Fujiwara Maki

My Picture Diary

The wife of Japans most lauded manga-ka documents a year in their lives with her own artistry.

In 1981, Fujiwara Maki began a picture diary about daily life with her son and husband, the legendary manga author Tsuge Yoshiharu. Publishing was not her original intention. I wanted to record our familys daily life while our son, Shosuke, was small. But as 8mm cameras were too expensive and we were poor, I decided on the picture diary format instead. I figured Shosuke would enjoy reading it when he got older.

Drawn in a simple, personable style, and covering the same years fictionalized in Tsuges final masterpieceThe Man Without Talent, Fujiwaras journal focuses on the joys of daily life amidst the stresses of childrearing, housekeeping, and managing a depressed husband. A touching and inspiring testimony of one Japanese womans resilience,My Picture Diaryis also an important glimpse of the enigma that is Tsuge. Fujiwaras diary is unsparing. It provides a stark picture of the gender divide in their household: Tsuge sleeps until noon and does practically nothing. He never compliments her cooking, and dictates how money is spent. Not once is he shown drawing. And yet, Fujiwara remains surprisingly empathetic toward her mercurial husband.

Translated by Ryan Holmberg, this edition sheds light on Fujiwaras life, her own career in art, writing, and underground theater, and her extensive influence upon her husbands celebrated manga.