ARTS
Tsugumi and Kouhei Nishino aka Konohana Sakuya - popular Japanese manga artists. (Image: cybermanga.com)
Konohana Sakuya
Award Winning Japanese Manga Artist Shares Passion With Metro Atlanta Students
- Winners of 2002 Grand Prize at International Manga Awards
- Creators of the “Encounters” series featured in Comic Bunch magazine
- Winners of the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan’s Jury Choice Award at the Media Arts Festival
- Creators of the popular series, “The Lights,” in Shonen Jump magazine
Posted November 16, 2009
Atlanta comic “manga” and anime lovers received a special treat when a pair of Japanese leading artists were in town for a demonstration of their special trait. Konohana Sakuya is the alias of the working partnership between husband and wife artists team, Kouhei Nishino and Tsugumi Nishino.
The duo was awarded the Grand Prize of the 1st World Manga Faithful Readership Award, sponsored by publisher Shinchosha in 2002. The grand prize winner were voted entirely by readers and the prize was worth 100 million yen (approximately US$9 million). The winner was recognized for their popular manga series, “Encounter.”
The husband and wife team were on whirlwind four cities tour of U.S. with the final stop in Atlanta. During their two-days stopover in Atlanta, they gave lecture demonstrations to students at two metro area high schools and Savannah College of Arts and Design (SCAD) Atlanta.
“This is our first visit to Atlanta and we’re very pleased with the warm hospitality that we received from the people. The people here are extremely nice and friendly,” said Kouhei Nishino.
“We are very impressed with the knowledge and interest expressed by the young people here towards manga. We’re happy to be able to share our love for manga with an enthusiastic group of young people,” added Tsugumi Nishino with a wide smile.
Their successful work partnership started by coincidence in 2002. “He left a draft of his work on a table and I started to fill it in with my ideas and drawing. In the end, it became a product which we both enjoyed and proud of,” said Tsugumi.
Since August 2004, the duo has had its latest work, “The Lights,” serialized in a monthly version of the Shonen Jump magazine.
“We are always searching for better and creative ways to deliver manga to readers. A lot of emphasis is being placed on the internet platform,” explains Kouhei. They are currently exploring creative ways for more interactivity for manga on the internet and to reach audiences via smartphone such as iPhone.
Much of their time is devoted to nurturing young artists and lecturing overseas. The duo would spend about a month in China every year lecturing and demonstrating manga to enthusiastic young audiences.
“We are pleased to share our passion for manga with young and enthusiastic people. We hope through our workshops - it will provide inspiration to a young artist to become a professional and to achieve their life long dream,” said Kouhei.
“When you love what you do, you could turn it into your life,” added Tsugumi.
Konohana Sakuya’s lecture is sponsored by the Japan Foundation, Savannah College of Art and Design, and the Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta in association with Japan-America Society of Georgia.