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The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud
The work of a visionary and iconoclastic feminist cartoonist—available in English for the first time
The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud collects the best short stories from Kuniko Tsurita’s remarkable career. While the works of her male peers in literary manga are widely reprinted, this formally ambitious and poetic female voice is like none other currently available to an English readership. A master of the comics form, expert pacing and compositions combined with bold characters are signature qualities of Tsurita's work.
Tsurita’s early stories “Nonsense” and “Anti” provide a unique, intimate perspective on the bohemian culture and political heat of late 1960s and early ‘70s Tokyo. Her work gradually became darker and more surreal under the influence of modern French literature and her own prematurely failing health. As in works like “The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud” and “Max,” the gender of many of Tsurita's strong and sensual protagonists is ambiguous, marking an early exploration of gender fluidity. Late stories like "Arctic Cold" and "Flight" show the artist experimenting with more conventional narrative modes, though with dystopian themes that extend the philosophical interests of her early work.
An exciting and essential gekiga collection, The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud is translated by the comics scholar Ryan Holmberg and includes an afterword cowritten by Holmberg and manga editor Mitsuhiro Asakawa delineating Tsurita's importance and historical relevance.
The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud collects the best short stories from Kuniko Tsurita’s remarkable career. While the works of her male peers in literary manga are widely reprinted, this formally ambitious and poetic female voice is like none other currently available to an English readership. A master of the comics form, expert pacing and compositions combined with bold characters are signature qualities of Tsurita's work.
Tsurita’s early stories “Nonsense” and “Anti” provide a unique, intimate perspective on the bohemian culture and political heat of late 1960s and early ‘70s Tokyo. Her work gradually became darker and more surreal under the influence of modern French literature and her own prematurely failing health. As in works like “The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud” and “Max,” the gender of many of Tsurita's strong and sensual protagonists is ambiguous, marking an early exploration of gender fluidity. Late stories like "Arctic Cold" and "Flight" show the artist experimenting with more conventional narrative modes, though with dystopian themes that extend the philosophical interests of her early work.
An exciting and essential gekiga collection, The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud is translated by the comics scholar Ryan Holmberg and includes an afterword cowritten by Holmberg and manga editor Mitsuhiro Asakawa delineating Tsurita's importance and historical relevance.
384 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
July 11, 2020
This isn't necessarily a book for the casual manga reader, but more for the scholar - of manga, of Japanese feminism, or of mid-20th century counterculture. Tsurita was the first woman to be published in GARO and rejected gender-based stereotyping in her work inspired by the culture of the 1960s and 70s, and although she isn't a household name as far as pioneering manga creators go, she really ought to be.
Full review eventually appearing on ANN.
Full review eventually appearing on ANN.
February 28, 2021
Tuniko Taurita’ The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud is a collection from the leading edge and a very early female contributor to the world of Japanese Manga graphic story telling. This much I can say based upon the afterword by Evan Holmberg and Mitsuhrito Asakawa. While this is not my first attempt at Manga, this afterword makes it clear that this is a field broader and deeper than I am qualified to represent.
I finished it thinking my review must needs be as ill-informed as would be a review by me of a Kabouki theater production. To properly comment on either requires an immersion into a subculture, its traditions and particular styles to which I have only the most shallow of appreciations.
My observations may assist a first time visitor into this aspect of post-World War II Japanese popular or perhaps counter culture. Ms. Tsurita’s manga tends to be highly stylized , very aware of her peculiar role as an early female artist in a very male dominated field and ultimately by her knowledge of her impending early death. Manga is a name for a number of schools of comics ranging from pre-adolescent, girly popular themes to what in America would be known as the Beat, or beatnik generation and heavily engaged in Japaneses anti Vietnam War protests.
Her characters are frequently androgynous and her themes most often dark . Death is perhaps the single most common event in the collection.
What most positively resonated to my under-prepared mind is her pen work. Her images are elegant , ethereal , stark and bold. Where I lose the story or the point , I am still taken by how often her ink work is more than sufficiently rewarding.
I cannot recommend The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud as an entry level exposure to Manga. I can recommend it as a goal worth achieving.
I finished it thinking my review must needs be as ill-informed as would be a review by me of a Kabouki theater production. To properly comment on either requires an immersion into a subculture, its traditions and particular styles to which I have only the most shallow of appreciations.
My observations may assist a first time visitor into this aspect of post-World War II Japanese popular or perhaps counter culture. Ms. Tsurita’s manga tends to be highly stylized , very aware of her peculiar role as an early female artist in a very male dominated field and ultimately by her knowledge of her impending early death. Manga is a name for a number of schools of comics ranging from pre-adolescent, girly popular themes to what in America would be known as the Beat, or beatnik generation and heavily engaged in Japaneses anti Vietnam War protests.
Her characters are frequently androgynous and her themes most often dark . Death is perhaps the single most common event in the collection.
What most positively resonated to my under-prepared mind is her pen work. Her images are elegant , ethereal , stark and bold. Where I lose the story or the point , I am still taken by how often her ink work is more than sufficiently rewarding.
I cannot recommend The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud as an entry level exposure to Manga. I can recommend it as a goal worth achieving.
September 2, 2021
Literary manga short stories by one of the few women regularly published in the groundbreaking alternative comix magazine Garo in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s. And by "literary" I mean opaque, incomprehensible, and/or dumb. Not for me.
July 6, 2020
Best comic I’ve read this year so far.
August 17, 2020
My review of this book of short stories is now up on SOLRAD: https://bit.ly/2FswnFT
November 10, 2023
Gdy Kuniko Tsurita zaczynała komiksową karierę, środowisko związane z mangą było silnie zmaskulinizowane. To się na przestrzeni lat nieznacznie zmieniało, ale nie ulega wątpliwości, że przez cały okres jej życia i funkcjonowania w tym światku (zmarła przedwcześnie w 1985 r.), mężczyźni nie tyle dominowali, co tworzyli hermetyczną społeczność, do której kobiecie nie było łatwo się przebić. Mimo to artystce udało się zaistnieć na tyle, że była pierwszą autorką tworzącą dla kultowego magazynu „Garo” i jedyną, która robiła to w miarę regularnie w czasach, gdy od rysowniczek wymagano głównie zaangażowaniu w powstawanie shoujo – komiksów o tematyce miłosnej. Gekiga, czyli odmiana mangi przeznaczonej dla dorosłego czytelnika, była domeną mężczyzn. Tsurita jest pionierką nie tylko z tego powodu, warto nadmienić, że jej twórczość cechuje spora oryginalność na tle dokonań ówczesnych mangaków, więc świetnie, że wybór jej najciekawszych opowiadań udało się przybliżyć anglojęzycznemu czytelnikowi.
Dokonania Tsurity, nawet te z najwcześniejszego okresu, przepełnione są widmem nadchodzącej śmierci. Jej symbolem jest unoszący się nad krajobrazem atomowy grzyb, który nie jest (jak niektórzy przypuszczali) wizytówką zagrożenia, jakie niesie współczesna technologia wojenna, ale właśnie odzwierciedleniem choroby (toczeń), jaką zdiagnozowano u autorki i jaka kładzie się cieniem na beztrosce życia i wyzwoleniu, reprezentowanym tu przez nieskrępowaną jazdą motocyklem. W ogóle w tej twórczości sporo jest ukrytych znaczeń i symboli, ujawniających swój sens dopiero po zetknięciu z biografią artystki. Akcja „Yuko’s Day” dzieje się np. w szpitalu, a treść „My Wife is an Acrobat” wynika z obserwacji ciała chorej przez jej partnera. „Arctic Old” opowiada o nieokreślonym miejscu naznaczonym reżimową rzeczywistością, gdzie słabe ogniwa skazywane są na obóz koncentracyjny i eliminację. Obserwujemy chorą kobietę, którą w wielkiej tajemnicy i poczuciu zagrożenia opiekuje się jej partner. Te i inne opowiadania są dowodem zawoalowanych treści ubranych w historie cechujące się sporą dawką artyzmu, a także depresyjną i enigmatyczną formą. Zresztą momentami przekraczana jest granica pretensjonalności, jaką jest w stanie znieść czytelnik - w „Calamity” życie pokazano jako więzienie, a niewinnego bohatera jako skazańca czekającego na proces. Trzeba jednak wziąć pod uwagę, że to co dla europejskiego czytelnika wydaje się ogranym motywem czy banałem, z perspektywy kultury Japonii lat 60. i 70., może nabrać całkiem nowych kontekstów.
