Kyoto hopes traditional houses will breed manga talent

Machiya, such as this one in Kyoto's Nakagyo Ward, are being eyed as residences for aspiring manga artists. (The Asahi Shimbun)

 Kyoto hopes traditional houses will breed manga talent 京都期盼傳統房舍能孕育漫畫之星

◎張沛元
Kyoto hopes traditional houses will breed manga talent
京都期盼傳統房舍能孕育漫畫之星

Aspiring manga artists are being encouraged to live together in traditional "kyo-machiya" row houses as part of an effort to make Japan’s ancient capital into a force in 21st century pop culture.
為了讓日本古都京都在21世紀的流行文化界能佔有一席之地，有志進軍漫畫界的漫畫家被鼓勵合宿於連棟式的傳統京町家。

Kyoto city government says it will provide financial assistance and help find the artists’ side jobs to cover their rent and living expenses.
京都市政府表示，將會提供財務援助，以及幫這些漫畫家尋找能負擔房租與生活開銷的副業。

The city has been trying to build itself into an incubator of manga talent. Kyoto Seika University and Kyoto University of Art and Design in the city’s Sakyo Ward both offer manga courses, but no graduate from either program has yet made their name as an professional comic book artist.
京都市一直試圖將該市打造為漫畫明星的搖籃。位於京都左京區的京都精華大學與京都造形藝術大學，都提供漫畫專門課程，但兩校迄今沒有任何一名畢業生以專業漫畫作家之姿打響名號。

The city hopes that the machiya--whose complex architecture could provide privacy along with a unique communal experience--will serve as an ideal space for developing new ideas and building links among artists.
該市希望，町家錯綜複雜的建築風格能提供這些藝術家隱私與獨特的公社經驗，並成為讓他們發想出新創作構想以及彼此間建立人脈的理想空間。

Many of the machiya were built more than a century ago. According to a city survey in 2008-09, there were more than 5,000 vacated machiya in the city.
許多町家的建築年代超過1世紀。根據京都市在2008年到09年的一份調查，該市有逾5000棟閒置的町家。

新聞辭典
 

Kyoto Seika University

Kyoto Seika University (京都精華大学 Kyoto Seika Daigaku^?) is a private university, located in Seika, Kyoto, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1968, and it was chartered as a university in 1979.
The school is noted for its faculties of manga and anime, and being involved in the teaching and training of future mangaka.^[1][2][3][4] The dean of the manga faculty is Keiko Takemiya, and noted American anthropologist and translator Matt Thorn is also an associate professor at the school's faculty of manga.^[5][6] Graduates of the university have gone on to forge successful careers in the manga, anime, and media industries.^[2][6] In 2005, Kyoto Seika University established the Kyoto International Manga Museum. Located in a converted elementary school building in downtown Kyoto, it contains the world's largest manga collection.

breed：動詞，培育，教養。
make one’s name：片語，出名。例句：He went to the United States and soon made his name as an excellent MLB pitcher.（他前往美國，隨即以優異的職棒大聯盟投手之姿闖出名號。）
vacate：動詞，空出，搬出。名詞，vacancy。例句：Every time I drive by the motel, the "no vacancy" is sign on.（每次我開車經過這家汽車旅館，「沒有空房」的燈都是亮的。）