This document discusses different views on the history of manga. Some trace it back to the postwar years in the 1950s, while others see continuity in manga as a sequential art form dating back much earlier, possibly to the late 19th century or early 20th century. It asks the reader to consider their stance on how far back the history of manga goes after reviewing several sources, and discusses factors like sequential art, style, and Japanese origins that are important in defining manga's history. It also questions why there is disagreement about the timeline of manga's history.

1. Wikipedia has agreed for many years that there are different
views about manga's history-- those who start from the postwar
years (the 1950s) and those who see continuity in manga as
sequential art and go back much further. Some (your prof
included) see it as starting in the late 19th century, or the early
20c century.
After reading (pdfs here) 1) Schodt's Chapter 2 "A Thousand
Years of Manga"; 2) Gravett's 2nd chapter "Japanese Spirit,
Western Learning" and 3) Ito's article, what is your stance?
How far back does the history of manga go? What about the
Frolicking Animals scroll or Hokusai Manga? How about
kibyōshi and other forms of illustrated fiction?
What are the factors that are important? Sequential art? Style?
Japanese origins?
Why is there so much disagreement about talking about the
history of manga?