Znajdziemy tu zarówno tematykę dotyczącą związku i roli kobiety w nim („Occupants”), jak i opowiadania wskazujące na ogromne pokłady samotności autorki („Sounds”, „Money”), a wszystko to na tle ówczesnych niepokojów społecznych i protestów studenckich związanych z lewicową kontrkulturą. W sferze obyczajowej uderza odwaga w przedstawianiu androgynicznych postaci i zawoalowanych wątków lesbijskich. Tsurita znała języki obce, więc zaczytywała się m.in. w literaturze francuskiej w czasie, gdy w Japonii przekładów w ogóle nie było. Z czasem w jej twórczości zaczęły dominować wątki baśniowe, ale zawsze z drugim dnem. Opowiadania miały często silny wydźwięk egzystencjalny i zawierały wiele niedopowiedzeń stanowiąc formę otwartą na domysły i interpretację i chyba przez to jest ona dzisiaj tak ciekawa.
Głęboko intelektualny charakter tych historii ma odzwierciedlenie w stronie graficznej - także niejednoznacznej, mieszającej warstwę karykaturalną z powagą, oferującej sporo artystycznych, metaforycznych kadrów, czasem niejasnych i skrótowych, jednak zawsze nadających całości dodatkowej głębi. Ten zbiór to wyzwanie, które z pewnością łatwiej podjąć z opublikowanym w tomie świetnym esejem Ryana Holmberga – niezwykle zasłużonego w przybliżaniu zachodniemu czytelnikowi klasyków japońskiej mangi.
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Tekst ukazał się na facebookowej stronie "Magazynu Kreski"
Dokonania Tsurity, nawet te z najwcześniejszego okresu, przepełnione są widmem nadchodzącej śmierci. Jej symbolem jest unoszący się nad krajobrazem atomowy grzyb, który nie jest (jak niektórzy przypuszczali) wizytówką zagrożenia, jakie niesie współczesna technologia wojenna, ale właśnie odzwierciedleniem choroby (toczeń), jaką zdiagnozowano u autorki i jaka kładzie się cieniem na beztrosce życia i wyzwoleniu, reprezentowanym tu przez nieskrępowaną jazdą motocyklem. W ogóle w tej twórczości sporo jest ukrytych znaczeń i symboli, ujawniających swój sens dopiero po zetknięciu z biografią artystki. Akcja „Yuko’s Day” dzieje się np. w szpitalu, a treść „My Wife is an Acrobat” wynika z obserwacji ciała chorej przez jej partnera. „Arctic Old” opowiada o nieokreślonym miejscu naznaczonym reżimową rzeczywistością, gdzie słabe ogniwa skazywane są na obóz koncentracyjny i eliminację. Obserwujemy chorą kobietę, którą w wielkiej tajemnicy i poczuciu zagrożenia opiekuje się jej partner. Te i inne opowiadania są dowodem zawoalowanych treści ubranych w historie cechujące się sporą dawką artyzmu, a także depresyjną i enigmatyczną formą. Zresztą momentami przekraczana jest granica pretensjonalności, jaką jest w stanie znieść czytelnik - w „Calamity” życie pokazano jako więzienie, a niewinnego bohatera jako skazańca czekającego na proces. Trzeba jednak wziąć pod uwagę, że to co dla europejskiego czytelnika wydaje się ogranym motywem czy banałem, z perspektywy kultury Japonii lat 60. i 70., może nabrać całkiem nowych kontekstów.
