially in street signs (hyōshiki) encountered in stations, intersections, parks, and public buildings. The study analyzes mangaesque pictorial conventions—such as speech bubbles, speed/energy lines, and sound words—through signage that guides public behavior. Using mediation theory, it develops the idea of “mangamediation” as a virtual framing device that shapes recipients’ interpretive habits and coordinates action in shared spaces. The inquiry triangulates mediality, narrativity, kyara, and performativity.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Manga-ization of Japanese everyday life

Hyōshiki as situational communicative artifacts

Mangaesque aesthetics in public signage

Mediation framework

Mediality

Narrativity

Kyara

Performativity

Mangamediation concept

Lukas R.A. Wilde Character Street Signs (hyōshiki):“Mangaesque”Aesthetics as Intermedial Reference and Virtual Mediation Keywords: agency, character theory, kyara, mediation, working characters Introduction Since around the turn of the century, a “manga-ization” of Japanese daily life has been observed. Television commercials, cooking books, PR brochures, even leaflets by government agencies, and especially street signs (hyōshiki); they all seem to apply a certain “manga-pictoriality” to convey messages or information. Mangaesque hyōshiki are encountered within specific situational contexts, just as well as regular pictograms or street signs. They are installed at stations and intersections, in parks, or in public buildings. Their function is to communicate something or to draw attention to something that the accompanying textual information partly explicates. Sometimes, this “message” is left deliberately vague or open to interpretation. Often, we can read only “chūi” (Attention!) or “kimari omamorimashō ” (let’s stick to the rules!); which rules these should be must be inferred from the pictorial content. Recipients will usually be immersed in their daily routines as they encounter these communicative artifacts. They are about to enter a train station, to take a ticket, or to get on a train. In doing so, they have to share the available public space with other individuals, coordinate their movements on the streets or in queues, or ask themselves whether a specific mode of behavior (such as eating food, smoking, etc.) would be considered appropriate (and more precisely: when, where, how, in what circumstances). Many of these movements, actions, and modes of behavior are strongly habitualized. The collective coordination of movement in public spaces, in particular, is highly dependent on implicit or tacit knowledge that may not even be accessible to the individuals themselves (see Collins, 2010, 119–138; Kress, 2010, 159) . Hyōshiki thus enter into situational contexts, seeking to influence or modulate them in some respect. Figure 1: Manya-kun, the ‘working character protagonist’ of a series of instructive JRgraphics in Japanese train stations (photographs by the author, 2015 – L.W.) On the one hand, confusing these signs with “manga” on the basis of some formal similarities would be a huge neglect of other medial aspects, such as publication format, genre, institutional framework, cultural value, readership participation, and so on. On the other hand, the mangaesque aesthetics of many hyōshiki in contemporary Japanese public spaces —formal elements and representational conventions such as speech bubbles (fukidashi), speed lines (dōsen) and energy lines (dōkōsen), sound words (on’yu), or specific pictograms (keiyu)— cannot be denied. This can easily be demonstrated with recourse to a series of information graphics by Japanese Railway (JR), in which a cat conductor named Manya-kun is exposed to a spectacle of mishaps, embarrassments, and hazards (sometimes accompanied by a much less “officious” female companion named Manyami-chan, see figure 1) . Within the depicted settings, numerous passengers put themselves in dangerous situations by their carelessness. Pitiful Manya-kun encourages passers-by (or, rather, the actual recipients) to act with more mindfulness. The pictorial scene thus integrates countless interdependencies between (appropriate or inappropriate) forms of behavior and their consequences within a single spatial setting. All of this could perhaps be communicated verbally (or textually) as well, but only by the most tedious lists of enumerations. The following discussion indicates ways to conceptualize the relationship between manga as a medium, on the one hand, and signage in everyday contexts that is decisively not manga. The question I am interested incan be formulated as follows: is the difference between a regular pictogram and a mangaesque one just a matter of popularization or “cutific

FAQs

What are hyōshiki, and how do they function in everyday public spaces?

Hyōshiki are street signs that communicate or draw attention to information within specific contexts. They often leave the intended “message” vague, requiring recipients to infer rules from pictorial design.

Why is the concept “mangaesque” important for understanding certain Japanese signs?

The document argues that many signs use representational conventions associated with manga, not just generic pictorial similarity. This aesthetic choice affects how messages are framed and interpreted during real interactions.

How does mediation theory explain “mangamediation” in relation to signage?

It proposes that mangaesque signage operates as a form of mediation between social actors by activating and modifying interpretive frameworks. The result is a “virtual” communicative frame that guides behavior beyond mere decoration.

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys