Fumi Yoshinaga
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese manga artist
known for her shōjo and shōnen-ai works.
in Tokyo.
In an interview, she said that "I want to show the people who didn't win, whose dreams didn't come true. It is not possible for everybody to get first prize. I want my readers to understand the happiness that people can get from trying hard, going through the process, and getting frustrated."
Little is known about her personal life. She mentions that her favourite operas are those by Mozart in the author's note of Solfege
.
, serialized in Hanaoto magazine, but was previously a participant in comic markets.
Of Yoshinaga's many works, several have been licensed internationally. She was also selected and exhibited as one of the "Twenty Major Manga artist Who Contributed to the World of Shōjo Manga (World War II to Present)" for Professor Masami Toku's exhibition, "Shōjo Manga: Girl Power!" at CSU-Chico.
Outside of her work with Japanese publishers, she also self-publishes original doujinshi on a regular basis, most notably for Antique Bakery
. Yoshinaga has also drawn fan parodies of Slam Dunk
, Rose of Versailles, and Legend of Galactic Heroes.
- Mag Garden - Mag-Garden - New Japanese edition of Denis Diderot
's Jacques the Fatalist and his Master
- Interviews of selected manga artist
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
known for her shōjo and shōnen-ai works.
Personal
Fumi Yoshinaga was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1971. She attended the prestigious Keio UniversityKeio University
,abbreviated as Keio or Keidai , is a Japanese university located in Minato, Tokyo. It is known as the oldest institute of higher education in Japan. Founder Fukuzawa Yukichi originally established it as a school for Western studies in 1858 in Edo . It has eleven campuses in Tokyo and Kanagawa...
in Tokyo.
In an interview, she said that "I want to show the people who didn't win, whose dreams didn't come true. It is not possible for everybody to get first prize. I want my readers to understand the happiness that people can get from trying hard, going through the process, and getting frustrated."
Little is known about her personal life. She mentions that her favourite operas are those by Mozart in the author's note of Solfege
Solfege (manga)
is a one-shot Japanese manga written and illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga. The series is licensed and published in English in North America by Digital Manga Publishing. The manga is licensed in Taiwan by Sharp Point Press.-Reception:...
.
Career
She debuted in 1994 with The Moon and the SandalsThe Moon and the Sandals
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga, her debut work. Originally serialized in Hanaoto magazine, the individual chapters were collected and published in two tankōbon volumes by Houbunsha in March 1996 and February 2000, respectively...
, serialized in Hanaoto magazine, but was previously a participant in comic markets.
Of Yoshinaga's many works, several have been licensed internationally. She was also selected and exhibited as one of the "Twenty Major Manga artist Who Contributed to the World of Shōjo Manga (World War II to Present)" for Professor Masami Toku's exhibition, "Shōjo Manga: Girl Power!" at CSU-Chico.
Outside of her work with Japanese publishers, she also self-publishes original doujinshi on a regular basis, most notably for Antique Bakery
Antique Bakery
is a manga by Fumi Yoshinaga depicting the lives of four men who work in a small bakery. It was published in Japan by Shinshokan and in English by Digital Manga Publishing. The series won the 2002 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo manga...
. Yoshinaga has also drawn fan parodies of Slam Dunk
Slam dunk
A slam dunk is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air and manually powers the ball downward through the basket with one or both hands over the rim. This is considered a normal field goal attempt; if successful it is worth two points. The term "slam dunk" was...
, Rose of Versailles, and Legend of Galactic Heroes.
Miscellaneous
- A book about the state of manga today by famed manga scholar, Fusanosuke NatsumeFusanosuke Natsume
is a Japanese columnist, cartoonist. Born in Tokyo to Junichi Natsume, grandson of novelist Natsume Sōseki, he attended Aoyama Gakuin University, which he graduated in 1973. He has written the book , which was illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga....
- Mag Garden - Mag-Garden - New Japanese edition of Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer. He was a prominent person during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder and chief editor of and contributor to the Encyclopédie....
's Jacques the Fatalist and his Master
Jacques le fataliste et son maître
Jacques the Fatalist and his Master is a novel by Denis Diderot, written during the period 1765-1780. The first French edition was published posthumously in 1796...
- Interviews of selected manga artist
Awards
- Antique BakeryAntique Bakeryis a manga by Fumi Yoshinaga depicting the lives of four men who work in a small bakery. It was published in Japan by Shinshokan and in English by Digital Manga Publishing. The series won the 2002 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo manga...
was the winner of the 26th Kodansha Manga AwardKodansha Manga Awardis an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in four categories: children's, shōnen, shōjo, and general. The awards began in 1977, initially with categories for shōnen and shōjo. The first award for the...
in the shōjo manga category for 2002. - All My Darling DaughtersAll My Darling Daughters (manga)is a one-shot Japanese manga written and illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga. It is published by Hakusensha.It is licensed and published in North America by Viz Media on 19 January 2010. It is licensed in French by Casterman and in Traditional Chinese by Sharp Point Press.-Reception:All My Darling...
was selected as one of Jury Recommended Works on Manga Division of Japan Media Arts FestivalJapan Media Arts FestivalThe Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs since 1997. The festival for a nominal year was usually held during February or March next year, rather than at the end of the nominal year. For instance, the 2010 Japan Media Arts Festival, where...
for 2004 - Ōoku: The Inner ChambersŌoku: The Inner Chambersis an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga. The plot follows an alternate history of medieval Japan in which an unknown disease kills most of the male population, leading to a matriarchal society in which the Ōoku becomes a harem of men serving the now female...
