Yutsuko Chūsonji

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Yutsuko Chūsonji
中尊寺ゆつこ
Born
Yukiko Fujiwara (藤原幸子)

(1962-05-28)May 28, 1962
Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture
DiedJanuary 31, 2005(2005-01-31) (aged 42)
Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture
NationalityJapanese
Notable workSweet Spot, Ojodan, Wild Q

Yutsuko Chūsonji (Japanese: 中尊寺ゆつこ, Hepburn: Chūsonji Yutsuko, May 28, 1962 – January 31, 2005) was the pen name of Japanese manga artist Yukiko Kobayashi (小林 幸子, born Yukiko Fujiwara).

Early life and career[edit]

Chūsonji was born on May 28, 1962, in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. She began drawing manga while in elementary school,[1] and worked as a child model in elementary school and middle school.[1][2] She took a year off after graduating from the faculty of law at Komazawa University, and developed an interest in golf.[1] She began her career in manga in 1987, winning a rookie award from the manga magazines Business Jump and Manga Action in 1987.[1]

Chūsonji's manga addressed themes of business, politics, and culture, typically in the context of the Japanese bubble era of the late 1980s and early 1990s.[1] Her 1989 manga series Ojodan, first published in 1989, went on to sell over 200,000 copies.[1] That same year she serialized Sweet Spot, a comedy about an office lady (OL) interested in golf, in the magazine SPA! [ja].[1] Sweet Spot coined the term oyaji gal (オヤジギャル, literally "old man gal"), a term used to describe young businesswomen who have the interests and hobbies of middle-aged businessmen, such as golf and horse betting.[1][3]

In the mid-1990s Chūsonji moved to New York City where she wrote the manga series Wild Q, which follows two Japanese men who travel to Brooklyn to learn about hip-hop. The series, serialized in the men's magazine Popeye, was criticized by the Japanese hip hop community for portraying Japanese hip-hop enthusiasts as ignorant.[4] In response, Chūsonji altered her portrayal of Japanese characters in Wild Q and helped finance Hip-Hop Night Flight, the first successful Japanese hip-hop radio show.[5]

Personal life and death[edit]

Chūsonji was married to writer and translator Masaaki Kobayashi, with whom she had a son and a daughter.[1] In August 2004, Chūsonji was diagnosed with colorectal cancer[6] and died on January 31, 2005, at the age of 42 to complications from the disease.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "中尊寺ゆつこさん急死「オヤジギャル」で人気博す". ZakZak (Yukan Fuji [ja]) (in Japanese). January 31, 2005. Archived from the original on March 25, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  2. ^ Nagatani, Kunio (1994). ニッポン漫画家名鑑―漫画家500人のデータブック (in Japanese). Data House. pp. 220–221. ISBN 978-4887181960.
  3. ^ Laroi, Vibeke (March 17, 1991). "New Breed of Japanese Women Savor Life in Fast Lane". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  4. ^ Condry, Ian (2006). Hip-Hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization. Duke University Press. p. 153. ISBN 9780822388166.
  5. ^ Bridges, William H.; Cornyetz, Nina (2015). "Introduction". Traveling Texts and the Work of Afro-Japanese Cultural Production. Lexington Books. p. 23. ISBN 978-1498505482.
  6. ^ "「息子に先立たれて」「娘を喪って」 長寿社会の悲劇 逆縁の哀しみ". Shūkan Gendai (in Japanese). March 28, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2021.

External links[edit]

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