Znajdziemy tu zarówno tematykę dotyczącą związku i roli kobiety w nim („Occupants”), jak i opowiadania wskazujące na ogromne pokłady samotności autorki („Sounds”, „Money”), a wszystko to na tle ówczesnych niepokojów społecznych i protestów studenckich związanych z lewicową kontrkulturą. W sferze obyczajowej uderza odwaga w przedstawianiu androgynicznych postaci i zawoalowanych wątków lesbijskich. Tsurita znała języki obce, więc zaczytywała się m.in. w literaturze francuskiej w czasie, gdy w Japonii przekładów w ogóle nie było. Z czasem w jej twórczości zaczęły dominować wątki baśniowe, ale zawsze z drugim dnem. Opowiadania miały często silny wydźwięk egzystencjalny i zawierały wiele niedopowiedzeń stanowiąc formę otwartą na domysły i interpretację i chyba przez to jest ona dzisiaj tak ciekawa.
Głęboko intelektualny charakter tych historii ma odzwierciedlenie w stronie graficznej - także niejednoznacznej, mieszającej warstwę karykaturalną z powagą, oferującej sporo artystycznych, metaforycznych kadrów, czasem niejasnych i skrótowych, jednak zawsze nadających całości dodatkowej głębi. Ten zbiór to wyzwanie, które z pewnością łatwiej podjąć z opublikowanym w tomie świetnym esejem Ryana Holmberga – niezwykle zasłużonego w przybliżaniu zachodniemu czytelnikowi klasyków japońskiej mangi.
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Tekst ukazał się na facebookowej stronie "Magazynu Kreski"
March 10, 2024
My new favorite artist
April 1, 2021
As a filthy American of the modern times, I couldn't properly jive with this collection of indie manga from the 60s and at best could only respect it as a fascinating time capsule of counter-culture from that era. What truly sold me, however, was the 39-page essay at the back end of the volume by Ryan Holmberg and Mitsuhiro Asakawa.
While a lot of the essay can only form educated guesses at Tsurita's intent and meaning behind her works, it also properly contextualizes the economic and political climate of Japan at that time. Also delving into Tsurita's personal life as she struggled in the indie world and eventually with her health, the essay does an excellent job framing Tsurita is this underdog and counter-culture icon that never got her due respect because she was just that counter-cultur-y. Highly recommend reading the essay *before* reading the collection of manga.
While a lot of the essay can only form educated guesses at Tsurita's intent and meaning behind her works, it also properly contextualizes the economic and political climate of Japan at that time. Also delving into Tsurita's personal life as she struggled in the indie world and eventually with her health, the essay does an excellent job framing Tsurita is this underdog and counter-culture icon that never got her due respect because she was just that counter-cultur-y. Highly recommend reading the essay *before* reading the collection of manga.
December 11, 2021
I really wanted to like this as Kuniko Tsurita has a cult following for being a rare female alternative manga artist from the '60s and the only regular female contributor to Garo, but majority of these short stories I honestly found incredibly boring or indecipherable with minor creative detailing and line work in the art. Tsurita's work is important for challenging sexual and gender norms with social commentary, but it feels more like an inaccessible commentary for what it was trying to accomplish and place on people's radars at that period in time.
October 27, 2023
Some interesting visual design and snapshots of Japanese youth culture of the time, but I'm afraid this doesn't date well.
Read
April 28, 2024Almost all the stories were so compelling they stuck in my head for days. I also loved reading the essay about Tsurita and the alt manga scene.
May 19, 2022
I fully acknowledge I may be missing the intentions, cultural ques, or sub context, but the recurring theme of this collection is I don’t know what is going on. Maybe I’m not “deep’ enough or something’s lost in translation.
Reading the essay at the end is required to understand the stories fully. If I could do it over, I recommend reading the essay first.
Nonsense (1 star)
I guess. Pretty dull. Over-eager vigilante dude is cursed into a time loop.
Woman (1.2 stars)
I didn’t understand what was going on? First, it seemed like a woman scorned by a lover choosing another lady over her, then she gave birth as a single mom. She raised a child that all the women worshipped or something??? Basically, seemed like women's worth. Like, society expects women to be lovers and mothers, and when they aren't, where does that leave them?
Anti (2 stars)
When making an indie film goes too far. Funny in a dark humor way.
Mr. Jin Roku (3 stars)
I kind of liked this until the ending. Jin Roku seems carefree and has a decent life. His friend is struggling with suicidal ideation and depression. But plot twist Jin’s not happy all the time either.
