Description of the attraction
On the banks of the Vistula River on Poleski Boulevard, you can see a whimsical Art Nouveau building, which seems to be pressed to the ground. Its halls are occupied by the Manggha Center for Japanese Art and Technology.
In 1920, local collector and art critic Felix Yasensky presented his beloved city with his extensive collection of Japanese antiquities. The only requirement of the collector was to display this collection in one place and not break it up into parts. Yasenskiy was appointed curator of these priceless works of art, collectively called "Manggha", which can be translated into Russian as "Manga". This word was used here in its original meaning. The modern term "manga" comes from a series of drawings by the Japanese painter Hokusai.
When Yasensky died, his collection was forgotten. She gathered dust in the vaults of the National Museum until the beginning of the Second World War. German generals, versed in art, discovered Japanese prints, caskets, fans, and so on, and organized an exhibition of these items in the Cloth Rows near St. Mary's Church.
It was there that young Andrzej Wajda, the future famous Polish director, saw this collection of Jasenski. It is to him that Krakow owes the appearance of the Museum of Japanese Art. He donated a Kyoto cash prize in 1987 to the establishment of a new center, Manggha, for the Japanese collection from the National Museum's vaults. Many people began to donate funds for the construction of this establishment. The Japanese government was very supportive. To design the museum building, the architect Arata Isozaki was invited, who refused his fee and worked absolutely free.
The museum opened in 1994.
