Kuniko Tsurita's 'The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud' showcases her pioneering role in Japan's underground comics.
Celebrated in 'The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud', Kuniko Tsurita stands out as the sole female regular contributor to the alternative manga magazine Garo, which ran from 1964 to 2002. This anthology, published by Drawn & Quarterly, features eighteen of her comics created between 1966 and 1980, which delve into the existential dilemmas faced by Japan's youth through darkly humorous black-and-white illustrations. Tsurita made her debut in Garo in 1965 at just eighteen, marking her as the first woman to contribute comics to the magazine. Key works include 'Woman' (1966) and 'The Tragedy of Princess Rokunomiya' (1967). The comics are formatted right-to-left, with translations by Ryan Holmberg, who, along with Mitsuhiro Asakawa, discusses Tsurita's neglected legacy and the sexism prevalent in 1960s publishing in the afterword.
Key facts
- Kuniko Tsurita was the first woman to publish comics in Garo magazine in 1965 at age eighteen
- The collection 'The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud' includes eighteen comics from 1966 to 1980
- The comics are translated into English for the first time by Ryan Holmberg
- Themes focus on existential crisis, societal challenges for women, and subversion of femininity ideals
- Garo magazine was published from 1964 to 2002 as an alternative manga publication
- The afterword is written by Ryan Holmberg and Mitsuhiro Asakawa to highlight Tsurita's underrecognized work
- The collection is published by Drawn & Quarterly
- Comics are read right-to-left in traditional Japanese style with black-and-white high-contrast drawings
Entities
Artists
- Kuniko Tsurita
- Ryan Holmberg
- Mitsuhiro Asakawa
Institutions
- Garo
- Drawn & Quarterly
- ArtReview
Locations
- Japan