The Tragedy of Princess Rokunomiya (2 stars)
Beautiful girl seems above it all. Everyone thinks she’s enlightened or otherworldly. But
Sounds (1 star)
Okay.
Occupants (-1 star)
What was going on??? Killing spiders and eatin sugar? A lesbian couple where one of the ladies keeps cheating with other women? I just didn’t get this. These stories need to come with explanations.
6512320262719 (1 star)
???
Calamity (1 star)
What was the point?
My Wife is an Acrobat (2 stars)
Beauty of the female body. Not sure what the ending was about.
Money (1 star)
Yuko’s Days (1 star)
The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud (1 star)
Nonsensical.
Max (2.5 stars)
Musings of a 20-something, realizing the monotony of her life.
Artic Cold (2 stars)
Kind of sad. Guy’s hiding his dead wife(?) so the authorities don’t find out and put him into an internment camp.
The Sea Snake and the Big Dipper (1 star)
Depressing or bittersweet in a way.
R (-1 star)
???
Flight (2 stars)
Welp, don’t expect any happy endings with this author, but this one comes close.
Reading the essay at the end is required to understand the stories fully. If I could do it over, I recommend reading the essay first.
Nonsense (1 star)
I guess. Pretty dull. Over-eager vigilante dude is cursed into a time loop.
Woman (1.2 stars)
I didn’t understand what was going on? First, it seemed like a woman scorned by a lover choosing another lady over her, then she gave birth as a single mom. She raised a child that all the women worshipped or something??? Basically, seemed like women's worth. Like, society expects women to be lovers and mothers, and when they aren't, where does that leave them?
Anti (2 stars)
When making an indie film goes too far. Funny in a dark humor way.
Mr. Jin Roku (3 stars)
I kind of liked this until the ending. Jin Roku seems carefree and has a decent life. His friend is struggling with suicidal ideation and depression. But plot twist Jin’s not happy all the time either.
The Tragedy of Princess Rokunomiya (2 stars)
Beautiful girl seems above it all. Everyone thinks she’s enlightened or otherworldly. But
Sounds (1 star)
Okay.
Occupants (-1 star)
What was going on??? Killing spiders and eatin sugar? A lesbian couple where one of the ladies keeps cheating with other women? I just didn’t get this. These stories need to come with explanations.
6512320262719 (1 star)
???
Calamity (1 star)
What was the point?
My Wife is an Acrobat (2 stars)
Beauty of the female body. Not sure what the ending was about.
Money (1 star)
Yuko’s Days (1 star)
The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud (1 star)
Nonsensical.
Max (2.5 stars)
Musings of a 20-something, realizing the monotony of her life.
Artic Cold (2 stars)
Kind of sad. Guy’s hiding his dead wife(?) so the authorities don’t find out and put him into an internment camp.
The Sea Snake and the Big Dipper (1 star)
Depressing or bittersweet in a way.
R (-1 star)
???
Flight (2 stars)
Welp, don’t expect any happy endings with this author, but this one comes close.
January 5, 2021
Strongly recommend reading the essay in the back first.
Read
November 20, 2023Very unusual. Not always a clear narrative line, but always some interesting drawings. The accompanying essay is helpful in clarifying some of the more abstract sequences.
April 21, 2023
Hit or miss, but the stories that are good are REALLY good. 4.5
April 10, 2025
Sad girl classic. Still mysterious too. The only thing I read the year I got divorced.
August 24, 2025
Not gonna lie, the super avant-garde manga of Kuniko Tsurita was not my favorite thing to read. But the essay about her life and alt-manga culture in the 60's and 70's was really cool
December 30, 2020
Un recueil de plusieurs mangas alternatifs du Japon des années '60-'70 qui ressemblent un peu à des nouvelles. La plupart des récits sont très impressionnistes voir symboliques dans leurs évocations de thèmes (par rapport à un dessin quand même assez concret): mort, dépression, pensée révolutionnaire, oppression des institutions, sexualités, etc.
