Creating manga was something within my power

Manga artist Nagamu Nanaji is contributing to shojo manga magazine Margaret a serial entitled Aruito, which is a story set in the Ijinkan neighborhood of Kitano, Kobe City. She experienced the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake at her parents’ home in Kasai City, located in southern Hyogo Prefecture, shortly after she debuted as a manga artist the same year, at the age of 19.

“I was trying to finish a manga when the earthquake struck. I had been in bed with a fever for several days, and was working to meet a deadline. I remember the ink spill caused by the great tremor. Fortunately, our family home did not suffer any major damage, but we all gathered in the same room so that we could evacuate immediately should the situation worsen. As I watched the TV footage of the devastating damage, I felt compelled to go and help as a volunteer, although I still had a fever. I came to my senses when my father remonstrated with me, asking if that was really the best way for me to help, which made me realize that drawing manga was the thing that I could do to help at the time.”

Ms. Nanaji sent her work to a comic magazine for the first time when she was at high school. Two years later, she debuted her manga in Margaret.

“From a very early age, I had a strong desire to communicate ideas to people, and I loved creating manga, poems, and novels. Among them, manga was what I felt most close to, and the thing I was best able to do.”

A departure from the archetypal renai manga

Although known as a shojo manga artist now, Ms. Nanaji says her style was somewhat more unconventional when she first debuted. She switched to renai (love story) manga on the advice of her editor, which led to hits such as Parfait Tic! and Koibana! Koiseyo Hanabi. But as time went by, her feelings towards her work started to change.

“I found that I had acquired a fixed formula for doing each type of scene, and started to itch for something out of the routine.”

Perhaps it’s about time you did something you really wanted to do

Ms. Nanaji’s second turning point came soon after, in the form of encouragement from her editor, who said it was about time she did something she really wanted to do. This prompted her to attempt a darker, grittier story, departing from her previous work. This was how the serial Aruito, set in Kitano, Kobe City, began.

“‘Aruito’ is a Kobe dialect word meaning ‘(somebody is) walking.’ It is a manga dealing with the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Perhaps because of the subject matter, it is not faring so well in terms of reader feedback, which was always favorable for my other works to date. Still, I am immensely grateful for the fact that I can contribute a work themed on such a difficult subject to Margaret, a comic magazine generally associated with sweeter, more lighthearted entertainment.”

At the terrace of Kobe Kitano Museum, which has close associations with Aruito

The earthquake is a subject that stories set in Kobe cannot avoid

Aruito faithfully portrays the neighborhood of Kitano in Kobe City, known for its many ijinkan, or former expat residences. The details are such that even readers living in Kobe can make many fresh discoveries about their hometown through the manga.

Aruito revolves around Kuko, the heroine who was born five days before the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. After losing her mother to the earthquake, Kuko is left to live with her father. Interspersed with episodes about Kuko’s relationships — romantic and otherwise — with the people around her, the manga follows her growth into an independent-minded, bubbly, resilient person, as her late mother had wished. The scene of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake was essential to the story, as Ms. Nanaji recalls.

“Portraying the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake was very difficult. If I worry too much about not hurting anybody, I won’t be able to do a truthful representation. I was not affected by the quake personally, so anything I do would be from a third person’s perspective. But then, perhaps there are words and images that can only come from a third person.”

A true-to-life portrayal of the town of Kobe. Copyright Nagamu Nanaji/Shueisha Margaret Comics

Characters that reflect the author’s inner self

The words used in Aruito seem to have a unique resonance and weight.

“Most manga artists portray their characters objectively, but my characters are projections of myself. The characters in Aruito invariably reflect my own strengths, weaknesses, and other characteristics. The words spoken by the characters come naturally to me, perhaps because I totally immerse myself in their role while drawing them.”

There is an unforgettable scene from Aruito where Kuko’s mother, trapped and unable to free herself from under the debris, implores her husband to leave quickly, in order to save him and the rest of the family from the approaching fire.

“I drew this scene thinking I would probably do the same if I were in her position, because I have children too. People often say I put on a brave face despite painful memories and experiences, which I guess is another trait I share with the main character Kuko.”

