Be aware ! Manga in Japanese traffic signs

“ご注意ください” (“watch out”) is one of the most frequently heard phrase if you get on public transportation in Japan.
Warning signs are ubiquitous in Japan, not necessarily because it is a dangerous country. Japanese may interpret the permanent flow of visual and oral signals not only with regard to possible hazardous situations but in general for proper behavior as a welcomed guidance. As a foreigner it is hard to swallow. I was overwhelmed just recently while driving through central Japan with the amount of traffic signs.They got my attention though by their peculiarities. The featured picture of turtle with the explanation ” drive slowly” is of course as a sculpture unique. But looking around in streets one can further expand into a specific picture language, which we are all familiar with through Japanese Manga.
Let´s start simple with two signs you may also find anywhere else.

Not touching an electric fence is clearly understood. “Do not smoke while walking”, well this is a very specific guidance I saw the first time.

The following two signs date back to several years. The first on I found on Ikeshima a closed coal mine in Kyushu.

These signs have already a typical feature. They try to visualize the danger, in this case of school kids crossing or bikers hiking on the small streets.These characteristics you find in modern versions also today.

Private telephone companies pick up this concept when indicating that construction could endanger underground cables.

The excavator is a monster which hurts the friendly telephone girl who is crying…..

Picturing the sources of danger means to give them a distinctive character and not to describe them as what they really are….

The image above warns against littering as it will harm nature. And nature is given a name, Sarah-chan is crying….

Be aware of bears ! Here the bear is abstract, but a little bell is located next to the sign to chase the beasts away….I wonder to which effect.

Coming back to the road. Construction work is usually starting and ending with a deep bow.

Along the stretch of ongoing road work vehicles might enter or again school children might cross…Let´s put it in a funny way !


And of course always drive slow !

But let´s get more serious! Papa stop using your cellphone while driving, do not get distracted by looking somewhere else!

Sometimes a prayer may help. Curve ahead ! Accident prone area ! But we are a family and we want to come home safe, please.

Most recently I thought that Japanese Manga now has entered every day signs. In the last two pictures you see the advice to line up properly as trains get packed at this specific location and an explanation how to use the emergency button. A nice combination of Mange and actually a useful simplification as the message of the signs are immediately understood.
The last picture could become a classic in this sense.