Cultural shock Japan style

Japanese graphics and design, like all things Japanese, are full of contadiction. The sublimely minimal, restrained, Zen, purism so often associated with things Japanese and so admired in the west, is contasted with the kitch and visual chaos which is so equally prevelant.
Both tendancies are carried to such an extreme, with very little middle ground, that a shock of aesthetics, cultures and timelines is very much part of the whole Japan experience.
Much has been written about Mangas and the design aesthetic expressed here is fascinating: a claustrophobic mix of illustration, typography, calligraphy and colours. But this message works as Manga sales confirm.