Sloping road near Kitanocho Higashikoen Park, which often appears in Aruito

Each precious life and life-story illuminated by a lantern

The 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami (Great East Japan Earthquake) occurred shortly after Ms. Nanaji started her serial Aruito. This made her worry whether it was right for her to carry on with her story. But in the end, she convinced herself that because the experience of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake was an inseparable part of the lives of people living in Kobe, dealing with the subject was something she could not avoid.

Another memorable scene from Aruito is that of Kuko attending the Hanshin Awaji Daishinsai 1.17 no Tsudoi (gathering for Jan 17). This gathering actually exists; it is a solemn event held every year on January 17 at Higashi Yuenchi Park near Kobe City Hall, to remember the earthquake experience and pray for the earthquake victims. Attending this event for the first time makes Kuko realize quite dramatically that even smiling faces conceal burdens within. Yet people smile for the sake of somebody else.

“This scene was inspired by my own impression of and reaction to participating in the gathering for the first time. The moment I lit the bamboo lantern, I saw people shedding tears. I suddenly became aware of the many, many lives that were lost, and was shaken and moved to tears by the way each lit lantern seemed to represent each precious life and life-story that had been lost.”

Scene of Hanshin Awaji Daishinsai 1.17 no Tsudoi, based on Ms. Nanaji’s own experience of the event. Copyright Nagamu Nanaji/Shueisha Margaret Comics

The Kobe dialect adds an important touch to the tale

After deciding to set her manga in Kitano, Kobe City, Ms. Nanaji thoroughly explored the neighborhood on foot, to better understand what it feels like to actually live there. Scenes of Kitano feature on the covers of all volumes of Aruito, and most of Aruito’s characters speak the Kobe dialect.

The people of Kobe have a very strong pride in their hometown. So I did extensive research for my portrayal of its dialect, its neighborhoods, and the earthquake.

During her research of Kitano, Ms. Nanaji asked people at a local souvenir shop whether they knew of any local Kitano girl of high school age that she could interview. They put her in contact with a high school student and university student who were working part-time nearby. She interviewed them about everyday life, learnt from them expressions unique to Kobe, and today they still provide editorial supervision for her manga’s Kobe dialect.

The Kansai dialect actually has slight regional variations, so the Kobe dialect adds an authentic touch that defines the characters. The title “Aruito,” also a Kobe dialect, encapsulates the great care with which the author selects the words she uses in her work.

Cover of Aruito, vol. 8, released November 25, 2014. Copyright Nagamu Nanaji/Shueisha Margaret Comics

Wishing for Kobe to remain unchanged

Although she has never lived in Kobe, Ms. Nanaji has frequented Kobe since childhood, and has many fond memories of the city.

“I do hope Kobe remains the way it is. It is sad to see familiar places and things gradually disappear. Sometimes a shop you frequented closes down, or a building you portrayed in a work is replaced by a new one. Drawing a manga set in Kobe makes you very aware of the changes that happen to it.”

Resolved to carry on drawing悟

The line “You don’t draw because you are told to; those who draw do so because they are compelled to” sounds like a personal message from Ms. Nanaji.

“I love drawing, and have always drawn. I believe people will go on drawing against all odds if they truly love doing so. Sometimes I am tempted by the idea of including aspects that are more typically shojo manga, but then that would make the work too commonplace. Of course, it would be nice to have a wide readership, but I want my work to reach deeply into people’s hearts, even if it isn’t voted readers’ favorite.”

Heroine Kuko forces herself to wear a smile by arranging her hair into a ponytail. Copyright Nagamu Nanaji/Shueisha Margaret Comics

“Manga is essentially a form of entertainment, an escape from often frustrating reality. But Aruito unflinchingly shows the characters living with their burdensome past or ongoing woes. I am keen to tap into manga’s unexplored potential, and hope I can successfully convey at least some of my intentions to my readers.”

Photographed by Natsumi Morimoto, interviewed and written by Kaoru Nikaido and Aya Yamamori