Takashi Fukutani
Description
Takashi Fukutani was a Japanese manga artist born on February 4, 1952 in the Saidaiji area of Okayama. His early life was marked by hardship following his parents' divorce; he was raised by his father, a strict military veteran. After his father died when Fukutani was 15, he lived unhappily with his stepmother. By the age of 16, he had been placed on juvenile probation following arrests for drug use and other petty crimes. At 18, he went in search of his birth mother before eventually settling in Tokyo.
Before becoming a manga artist, Fukutani held a series of low-paying jobs. He once applied for a position as an assistant to Yukichi Yamamatsu but was fired on his first day due to drunkenness. Drawing inspiration from his difficult experiences, he began creating manga and in 1978 received an honorable mention in a contest run by Dakkusu manga magazine for his story Tokyo Adieu. His first published work was the story Bohemian Rhapsody in Weekly Manga Goraku in 1979.
Fukutani is best known for his manga series Dokudami Tenement, which began serialization in Houbunsha's Weekly Manga Times in 1979 and ran for 14 years. The series was inspired by his own near-destitute life living and drinking in the Asagaya and Koenji districts while working as a day laborer on construction sites. Dokudami Tenement depicted life at the margins of Japan's largely middle-class society, focusing on social groups rarely shown in the media but essential to the economic boom of the era. The series follows Yoshio Hori, an unemployed and often destitute anti-hero living in a filthy apartment, presented through a lens of outrageous comedy mixed with genuine pathos. Fukutani's artistic approach in the work featured a clear line style and cinematic panel pacing, drawing comparisons to Katsuhiro Otomo. Critics have described Fukutani as the Bukowski of manga.
As the series gained popularity, Fukutani developed a public reputation as a hard-drinking bohemian, with fans bringing gifts of alcohol and cigarettes to his public appearances. This image was reinforced by a notorious appearance on the late-night talk show 11PM, where he shocked producers by drinking excessively throughout the program. Fukutani eventually tired of writing Dokudami Tenement and, after missing several deadlines, announced he would end the series in 1993. He attempted to create new series, such as the Yakuza-themed Retake, but met with little success. Following strong pressure from fans and his publishers, he relaunched his best-known work as New Dokudami Tenement in 1994, but it continued for only a few months. This relaunch corresponds to the manga Kaettekita Dokudamisō.
Beyond his major work, Fukutani's partial bibliography includes Don't Look Back published in Weekly Young Magazine in 1981, Duck Tail Yuu also in Weekly Young Magazine in 1982, and Retake in Action Pizzazz in 1992. Dokudami Tenement was adapted as a live action movie in 1988, three volumes of original video animation in 1989, and two direct-to-video movies in 1995. Throughout the 1990s, Fukutani struggled with alcoholism and was repeatedly hospitalized. He died of pulmonary edema in Tokyo on September 9, 2000 at the age of 48.
Despite his domestic success, Fukutani and his work were little known outside of Japan until after his death when French and English translations of Dokudami Tenement were published. The first French volume, published as Le Vagabond de Tokyo, was an official selection of the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2010. The third volume was nominated for the ACBD's Prix Asie de la Critique in 2013. The first English translated volume was nominated for the 2017 Broken Frontier Award for Best Collection of Classic Material. Comics historian Paul Gravett includes Fukutani in his list of the 1001 most important creators in worldwide comics history and included Dokudami Tenement in 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die. Retrospective exhibitions of his work have been held in Tokyo and London. Editor Mitsuhiro Asakawa has argued that the misunderstanding and lack of recognition Fukutani faced during his lifetime broke his heart and influenced his untimely death, making the posthumous international appreciation of his work a long-overdue celebration of an underappreciated artist who gave voice to the disenfranchised and working class youth of Japan.
Before becoming a manga artist, Fukutani held a series of low-paying jobs. He once applied for a position as an assistant to Yukichi Yamamatsu but was fired on his first day due to drunkenness. Drawing inspiration from his difficult experiences, he began creating manga and in 1978 received an honorable mention in a contest run by Dakkusu manga magazine for his story Tokyo Adieu. His first published work was the story Bohemian Rhapsody in Weekly Manga Goraku in 1979.
Fukutani is best known for his manga series Dokudami Tenement, which began serialization in Houbunsha's Weekly Manga Times in 1979 and ran for 14 years. The series was inspired by his own near-destitute life living and drinking in the Asagaya and Koenji districts while working as a day laborer on construction sites. Dokudami Tenement depicted life at the margins of Japan's largely middle-class society, focusing on social groups rarely shown in the media but essential to the economic boom of the era. The series follows Yoshio Hori, an unemployed and often destitute anti-hero living in a filthy apartment, presented through a lens of outrageous comedy mixed with genuine pathos. Fukutani's artistic approach in the work featured a clear line style and cinematic panel pacing, drawing comparisons to Katsuhiro Otomo. Critics have described Fukutani as the Bukowski of manga.
As the series gained popularity, Fukutani developed a public reputation as a hard-drinking bohemian, with fans bringing gifts of alcohol and cigarettes to his public appearances. This image was reinforced by a notorious appearance on the late-night talk show 11PM, where he shocked producers by drinking excessively throughout the program. Fukutani eventually tired of writing Dokudami Tenement and, after missing several deadlines, announced he would end the series in 1993. He attempted to create new series, such as the Yakuza-themed Retake, but met with little success. Following strong pressure from fans and his publishers, he relaunched his best-known work as New Dokudami Tenement in 1994, but it continued for only a few months. This relaunch corresponds to the manga Kaettekita Dokudamisō.
Beyond his major work, Fukutani's partial bibliography includes Don't Look Back published in Weekly Young Magazine in 1981, Duck Tail Yuu also in Weekly Young Magazine in 1982, and Retake in Action Pizzazz in 1992. Dokudami Tenement was adapted as a live action movie in 1988, three volumes of original video animation in 1989, and two direct-to-video movies in 1995. Throughout the 1990s, Fukutani struggled with alcoholism and was repeatedly hospitalized. He died of pulmonary edema in Tokyo on September 9, 2000 at the age of 48.
Despite his domestic success, Fukutani and his work were little known outside of Japan until after his death when French and English translations of Dokudami Tenement were published. The first French volume, published as Le Vagabond de Tokyo, was an official selection of the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2010. The third volume was nominated for the ACBD's Prix Asie de la Critique in 2013. The first English translated volume was nominated for the 2017 Broken Frontier Award for Best Collection of Classic Material. Comics historian Paul Gravett includes Fukutani in his list of the 1001 most important creators in worldwide comics history and included Dokudami Tenement in 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die. Retrospective exhibitions of his work have been held in Tokyo and London. Editor Mitsuhiro Asakawa has argued that the misunderstanding and lack of recognition Fukutani faced during his lifetime broke his heart and influenced his untimely death, making the posthumous international appreciation of his work a long-overdue celebration of an underappreciated artist who gave voice to the disenfranchised and working class youth of Japan.
Works
- Topics: Manga overview