Last month, folks in Japan had the chance to attend a historical discussion of Yuri in the 1990s and the birth of Yuri in America, with creators Akiko Morishima and Rica Takashima. Our Japan Correspondent Sasori is here with a report on the proceedings!
I’m headed to loneliness books in Higashi-Nakano, to meet two Yuri icons, Rica Takashima and Akiko Morishima.
Rica Takashima is best known for her series Rica ‘tte Kanji!?, one of the first English translated yuri manga. Her later sequel in 2025 being New York Love: Rica ‘tte Kanji!? I remember when I first read her works in the US anthology Yuri Monogatari!
Akiko Morishima is the creator of Hanjuku Joshi, Rakuen no Jouken (The Conditions of Paradise), Yurikuma Arashi, as well as many other yuri manga. She also did cover illustrations for Hajimete no Yuri Studies: Queer/Feminist no Shiten kara (Introduction to Yuri Studies: From Queer and Feminist Perspectives). She is now serializing Hitorimi Desu (Living Single) (KADOKAWA/CandleA), about the life of a single lesbian in her sixties.
(Sources from the description of the event)
Walking into the bookstore was like walking into a manga gallery, the entire wall was lined with Takashima-san’s works! Under her original manga pages, were magazine publications as well as By My Side and all the Yuri Monogatari anthologies. I’ve never seen all of them lined up before, it felt like a yuri time capsule.
Seeing close up manuscripts of the manga is always a treat because you can see all the typography glues in the speech bubbles and hand done screen tones. I also liked seeing the English translated manga surrounded by their respected JP publications.
My only wish was that I had infinite money to buy more books! There was so much on sale.
Lined next to the manuscripts were small shikishi and original prints, sifting through the prints in the binder was so satisfying.
The talk started at 20:00 ( 8:00) in the middle of the bookstore. There were a total of about 15-20 people, so a really comfortable turnout. Takashima sensei began by passing around a bowl of American candy, and she knew her stuff, there were Twizzlers and airheads in there! Both Takashima and Morishima sensei were very upbeat and could back and fourth really well about honestly any topic as well as their respected works .
Takashima sensei talked about what it was like living in New York and brought up the history of Yuri, often referencing By Your Side and even Fun Home. I also liked Morishima sensei’s response to some questions about gender equality, and she also talked about being a fan of Sailor Moon and Cutie Honey.
Other topics covered were the current lesbian fashion of the past and present (Butch military styles, overalls, and more feminine attire), the lesbian bar scene, and a shared love of mini skirts.
It was kind of like listening to two friends reminiscing about the past, which was very comforting.
The talk went a little past it’s allotted time, but I was able to buy some cute stickers and a copy of Tokyo Love, that Takashima sensei signed with an adorable sketch of me, complete with heart eyes. I was hoping I could stay a bit longer to see if Morishima sensei had any books, as I am also a huge fan of hers, but sadly I had to catch the late train home.
I’ll be sure to revisit the loneliness bookstore, not only for the awesome LGBTQ+ rep, but also because it’s rare to see so many English publications outside of Kinokuniya.
If you ever find yourself in Higashi-Nakano, be sure to take a peak, maybe you can buy some issues of Yuri Monogatari!
No pictures were allowed in the exhibit, but I was enchanted by all the preserved books and novels from the 1920’s and 30’s. There were also newspaper and activism articles, my favorites being about female political movements. I tried to scribble out a few memorable ones in my notebook!
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