What does it mean to write? Writing is a very simple task one can do with only a pen and paper. And yet, there’s an incredible amount of power to it, such as expressing your feelings to someone, gathering your thoughts into one place, leaving behind a record of present events to look back on in the future . . .

We’ll be using the Hobonichi Techo 2019 release to take another look at the action of writing, pondering and discussing what makes it so fun and what makes it so mysterious.

In this special article, we’ve taken a closer look at 10 people who draw and write in their professional or personal lives, checking out their favorite writing tools and hearing all about their writing process. We hope you enjoy reading all about the wide variety of approaches to writing.

What does it mean to write?

vol.9

Yuko Higuchi

“Drawing is my way of connecting with the world.”

If artist Yuko Higuchi is awake, she’s probably drawing. We asked her what drawing means to her.

ProfileYuko Higuchi

Artist, children’s book author.
Mainly holds solo exhibitions, as well as exhibitions in collaboration with various companies. Books include The Two Cats and Diary of Boris (both published by Shodensha), Gustav-kun and Worthless Cat (both published by Hakusensha), BABEL: Yuko Higuchi Artworks and Yuko Higuchi Sticker Box (both published by Graphic-sha Publishing), If I Love You (published by Bronze Publishing), and more. Current solo exhibition, Circus, is at the Setagaya Literary Museum until March 31, and more shows are planned across Japan thereafter.

――: You’ve had an incredible output of artwork. How many pictures do you draw in a day?

Higuchi: If I’m awake, I’m usually drawing. The only time I’m not drawing is when I’m in the middle of going somewhere.

――: Wow, that’s amazing. Could you show us your art tools?

Higuchi: First is my 2B pencil, which is super common. Then I’ve got a few Holbein Maxon Procolor pens — 0.5mm, 1.0mm, and 2.0mm, a few in each size. This was one of the pens I got when I was a student, and it’s so easy to use that I just stuck with it. My brush pen is also a Holbein. The cap is attached to the pen, so it’s convenient for carrying around. It’s also not too expensive, because the bristles contain a mix of natural and artificial hair.

――: Even right now you’re drawing as we talk, since we’ve asked to photograph you as you draw. Are your years of experience what allow you to concentrate on drawing while we talk?

Higuchi: Nah, I’ve always been the type to chat while I draw, ever since I was a child. I know some people have to stay quiet while they draw, and some people can’t draw when they’re being watched, but I do my job well if someone’s watching.

――: Now that you mention it, Q-rais told us he couldn’t draw while he was talking.

Higuchi: We went to a coffee shop together the other day and had a conversation as we both drew, so it felt like we were comrades.

――: It’s clear that drawing is a big part of your daily life, but how would you describe what it feels like to draw?

Higuchi: I almost never feel like I want to go on a trip or take a vacation. I just feel the urge to draw more of something, or in a certain style. So I’m generally relaxed when I’m drawing. I only get nervous when the deadline’s really tight and I’m not sure I can make it in time.

――: So you’re at ease when you draw.

Higuchi: But sometimes a particular picture will be very difficult to draw — like if I need to draw something I’m not particularly interested in, or if there are a ton of edits. If I have too many projects like that I start losing my will; I know it can be greedy, but sometimes I have to turn jobs down. On the other hand, sometimes I want to draw something so badly that the desire also makes it difficult.

――: Even though you want to draw it?

Higuchi: I think every artist has something they’ve always wanted to try that’s difficult to pull off. The other day I drew The Little Prince, because I love those books and really look up to that artist a lot. It was really hard to do, because the original illustrations are already perfect.

――: I see.

Higuchi: Drawing something I love makes it feel more tangible, and allows me to connect with it on a personal level.

――: What kind of connection do you mean?

Higuchi: I don’t like airplanes, so that really limits the places I can travel. But I can still draw something that’s located in that place I can’t visit. My imagination might be a little far-fetched, but sometimes it’s better to leave it that way, rather than traveling there in person to clarify the gap between imagination and reality. In other words, mentally visiting those places I want to see is enough for me.

――: So you also connect with places you want to visit by drawing.

Higuchi: For me, drawing is a way to satisfy myself, so I draw for the sake of acting on those aspirations.

――: Is that also something you’ve done since you were a child?

Higuchi: It is. I drew constantly as a child. Something I remember really vividly is a neighbor who had a pet Shamo chicken.

――: Yeah?

Higuchi: When I looked at that bird, I was struck by how many parts there were to its feathers. I thought it looked like a dinosaur. I wasn’t even in elementary school yet, but I really wanted to draw it, so I had my grandmother ask if I could study it. Luckily we already knew the family, so they were fine with it. So I set my paper up on my drawing board and went to their house.

――: Wow, at such a young age!

Higuchi: I had so much fun drawing it, because there were more parts to it than I could even draw out. To me, there’s no point in taking a photograph of something like that. It’s not even whether you can draw it out accurately or not — it’s about drawing something as a means to establish a connection with it. I wasn’t thinking that deeply at the time, of course.

――: I can see your way of connecting with the world has always been by drawing it, even as a child.

Higuchi: I’ve never been very good at communication, so I feel especially lucky to be able to draw for a living. I know I’d be drawing this much anyway even if I’d never been able to do it as a job. At this point in my life I’ve drawn professionally for more years than I haven’t, so I’m incredibly happy with my circumstances.

(Next time we’ll be talking to Fumika Hideshima)

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The interviews in this article are edited versions of those on display at the “Write!” event hosted at the Ginza Loft in September 2018. You can read more about the event here.