, commonly romanized Fumiyo Kouno, is a Japanese

manga artist A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist be ...

from

Nishi-ku, Hiroshima is one of eight wards in the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The Hiroshima–Nishi Airport was located in Nishi-ku. Geography The ward of Nishi-ku is in the southwest part of Hiroshima. There are many mountains, but the other wards are mostly larger ...

, known for her 2004 manga ''

Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms is a one-volume manga written and illustrated by Fumiyo Kōno. The two connected stories were first published in Japan by Futabasha in ''Weekly Manga Action'' in 2003 and 2004, then collected in a single ''tankōbon'' volume in 2004. The st ...

'' and her 2007 manga ''

In This Corner of the World is a manga series written and illustrated by Fumiyo Kōno which ran from 2007 to 2009 in ''Weekly Manga Action''. It follows the life of Suzu Urano, a young bride with her new family living on the outskirts of Kure City during the Second W ...

'' which got an anime film adaptation in 2016 by

MAPPA is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Suginami, Tokyo. Founded in 2011 by Madhouse co-founder and producer Masao Maruyama, it has produced anime works including ''Terror in Resonance'', ''Yuri!!! on Ice'', ''In This Corner of the Wo ...

Biography

She was born in

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

in 1968 and began drawing manga when she was in junior high school. She states that she began drawing manga because her parents would not often buy her manga. Kōno studied science at

Hiroshima University is a Japanese national university located in Higashihiroshima and Hiroshima, Japan. Established in 1929, it was chartered as a university in 1949 following the merge of a number of national educational institutions. History Under the Nationa ...

and moved to Tokyo, becoming an assistant to Katsuyuki Toda, Aki Morino, and Fumiko Tanigawa. Kōno made her commercial debut in 1995 with ''Machikado Hana Da Yori''. She feels that

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...

and

Fujiko Fujio was a manga writing duo formed by Japanese manga artists and . They formed their partnership in 1951, and used the Fujiko Fujio name from 1954 until dissolution of the partnership in 1987, upon Fujimoto's illness. The pair was best known ...

were among her early influences, but then she was inspired by

Sanpei Shirato , known by the pen name , was a Japanese manga artist and essayist known for his social criticism as well as the realism of his drawing style and the characters in his scenarios. He was considered a pioneer of the controversial ''gekiga'' genre o ...

's literary style and at present, she takes inspiration from Yu Takita's versatility. She graduated from the University of the Air in 2001 with a major in Humanities.

Works

Selected works. (Titles without an English version are given a literal translation enclosed in quotation marks.) * (serialized 1995–1996 and 2002–2003, collected 2007, Futabasha), 1 volume * (serialized 1997–2004, collected 2009, Futabasha), 2 volumes ** ''Pippira Nōto 1'' (2000 Futabasha) ** ''Pippira Nōto: Kanketsuhen'' (2004 Futabasha) * (serialized 1999–2001, collected 2005, Ohzora Shuppan) * (serialized 2001–2004, collected 2005, Futabasha) (2009 reprint Futabasha) * (script Akiho Kousaka, serialized 2001–2002, Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers) * (2003–2004, serialized in ''Manga Action'', Futabasha) (serialized 2002 and 2004, collected 2004, Futabasha) * (serialized 2004–2006, collected 2006, Futabasha) * (serialized 2007-2009, collected 2008–2009, Futabasha)

Awards

* Kōno won the 2004

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by ...

Grand Prize (Manga Division) for ''Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms'' * Kōno won the 2005

Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Named after Osamu Tezuka, the is a yearly manga prize awarded to manga artists or their works that follow the Osamu Tezuka manga approach founded and sponsored by Asahi Shimbun. The prize has been awarded since 1997, in Tokyo, Japan. Current ...

Creative Award for ''Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms'' * Kōno won the 2009

Excellence Prize (Manga Division) for ''Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni''

References

Notes

Citations

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kono, Fumiyo 1968 births Living people Women manga artists Manga artists from Hiroshima Prefecture Japanese female comics artists People from Hiroshima Hiroshima University alumni Female comics writers 20th-century Japanese women writers 21st-century Japanese women writers