One of the most valuable parts of the collection of the Manggha Museum is a unique assembly of works of paper – sketches and drawings – by renowned Polish director Andrzej Wajda. Some of the most interesting among these are the notes and sketches he made during his seven trips to Japan. In fourteen notebooks and sketchbooks we find a ‘picture story’ of not only Japan but also, or perhaps primarily, of a painter-director, of his artistic preferences, inspirations and discoveries. To Wajda, sketching was a form of communicating with the world, a function of memory. In his sketches depicting landscapes and genre scenes, he assumes a ‘Japanese’ point of view, composing in the manner of ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Thus it is possible to look at Wajda’s Japanese drawings as an interesting example of Japanese inspiration, of Polish Japanism. Chronologically arranged, these works illustrate his successive stages of acquaintance, delight and reflection on a different culture and art.