Hinako Sugiura
Encyclopedia
was a manga
artist
and researcher in the lifestyles and custom
s of Japan's Edo period
. Born Junko Suzuki in Minato
, Tokyo
, into a tradition-steeped family of kimono
merchants, she studied design and took an increasing interest in old Japan. She attended Nihon University
, but gave up her formal studies to pursue research under the direction of author Shisei Inagaki. Inagaki specialized in the Edo period and taught Sugiura how to do the background surveys that would later ensure the historical accuracy of her manga and other works.
Sugiura was the assistant of Murasaki Yamada
, a prominent feminist manga artist. Sugiura published her first manga, "Tsugen Muro no Ume," in the alternative manga magazine Garo in 1980. Her distinctive style drew heavily on ukiyo-e
techniques and breathed life into her depictions of Edo-period life and customs, helping her win popularity as well as the Japan Cartoonists Association Award for her manga Gassō ("Joint Burial") in 1984 and the Bungei Shunjū Manga Award for Fūryū Edo Suzume in 1988.
In 1993, Sugiura announced that she was retiring from her life as a manga artist to dedicate herself to research on Edo period lifestyles and customs. She wrote numerous books on the subject, which she considered to be her life's work, and frequently appeared in the media as an expert on the period. She was well known and liked for her commentary during the ending segment of a popular NHK
program, Comedy: O-Edo de Gozaru, which was set in the Edo period. Sugiura was usually seen in public wearing traditional kimono.
Sugiura was married for a time to novelist, translator, and bibliophile Hiroshi Aramata
, a pairing the Japanese media referred to as "the beauty and the beast." She was also famous for her love of soba
buckwheat noodles as well as a preference for saké.
When Sugiura left the Comedy: O-Edo de Gozaru program, she told the public that she was going to fulfill a long-cherished dream by taking a world cruise. That she was actually undergoing treatment for cancer
of the throat (the hypopharynx
) at a hospital in Kashiwa, Chiba
, first become known when the public learned of her death at 46 on July 22, 2005.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
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...
and researcher in the lifestyles and custom
Convention (norm)
A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted standards, norms, social norms or criteria, often taking the form of a custom....
s of Japan's Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
. Born Junko Suzuki in Minato
Minato, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 1 March 2008, it had an official population of 217,335 and a population density of 10,865 persons per km². The total area is 20.34 km².Minato hosts 49 embassies...
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, into a tradition-steeped family of kimono
Kimono
The is a Japanese traditional garment worn by men, women and children. The word "kimono", which literally means a "thing to wear" , has come to denote these full-length robes...
merchants, she studied design and took an increasing interest in old Japan. She attended Nihon University
Nihon University
Nihon University is the largest university in Japan. Akiyoshi Yamada, the minister of justice, founded Nihon Law School in October 1889....
, but gave up her formal studies to pursue research under the direction of author Shisei Inagaki. Inagaki specialized in the Edo period and taught Sugiura how to do the background surveys that would later ensure the historical accuracy of her manga and other works.
Sugiura was the assistant of Murasaki Yamada
Murasaki Yamada
, born as Mitsuko Shiratori, was a Japanese feminist essayist, manga artist, and poet. She was associated with Garo. Frederik L. Schodt regarded her work as particularly important because, although there is a culture of girl's manga, Yamada's work has a feminist message, which is rare in girls' manga...
, a prominent feminist manga artist. Sugiura published her first manga, "Tsugen Muro no Ume," in the alternative manga magazine Garo in 1980. Her distinctive style drew heavily on ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e
' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...
techniques and breathed life into her depictions of Edo-period life and customs, helping her win popularity as well as the Japan Cartoonists Association Award for her manga Gassō ("Joint Burial") in 1984 and the Bungei Shunjū Manga Award for Fūryū Edo Suzume in 1988.
In 1993, Sugiura announced that she was retiring from her life as a manga artist to dedicate herself to research on Edo period lifestyles and customs. She wrote numerous books on the subject, which she considered to be her life's work, and frequently appeared in the media as an expert on the period. She was well known and liked for her commentary during the ending segment of a popular NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
program, Comedy: O-Edo de Gozaru, which was set in the Edo period. Sugiura was usually seen in public wearing traditional kimono.
Sugiura was married for a time to novelist, translator, and bibliophile Hiroshi Aramata
Hiroshi Aramata
is a Japanese author, translator, and screenplay writer, as well as a specialist in natural history and cartography.His most popular novel was Teito Monogatari , which has sold over 3.5 million copies in Japan alone. He also wrote Alexander Senki, a novel which eventually evolved into the anime...
, a pairing the Japanese media referred to as "the beauty and the beast." She was also famous for her love of soba
Soba
is the Japanese name for buckwheat. It is synonymous with a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour, and in Japan can refer to any thin noodle . Soba noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup...
buckwheat noodles as well as a preference for saké.
When Sugiura left the Comedy: O-Edo de Gozaru program, she told the public that she was going to fulfill a long-cherished dream by taking a world cruise. That she was actually undergoing treatment for cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
of the throat (the hypopharynx
Hypopharynx
In human anatomy, the hypopharynx is the bottom part of the pharynx, and is the part of the throat that connects to the esophagus....
) at a hospital in Kashiwa, Chiba
Kashiwa, Chiba
is a city located in northern Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2011, the city had an estimated population of 404,820 and a population density of 3520 persons per km²...
, first become known when the public learned of her death at 46 on July 22, 2005.
Representative manga works
- Tsūgen Muro no Ume (通言室之梅, 1980)
- Gassō (合葬, 1983)
- Nipponia Nippon (ニッポニア・ニッポン, 1985)
- Edo e youkoso (江戸へようこそ, 1986)
- Futatsu makura (二つ枕, 1986)
- Fūryū Edo Suzume (風流江戸雀, 1987)
- Yasuji Tōkyō (YASUJI東京, 1988)
- Hyaku Monogatari (百物語, 1988–1993, 3 volumes)
- Higashi no Eden (東のエデン, 1989)
Awards
- 1984: Japan Cartoonists Association Award for Gassō
- 1988: Bungei Shunjū Manga Award for Fūryū Edo Suzume
External links
Obituaries
- The Japan Times obituary
- "Author believed Edo ways best suited Japan", The Asahi Shimbun, July 27, 2005