◇Cartoonist's Foreign Affair

Manga Artist Saibara Rieko frequently travels abroad － mostly to other countries in Asia － with her children, just like the character she portrays in the popular manga series "Mainichi Kasan," carried every Sunday in the Mainichi Shimbun. "I don't speak English," she claims, but that has not stopped her from meeting and communicating with local residents. The "Mainichi Weekly" spoke to her about her experiences abroad and her thoughts on international exchange.

For Saibara, traveling to foreign destinations is a source of fresh ideas. She has a special affinity for Asia, having made over 100 trips over the years. "My feeling is that nobody will read manga that only deal with commonplace themes. So I visit out‐of‐the‐way places and eat food that most people might consider unhygienic or bizarre. And I write about them in my manga."

Thailand and Cambodia are particularly popular destinations for Saibara, who always takes her children with her. "They're reluctant to eat the strange foods," she notes, "but they've now resigned themselves to the fact that this is an important part of their mom's job."

And the many people they have met on their travels abroad have contributed to piquing their curiosity about the world around them."My middle‐school‐aged son, in particular, has a good ear for languages, which is something he shares with his now deceased father － who was a freelance war photographer. He really picks things up quickly, in any language."

When visiting a place for the first time, Saibara always talks with the locals. "It's certainly important to study the local culture and customs before you go, but you can often learn much more by visiting a place than by reading a hundred books. I find it's not that difficult to communicate with people, even if you don't speak their language."

Saibara nonetheless usually brings along an assistant who is familiar with foreign languages and hires a local interpreter to ensure the accuracy of the information obtained.

She claims she was not enthusiastic about studying English while in school and never gave it much attention. "My mother used to call me "tori atama" (literally bird head), which means slow learner in the dialect of Kochi Prefecture."

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