Kotobuki Shiriagari

Kotobuki Shiriagari ( Japanese し り あ が り 寿 , Shiriagari Kotobuki ; born January 1, 1958 in Shizuoka , Shizuoka Prefecture , Japan ) is the stage name of Toshiki Mochizuki ( 望月 寿 城 , Mochizuki Toshiki ), a Japanese manga artist .

After studying graphic design at the Tama Art School in Tokyo , Toshiki Mochizuki worked in the advertising department of the Kirin Brewery from 1981 to 1994 . During this time he was already drawing in his spare time and in 1985 he was able to publish his first anthology Ereki na Haru with Hakusensha as Kotobuki Shiriagari . His best-known works include Jiji Oyaji 2000 , for which he was awarded the Bungei Bunshū Manga Prize in 2000, and Yajikita in Deep , for which he received the Osamu Tezuka Culture Prize in 2001 . Osamu Tezuka had praised Shiragari's drawing style during his lifetime. Yajikita in Deep tells, based on Jippensha Ikkus Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige from the 19th century, of the journey of a homosexual, drug addict couple to Ise .

In addition to the manga series, which are published in alternative manga magazines such as AX and Comic Beam , Kotobuki Shiriagari draws daily strips for daily newspapers, columns and creates installations for art galleries.

His style is characterized by a deliberate awkwardness, the drawings sometimes look scribbled or unclean. In some works these drawings are combined with elements of ink painting . At the comic festival in Angoulême in 2006, Kotobuki Shiriagari was presented to the European public with a retrospective.

He is married to the manga artist Hibari Nishiki.

Works (selection)

• Ereki na Haru ( エ レ キ な 春 ), 1985
• Hinshi no Essayist ( 瀕死 の エ ッ セ イ ス ト , Hinshi no Esseisuto ), 1993–2002
• Yajikita in Deep ( 弥 次 喜 多 in DEEP), 1997-2002
• Jiji Oyaji 2000 ( 時事 お や じ 2000 ), 2000
• Haikai Rōjin Don Quixote ( 徘徊 老人 ド ン キ ホ ー テ , Haikai Rōjin Don Kihōte ), 2001
• Futago no Oyaji ( 双子 の オ ヤ ジ ), 1998-2001

Web links

• Kotobuki Shiriagari website (Japanese)
• Interview with Shiragari (English)