Taiwan talent Lin Yo-hsuan, aka Zuo Hsuan, is winner of bronze in the 10th Japan International Manga Award competition for her comic book “Summer Temple Festival I,” continuing the country’s strong showing in the prestigious annual event honoring outstanding non-Japanese artists.
Lin’s work—a youthful love story featuring many elements of the rich folk culture from her hometown Daxi District in northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City—was recognized for its creativity, eye-catching design and faithful adherence to the defining principles of manga style. One of 14 winners announced in late December last year, she was selected from a 296-strong field drawn from 55 countries.
Taiwan talents have performed well to date in the JIMA, bagging two silvers and one bronze in the ninth edition. The competition is organized by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the purpose of honoring comic artists who contribute to the spread of manga culture abroad.
A master’s student from the Department of Design at National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei City, Lin started out producing illustrations for texts and book covers during her undergraduate years. She later branched out from commercial illustration to author picture books. In 2014, Lin released the first installment of the two-volume “Summer Temple Festival.”
According to Lin, she draws creative inspiration from childhood memories of Daxi’s elaborate temple parades involving thousands of devotees, some dressed as oversized gods, others carrying aloft ornate sedan chairs containing figures of deities. Her memories were refreshed over the past two years with several trips to Daxi to take part in such events, she said.
As a result of her visionary representation of traditional Taiwan culture, Lin is one of four local talents recently selected by the Ministry of Culture to exhibit their works at the 44th Angouleme International Comics Festival Jan. 26-29 in France. The top-flight event is one of the biggest of its kind in Europe and attracts artists from around the world. (KTJ-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw