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Excellence Prize
HIKARI TO TOMONI.
Story Manga
Artist : TOBE Keiko
(Japan)
TOBE Keiko
Born in Hyogo. Graduated from School of Economics at Kwansei Gakuin University. She started her career as a manga writer in the magazine, Princess (Akita Publishing) in 1986, and produced many stories, many of which were mysteries. In 2000, she started the serialization of HIKARI TO TOMONI～Living with an austic child～ in the magazine For Mrs. (Akita Publishing). These were released as serial comic books the following year (the latest book released by Nov. 2004 is vol. 7), and also dramatized in April 2004. She is a wife and mother of two sons.
I am surprised to receive this prize, having certainly never expected it. This work was prompted by an encounter with an autistic boy, R, at my younger son's kindergarten, and an incident which happened at the graduation ceremony. I am grateful to the parents of the boy and the specialists working in the medical, education and welfare fields, for their help with my research. I am simply excited to think that my books were read by adjudicators for whom I have such respect.
It has long been felt that the subject of disability was not suited to the medium of manga, the potential for discrimination that might hurt and disgust the readership was supposed to be too great. However, this work, which tells the story of a family struggling to raise an autistic child, has avoided all such possible problems. It is cheerfully and sturdily told and might well encourage not only families with autistic children, but also families living with a disability of any sort. It also gives the rest of us something to think about.
What kind of medium did you choose for your work when the first time you were aware of your "creation"?
I used pencils, drafting paper, spoon nibs, black drawing ink, and screen-tone. My elder brother used to wish to become a manga artist, submitting his work to GARO, but he later shifted to oil painting. He passed all of his the drawing tools to me, so I was fully equipped from the beginning.
And, how old were you and what did you make?
When I was in the second year of elementary school, I wrote an eight page short story, entitled San-biki no Obake (Three Ghosts). These three ghosts, one who was always laughing, one who was always crying and one who was always angry, would have slapstick adventures in a mansion whilst the owner was away. However, the story has a somewhat sad ending, when the three ghosts end up transferring their emotions and vanishing. This story appears in Hikari to Tomoni as the picture book that the children are reading in the “Asagao Classroom”.
Do you have any consistent subject matter or theme through your works?
The matter has been troubling me; it may be because of this that I feel invigorated when I am writing a story concerning identities. Having myself experienced the difficulties of becoming independent and self-fulfilled, and come to the realization that to understand and face myself is the key to achieving true happiness, I am always tempted to include something about this in whatever genre I am working on.
When do you feel the connection with the technology in your creative activity?
What is the difference of the sense of Media Art from the one of traditional fine art?
I find personal computers useful for my research, as well as for my business contacts. I would not have been able to produce this manga without the use of the internet and without the power of this media the speed at which my work is disseminated would be rather slower. Both Fine Art and Media Art show the creator's “hereditary disposition” in their form, the difference lies in the speed of production, dissemination and influence.
How does your choice of medium affect on your works?
In another words, what kind of expression does your choice of medium allow you to make?
I use analog method for my drawing, which I believe is most suitable for the story I am writing now. Hand drawn work has its own “feel”, and sometimes a small mistake can even create “a nice effect”, although I also like the ability of computers to create pictures accurate beyond human skill. It is good to have a broad choice of tools, as this allows us a greater number of possibilities.
Do you feel that your theme of your works and the digital art will change along with the shift of the society?
I do not consider myself to be producing Art. I believe that, in order to move a broad audience, I must write about something universal. So, I don't think the theme of my work will be changed when I write for commercial magazines. However, the changing media provides me with many points of contact with various people and I recognize that methods of expression and the means of delivery are becoming increasingly diversified.
What kind of field you are best at in your works?
And how do your works fit within and affect on this society?
Despite the fact there are a lot of manga artists who are better at drawing than me and a great many other things, I was fortunate that when I produced a work, which was inspired by something that touched a chord with me, but I discovered entirely by good fortune, it was recognized as a story of a kind that nobody had ever written before. It can therefore be said that I am good at “being fortunate”. Before I debuted as a professional artist, I was told by a person in one company that, “it is doubtful that you will last more than 2 years as a professional”. Now I have been working almost 20 years, and am glad to be able to say so.
What is your motto?
“Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”
What kind of situation in every day life do you get inspired most?
It is when I am working in the kitchen, chopping some vegetables.
It is when I am walking.
It is when I am talking with somebody.
I get inspiration whenever I am doing something and able to think at the same time. It feels like something is coming down to me from above and to the right, which is weird.
What kind of vision do you have in your future development as the creator?
First of all, it is to finish the series that I am working on now in a satisfactory way. The next thing I intend to do is to take something that moves my heart and make it into a form of manga that I can draw for the readers.
Please name of the people or phenomena that you have got most influenced by as the creator.
Makimura Satoru
I loved her manga comic series Dancing Generation very much. Girl's manga generally focuses on love and relationships. Dancing Generation is not only a love story but also a story about talented people, who are moving up in their careers; I was drawn into the story and felt like I was experiencing the emotions of the characters..
Yamasaki Toyoko
I was impressed when I read an article about the research she had done for her novel, Shizumanu Taiyo (“The Never-Setting Sun”) and also that, although she used to be a journalist, she studied such an incredible amount of things in order to write one book..
Rearing children
In Hikari to Tomoni, I drew on that which I felt during the upbringing of my own children, as well as the people I met and the events behind them, in many ways for the story. If had not brought up children then I would never have met the boy, who is the model of the story, and I might never have been impressed by the words of the boy's mother, “When he grows up, he will be a person who works lively and cheerfully”.
I loved her manga comic series Dancing Generation very much. Girl's manga generally focuses on love and relationships. Dancing Generation is not only a love story but also a story about talented people, who are moving up in their careers; I was drawn into the story and felt like I was experiencing the emotions of the characters..
Yamasaki Toyoko
I was impressed when I read an article about the research she had done for her novel, Shizumanu Taiyo (“The Never-Setting Sun”) and also that, although she used to be a journalist, she studied such an incredible amount of things in order to write one book..
Rearing children
In Hikari to Tomoni, I drew on that which I felt during the upbringing of my own children, as well as the people I met and the events behind them, in many ways for the story. If had not brought up children then I would never have met the boy, who is the model of the story, and I might never have been impressed by the words of the boy's mother, “When he grows up, he will be a person who works lively and cheerfully”.
