NEW YORK, N.Y.- Japan has enjoyed a long tradition of storytelling through paintings and illustrated books, which continues today in the popular art of manga (comic books for children and adults). Showcasing more than 90 vibrant works drawn from the New York Public Library and other local collections, as well as works from the Metropolitan’s own holdings, Storytelling in Japanese Art traces the rich history of illustrated narratives that thrived in the medieval and early modern periods of Japan. The focus of the exhibition is on some 20 rare illustrated handscrolls called emaki. Highlights among them are: an exceptional fragment of the set of handscrolls nicknamed Frolicking Animals, whose parent scrolls in Japan have the designation of National Treasure and are often referred to as ancestors of modern