Happiness Theories

A compelling, insightful, and hopeful must-read for making sense of the world we live in.

Pandemics, wars, societal inequalities
Have humans remained the same for 3,000 years?

In this captivating collection of dialogues, renowned manga artist, writer and painter Mari Yamazaki and art historian Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere-lead curator of the "Art of Manga" exhibition at the de Young Museum and The Brooklyn Museum-explore the patterns of human history to find a roadmap for optimism in the modern world.

Drawing from their shared "outsider" experiences while living abroad as teenagers and their lifelong pursuit of art and history across cultures, Yamazaki and Rousmaniere blend personal reflections and a global perspective. Their journey reveals profound truths about karma, the power of isolation and the intellect of humor.

Also included is Yamazaki's manga short story Palmyra at the Museum, originally created for the Louvre No. 9 special exhibition in Japan.

Author: Mari Yamazaki,Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere
Publisher: Shueisha
Published: 09/29/2026
Pages: 228
Binding Type: Paperback
ISBN13: 9798950818073
BISAC Categories:
- Art | History | General
- Art | Popular Culture
- Philosophy | Popular Culture

About the Author
Born in Tokyo in 1967, manga artist, writer, and painter Mari Yamazaki is a specially invited professor at Japan Women's University and visiting professor at Tokyo Zokei University. Yamazaki moved to Italy in 1984, where she majored in art history and oil painting at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze (Academy of Fine Arts in Florence). In 2010, her work Thermae Romae earned her the 3rd Manga Taisho Award and the Short Work Prize at the 14th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. In 2017, she was awarded the Order of the Star of Italy (rank of Commendatore) by the Italian Republic. The series of PLINIUS (co-authored with Miki Tori) won the 28th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2024. Her manga works include Steve Jobs and Olympia Kyklos. She has also published numerous critical writings and essays.

Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere is the founder and inaugural director of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC) in the UK. She currently serves as the Research Director at SISJAC and holds the position of Professor of Japanese Art and Culture at the University of East Anglia. She completed her doctoral studies at Harvard University in 1998. In 2019, she served as the lead curator for "Manga," a major exhibition held at the British Museum. In 2025, she served as the lead curator for "The Art of Manga," a major exhibition held at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. "The Art of Manga" exhibit will open at the Brooklyn Art Museum in New York in 2026.

Frederik L. Schodt is a veteran translator, interpreter, and award-winning author of numerous books on Japanese popular culture, history, religion, and technology. Known especially for his manga-related work, in 2009, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, for helping to promote Japan's popular culture overseas.

Born and raised in Kyoto, Japan, where she read manga as a child, Beth Cary is a fiction and non-fiction translator and interpreter who has worked with Studio Ghibli animation filmmakers. With Frederik L. Schodt she co-translated Hayao Miyazaki's Starting Point and Turning Point. Her most recent translation is Zen and Ghibli by producer Toshio Suzuki.