Kamome Shirahama: "My stories can speak to readers who feel uncertain about themselves"

How does one become a mangaka?

I did not really plan to become a manga artist at first. I studied design in school, and after graduating I was working as a freelance illustrator. Then, while I was active in that field, a manga editor approached me at an event called COMITIA, a Japanese fair for original self-published manga and illustration. That encounter became the turning point for me: it was the moment when I began to think that perhaps I could try drawing manga as well.

In your view, what defines an excellent manga artist?

That is a difficult question, because it is such a broad one. From a professional standpoint, an important quality is the ability to meet deadlines, but also to create work that offers a fresh perspective. At the same time, on a more personal level, every artist is trying to express something different: not everyone wants to draw the same things or explore the same themes. For that reason, I think the ideal image of what a manga artist should be can vary greatly from one person to another.

How do you see manga as a form of artistic expression?

I think manga is very much art. At the same time, it also occupies a kind of middle ground between a drawing and a novel, because it conveys stories through pictures.

But manga is also entertainment, and it is also a product. For me, that is part of what makes it so interesting: it is something mixed. It cannot be reduced to a single category. 

Like yourself, more and more women have managed to make their mark in this traditionally male-dominated field. How do you explain this shift?

Japanese manga artists work in a somewhat special environment. Many creators do not use their real names, and I think that has made it possible for many women to be very active. A certain degree of anonymity can make it easier to express one's feelings openly, including deeper emotions or cries from the heart. That may be one reason why there are so many women manga artists today, and why it feels as though their number continues to grow.

In terms of the newer generation, I no longer feel like a newcomer, but rather like someone in mid-career. Looking at recent works, I often sense anger, indignation, and very strong assertions within them. We are living in an unstable world, and many creators seem to be trying to find a place where they can stand. I feel that more and more works are carrying that kind of emotion.

Your work Witch Hat Atelier has achieved international success. How would you introduce it to someone unfamiliar with it?

It is a story – the first volume of which was released in 2016 in Japan – set in a world where people believe that only those born with magical power can use magic. The protagonist is an ordinary girl who does not possess magic, but who longs to become a magic user. Through a certain incident, she encounters a magic user, enters the world of magic, and gradually begins to uncover its secrets.

This is a story about possibility. Even a child without special inborn abilities can become a magic user. That framework is central to the story, but so is the emotional idea behind it: the possibility that someone who seems ordinary, or who feels excluded from a world of talent, may still find a way into it. That is one of the reasons I hope the story can speak to readers who feel uncertain about themselves.