Je dois avouer ne pas être nécessairement très fan de la culture alternative à la base, beaucoup de chose me passe complètement au-dessus de la tête, la présentation/biographie d'une vingtaine de page de l'autrice aide certainement, mais n'aide pas trop à l'analyse des mangas présentés. On remarque qu'il y a quand même plusieurs discours méta- qui se faufile ça et là. Pour avoir lu le magazine de BD Ah ! Nana (écrit uniquement par des femmes), beaucoup des interrogations, thèmes, dessins, impressions, etc. similaires y sont soulevés, il y aurait définitivement une thèse comparative à faire là-dessus.
Quand même, même si beaucoup sont complexes à lire, d'autres sont d'une grande richesse et on apprécie la diversité de style de dessin qui rend compte d'une approche différente chaque fois. Certains récits prennent l'allure de nouvelles à chute donc il y a la possibilité d'être surpris aussi par la narration ça et là.
Un des intérêts du recueil vient du fait que Kuniko Tsurita était une des très très rares femmes publiées dans les magazines de la culture alternative et a abordé des questions autour de la sexualité, des étudiants révolutionnaires, du travail du sexe, de la fluidité du désir, etc. très peu abordés ou pas avec la richesse de la complexité narrative et stylistique présentée dans ce recueil.
Je dois avouer ne pas être nécessairement très fan de la culture alternative à la base, beaucoup de chose me passe complètement au-dessus de la tête, la présentation/biographie d'une vingtaine de page de l'autrice aide certainement, mais n'aide pas trop à l'analyse des mangas présentés. On remarque qu'il y a quand même plusieurs discours méta- qui se faufile ça et là. Pour avoir lu le magazine de BD Ah ! Nana (écrit uniquement par des femmes), beaucoup des interrogations, thèmes, dessins, impressions, etc. similaires y sont soulevés, il y aurait définitivement une thèse comparative à faire là-dessus.
Quand même, même si beaucoup sont complexes à lire, d'autres sont d'une grande richesse et on apprécie la diversité de style de dessin qui rend compte d'une approche différente chaque fois. Certains récits prennent l'allure de nouvelles à chute donc il y a la possibilité d'être surpris aussi par la narration ça et là.
Un des intérêts du recueil vient du fait que Kuniko Tsurita était une des très très rares femmes publiées dans les magazines de la culture alternative et a abordé des questions autour de la sexualité, des étudiants révolutionnaires, du travail du sexe, de la fluidité du désir, etc. très peu abordés ou pas avec la richesse de la complexité narrative et stylistique présentée dans ce recueil.
December 18, 2020
A collection of manga shorts from Tsurita. I was blown away by this book and its thematic and aesthetic investigations. I'm largely and unfortunately ignorant to manga, so can't properly contextualize this book (though Holmberg's robust and generous afterword does an exce!!ent job at that. I found myself often rereading stories right after finishing them as many of these comic prove an interesting challenge to perception and form. I admire tsurita's eclecticism and hope we get more of her work in english(or spanish).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 23, 2021
An absolutely essential collection of avant-garde manga — a look into another possible comics universe. Brilliantly translated and contextualized, a real feat of scholarship as well as editorial artistry. Tsurita’s work, first published so long ago, remains electrifying.
September 17, 2025
Thanks to Lisa for sending me her copy of The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud (2021) by Kuniko Tsurita, compiled by and with a scholarly essay by manga archivist/translator extraordinaire Ryan Holmberg and Mitsuhiro Asakawa, and produced in typical stellar fashion by Drawn & Quarterly Books. Tsurita, a manga creator in the sixties and seventies, the curators tell us, “was possibly the first female cartoonist to produce alt-comics that were guided by her own creative and personal vision rather than commercial concerns or socially-sanctioned gender expectations.”
Her early submission were not well received by the (male) manga industry in part because women were expected to create shoujo romance stories. Tsurita created “art house” manga in gekiga style, for the avant-garde publication, Garo, but in that time was not only the first woman to publish there but the only one to consistently do so in the time she was creating manga. Some of it is about the societal limitations for Japanese women, such as “Women,” some are various social justice issues, many would be still seen as alternative or experimental, and some of the later ones deal with the decline of her health and impending death from lupus at the age of 37 (as with American fiction writer Flannery O’Connor who also died of lupus at 39).
