Parman 3

As with the last chapter, this trans is reserved by christian, but it will be open to the public in one month from today.

01
Comic Essay / The exciting life of PARMAN
(3) The day I returned home
Fujiko Fujio A

left: Looking back on his life of manga, Parman journeys back to his hometown. During the trip, what goes through his mind? ...here's chapter 3!

circle map right to left:
Toyama prefecture / Toyama / Himi

-I was born in the city of Himi, part of the Toyama prefecture. Himi is located to the north, near the base of the Noto peninsula, and its primary trade is fishing. My exact birthplace was the Kouzen temple located there.
My father was the 49th chief priest of this temple, which has served as a Soto Buddhist temple for over 650 years. If things had gone normally, I was supposed to grow up there, go work for a time at the head temple Eihei, and once qualified return back to Kouzen, to one day succeed my father as the next head priest.
(t/n - many people write temple names with -ji. but, this means temple, so kouzenji temple is like saying it twice. I personally opt to omit it)

bubble: Me and my father, Kougyoku

02
-You'd probably never believe this coming from me now, but I was once a very shy kid--I wasn't even able to talk to other people. Since I had such a love for drawing, I was always in front of my desk working on a picture. At first, all I drew were images of sword fights, but sometime after that I also started drawing manga. Whenever I drew pictures or manga, it felt as if I flew off into another world!

bubble: When I got tired of sitting in front of my desk, I'd go outside and travel to the coast!
bubble: Right across the sea of Japan is the 3,000 meter Tateyama mountain range. Just one glimpse is breathtaking!

I was in Himi up until the 5th year of grade school. At that time, my father suddenly passed away. In order for a new chief priest to work at the temple, my family had to leave, and so we moved to the city of Takaoka. Just like that, I had to switch schools too. And that's how I met Fujimoto Hiroshi (the late Fujiko F Fujioshi)!

03
-Because me and him drew manga, we became close friends very quickly! Later, the master Tezuka Osamu appeared! The two of us were crazy about his works, and so we swore to follow after him in becoming mangakas! Several years later, Fujimoto and I debuted with our pennames of fujiko fujio!

box: Us two years ago when we debuted

-And then lots of stuff happened!

-Jumping ahead quite a bit, a local gallery in my hometown decided to put my work as Fujiko Fujio A on display!

04
-In order to make it there for the opening day, I took a plane from Haneda to get to Toyama. It was about noon that I got my lunch mid-flight. Inside of the box a was japanese-style meal. I also got red wine to go with it. There's nothing better than drinking wine while soaring the skies!

-Whee

-From the airport I headed toward Tokaoka. That was the place full of memories from where me and Fujiko F Fujioshi met.

-I got on a cab and headed to Himi

-Grade school, middle school, high school...I was in Takaoka for all of them. We had to go to different schools from middle school on, but we always had the dream of meeting up after we finished school to draw manga together.
The car rolled on down the main road. It was this street that me and F would stroll down to buy Tezuka's tankobons and go see foreign movies. I can see it all as if it were just yesterday...

-It took about 45 minutes to get from Takaoka to Himi by car. I got off on Himi's main street--it's also called Shiokaze street. This is where there's monuments for the Ninja Hattori, Shin-chan, Shishimaru, Kouga's ninja Kemumaki, as well as that lovable cat Kagechiyo!

05
-Along the Shiokaze street, there is a sign with Hattori on it. Also printed is an arrow, with the words Soto Buddhist kaikeizan (t/n - don't know how to trans, could be just a name) Kousen temple. That's the same temple I was born in. I was there until about my 5th year of grads school. The current chief priest, Sakuchi Daijou, is 89 years old. He's extremely well known! He has been serving in temples since before I was born.

box: Me and priest Daijou in front of a folding screen with my painting of the Daruma

-Once at the temple, even I, who am not a real believer, found myself praying in front of the altar before I knew it. Of course, I was supposed to become a priest during my youth, but I fell off that path and became a mangaka. If I had to choose again, I really think becoming a mangaka was the right choice. Even if I tried to become a priest, I'm sure I would end up off course somewhere in the middle without a doubt.

-An image of me and the Maga Michio doll adorning the inside of the temple
-The table I got from the master Tezuka from our room in Tokiwa-sou

06
box: Me and the mayor
-Actually, today is the day that the Himi city Shiokaze Gallery is opening and for one year it will have the "Fujiko Fujio A Manga exhibit" on display. To have my work on display as art is really such an honor! The reason I came here was to cut the ribbon during the opening festivities.

-I felt really awkward cutting the tape to my own exhibit

-Once inside, I saw the first and second floors had all my mangas on display! It made me realize it has been 55 years since my start with Fujiko F Fujio, and boy we sure drew a lot. In order to draw manga, it takes a lot of effort as well as endurance, so the only way that someone as impatient as I could have come this far must have been because of my love for what I do. As that ran through my mind, I ended up admiring myself!?

bubble: Me giving details about my works to the Mayor

07
top boxes R->L: Suzuki Shinichi / Fujiko fujio A / Ishinomori shoutarou
middle box L: moriyasu naoya
remaining boxes clockwise: akatsuka fujio / fujiko F fujio / terada hirou / Tsunoda Jirou

50 years ago, there was an apartment building called tokiwa-sou, located in the 5th district of Shina city, part of the Toshima ward. All of us newbie mangakas lived together there. With Terada Hirou acting as the head of our "new manga republic", we'd meet together and have tons of excitement every day!

box: What my desk looked like around 1956

With our dream of being like the master, Tezuka Osamu, Fujiko F Fujio and I moved from Toyama to Tokyo, when the manga boom was beginning. There was a flood of work, and we took way more than we could handle! About a year later, we were burned out, and had to drop most of our projects! Normally, if we had given up manga we would have returned to Toyama, but we held our ground! It was all thanks to our friends there in Tokiwa-sou!

bubble: In the Fujiko Fujio A exhibit is also a rendition of the our room from Tokiwa-sou, apartment #14! Sitting in front of that desk from 50 years ago felt like a time slip!

-After browsing the exhibition grounds, I participated in a discussion with the mayor about "Himi's future from here on"
-Although young, he really has a strong passion and serious thinks about the city's future! It was a pleasure to be able to listen to his thoughts!

08
-After the public discussion, I went to see Himi's "kitokito" marketplace. "kitokito" means "fresh" over there. All of the city's fine fish are lined up out there! Many people even travel from outside the prefecture by bus to eat as well as buy fresh fish as souvenirs! The city's "kanburi" is famed as the best in Japan! (t/n - i think kanburi is winter yellowtail, not sure)

line on right: A hometown is always a homely place...

-I was really happy to see the characters (prince and takohachi) I designed as mascots at the marketplace!
(t/n - takohachi lit means 8-legged octopus)

-It's been about a year since I last came to Himi. They say "although your hometown is far away, it's always close in your mind...", but I think it's even better to go back and visit sometime! Memories come rolling back from all over the place, as well as the familiar feelings that come along with them. Tonight I return home on the sleeper train. Even though I was only here for a day, I've been able to make even more pleasant memories.

-Inside the main temple, I saw an image of myself when I was younger in front of the desk...
-He said to me "see you again later...", as if talking to himself...

PARMAN - continued in issue 3 (2/4 on sale)

-END-