Gekiga artist Shinichi (b1950) lived in Asagaya between 1970-73 and 1975-804539164
He debuted in Garo in 1970 (he cites Mangaka Shinji Nagashima and Garo as being the main reasons he moved from Fukuoka to Asagaya in 1970).
Shinichi came from Tagawa in Fukuoka. His father was a wealthy business who prospered from charcoal mining, then clothes manufacture. Shinichi says that when he was a teenager he was the richest boy in within his group of friends.
In 1968, At 17 years of age, Shinichi ran away from his parents and headed to Asagaya to try and meet one of his mangaka heroes, famous artist Shinji Nagashima. Shinji Nagashima advised Shinichi to see out his time at school and return to Asagaya after graduation. Shinichi followed the advice and went back to Tagawa to finish his high school education before returning to live in Asagaya in 1970.
In one of his most famous works, 'The Miyoko Asagaya Feeling' (1971) Shinichi shares his time in Asagaya, shares his loves, desires, and what is was like being a bohemian expressionist manga artist living in a Tokyo suburb in the 1970s.
The Miyoko in 'The Miyoko Asagaya Feeling' stories is Shinichi's partner. They met at high school and moved to Asagaya together in 1970 (Shinichi waited for Miyoko to graduate before they moved to Asagaya together). They married in 1973 and now the couple reside in Tagawa.
This exhibition is being run over 4 galleries on the Chuo line and features original art works, published (GARO, COM etc.) and unpublished works.
Gallery Hakusen will be showing the originals for 'Asgaya Shinju' (Asagaya Double Suicide) (first published in June 1972, GARO) and 'Kitsune ni baka sare ta onna' ('The woman tricked by a fox')(unpublished).
The galleries involved are - Ganka Garo (Shinjuku), Taco Che (Nakano), Biblio (Kunitachi), and us, Gallery Hakusen (Asagaya).
I've been to Taco-Che (see below) , I will be checking out the other galleries in the next couple of days.