won a special prize at The Japanese Association of Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy's fifth annual Sense of Gender AwardsSense of Gender AwardsThe Sense of Gender Awards are annual awards given by the Japanese Association for Gender Fantasy & Science Fiction for the science fiction or fantasy fiction published in the Japanese language in the prior year which best "explore and deepen the concept of Gender." The award and organization were...
in 2005. - Ōoku: The Inner ChambersŌoku: The Inner Chambersis an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga. The plot follows an alternate history of medieval Japan in which an unknown disease kills most of the male population, leading to a matriarchal society in which the Ōoku becomes a harem of men serving the now female...
won an Excellence Award for manga at the 2006 Japan Media Arts FestivalJapan Media Arts FestivalThe Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs since 1997. The festival for a nominal year was usually held during February or March next year, rather than at the end of the nominal year. For instance, the 2010 Japan Media Arts Festival, where...
. - Ōoku: The Inner ChambersŌoku: The Inner Chambersis an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga. The plot follows an alternate history of medieval Japan in which an unknown disease kills most of the male population, leading to a matriarchal society in which the Ōoku becomes a harem of men serving the now female...
was nominated for the eleventh annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in April 2007. - Antique BakeryAntique Bakeryis a manga by Fumi Yoshinaga depicting the lives of four men who work in a small bakery. It was published in Japan by Shinshokan and in English by Digital Manga Publishing. The series won the 2002 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo manga...
, as released in the US by Digital Manga PublishingDigital Manga PublishingDigital Manga is a company that licenses and releases, in English, Japanese anime, manga, and related merchandise. The company has several subdivisions: Digital Manga Publishing, which publishes Japanese manga, novels and instructional and illustration books in North America with multiple imprints,...
, was nominated for a 2007 Eisner AwardEisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
in a new category devoted to Japanese works entitled "Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Japan." - Volumes 1, 2, and 3 of the Digital Manga PublishingDigital Manga PublishingDigital Manga is a company that licenses and releases, in English, Japanese anime, manga, and related merchandise. The company has several subdivisions: Digital Manga Publishing, which publishes Japanese manga, novels and instructional and illustration books in North America with multiple imprints,...
version of Flower of LifeFlower of LifeThe Flower of Life is the modern name given to a geometrical figure composed of multiple evenly-spaced, overlapping circles. They are arranged to form a flower-like pattern with a sixfold symmetry, similar to a hexagon...
were included in the 2008 Great Graphic Novels for Teens list by Yalsa - The first volume of the Digital Manga PublishingDigital Manga PublishingDigital Manga is a company that licenses and releases, in English, Japanese anime, manga, and related merchandise. The company has several subdivisions: Digital Manga Publishing, which publishes Japanese manga, novels and instructional and illustration books in North America with multiple imprints,...
version of The Moon and the SandalsThe Moon and the Sandalsis a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga, her debut work. Originally serialized in Hanaoto magazine, the individual chapters were collected and published in two tankōbon volumes by Houbunsha in March 1996 and February 2000, respectively...
was nominated for inclusion in the 2008 Great Graphic Novels for Teens list by Yalsa (August 2007). - Ōoku: The Inner ChambersŌoku: The Inner Chambersis an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga. The plot follows an alternate history of medieval Japan in which an unknown disease kills most of the male population, leading to a matriarchal society in which the Ōoku becomes a harem of men serving the now female...
, Flower of Life and Kinou nani tabeta? were nominated for the inaugural Manga Taisho ("Cartoon Grand Prize") award in January 2008. - Ōoku: The Inner ChambersŌoku: The Inner Chambersis an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga. The plot follows an alternate history of medieval Japan in which an unknown disease kills most of the male population, leading to a matriarchal society in which the Ōoku becomes a harem of men serving the now female...
was nominated for the twelfth annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in March 2008. - Fumi Yoshinaga was nominated for the Best Writer/Artist award in the 2008 Eisner Awards in April 2008.
- Ōoku: The Inner ChambersŌoku: The Inner Chambersis an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga. The plot follows an alternate history of medieval Japan in which an unknown disease kills most of the male population, leading to a matriarchal society in which the Ōoku becomes a harem of men serving the now female...
won Grand Prize in the 13th annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in April 2009. - First volume of Ōoku: The Inner ChambersŌoku: The Inner Chambersis an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga. The plot follows an alternate history of medieval Japan in which an unknown disease kills most of the male population, leading to a matriarchal society in which the Ōoku becomes a harem of men serving the now female...
, as released in the US by VIZ MediaVIZ MediaVIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
, was included in the 2010 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens list by Yalsa - Volumes 1 and 2 of the VIZ MediaVIZ MediaVIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
version of Ōoku: The Inner ChambersŌoku: The Inner Chambersis an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga. The plot follows an alternate history of medieval Japan in which an unknown disease kills most of the male population, leading to a matriarchal society in which the Ōoku becomes a harem of men serving the now female...
won 2009 James Tiptree, Jr. AwardJames Tiptree, Jr. AwardThe James Tiptree, Jr. Award is an annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February of 1991 by science fiction authors Pat Murphy and Karen Joy Fowler, subsequent to a discussion at WisCon.- Background... - Ōoku: The Inner ChambersŌoku: The Inner Chambersis an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga. The plot follows an alternate history of medieval Japan in which an unknown disease kills most of the male population, leading to a matriarchal society in which the Ōoku becomes a harem of men serving the now female...
won 56th Shogakukan Manga Award in Girls' Category.