Some are personal featuring her and her long time partner Naoyuki Takahashi, who writes a sweet note, “Riding with Kuniko,” about their decades-long love of motorcycles. Some are sort of elliptical, which is to say they are more a set of images I’ll call poetry comics, many wordless pages, where it is hard to figure out what story is being told, but again these are not intended to be narrative, but lyrical, surreal, some mythological.
The cover is an image from the title piece, featuring an atomic bomb cloud.
Still, why four and not five stars? I’m not always as engaged as I would like to be, but this may be more my state of mind at the moment. But I feel privileged to keep seeing Holmberg and Drawn & Quarterly’s archival work. Top-notch work.
Her early submission were not well received by the (male) manga industry in part because women were expected to create shoujo romance stories. Tsurita created “art house” manga in gekiga style, for the avant-garde publication, Garo, but in that time was not only the first woman to publish there but the only one to consistently do so in the time she was creating manga. Some of it is about the societal limitations for Japanese women, such as “Women,” some are various social justice issues, many would be still seen as alternative or experimental, and some of the later ones deal with the decline of her health and impending death from lupus at the age of 37 (as with American fiction writer Flannery O’Connor who also died of lupus at 39).
Some are personal featuring her and her long time partner Naoyuki Takahashi, who writes a sweet note, “Riding with Kuniko,” about their decades-long love of motorcycles. Some are sort of elliptical, which is to say they are more a set of images I’ll call poetry comics, many wordless pages, where it is hard to figure out what story is being told, but again these are not intended to be narrative, but lyrical, surreal, some mythological.
The cover is an image from the title piece, featuring an atomic bomb cloud.
Still, why four and not five stars? I’m not always as engaged as I would like to be, but this may be more my state of mind at the moment. But I feel privileged to keep seeing Holmberg and Drawn & Quarterly’s archival work. Top-notch work.
November 13, 2022
This is a phenomenal collection by a visionary and revolutionary mangaka, and for that alone it is a worthwhile and fascinating read for anyone interested in the ways that comics as an art form can be pushed, bent, and broken.
On top of that, however, Kuniko Tsurita’s mind and eye for aesthetics are incredible, and this volume provides an insightful and exciting peek into both. Did I understand all of it? Absolutely not. Did I love all of it? No. But the range and thought-provoking nature of Tsurita’s oeuvre are a delight in their own right, and well worth immersing yourself in. It’s experimental. It’s weird. It doesn’t always make sense. But that’s what makes it such a feat—because, honestly, what’s the point of reading or engaging with art if not to challenge your own view of the world and to see things in new and strange and unique ways? And fortunately for us, Tsurita provides new, strange, and unique in spades.
Not to mention that the whole point of Tsurita’s unlikely and phenomenal career is that she did things her way, regardless of what anyone else thought. Experiencing her work as is without middle men obfuscating and editing it is remarkable.
The worst part about this collection is that there isn’t more. It’s particularly noticeable when reading the essay in the back—which, one could argue, ought to be read before attempting to engage with Tsurita’s work—which references works by Tsurita that aren’t included in this volume. A bummer, but I’m glad I at least got this hefty volume of works to enjoy and ponder.
To sum things up: if you have any interest in experiencing the work of a groundbreaking and wildly imaginative woman artist—not just a mangaka, but an artist in her own right—then give this a go. It might not be your exact cup of tea, but it sure is a wild and intriguing ride.
On top of that, however, Kuniko Tsurita’s mind and eye for aesthetics are incredible, and this volume provides an insightful and exciting peek into both. Did I understand all of it? Absolutely not. Did I love all of it? No. But the range and thought-provoking nature of Tsurita’s oeuvre are a delight in their own right, and well worth immersing yourself in. It’s experimental. It’s weird. It doesn’t always make sense. But that’s what makes it such a feat—because, honestly, what’s the point of reading or engaging with art if not to challenge your own view of the world and to see things in new and strange and unique ways? And fortunately for us, Tsurita provides new, strange, and unique in spades.
Not to mention that the whole point of Tsurita’s unlikely and phenomenal career is that she did things her way, regardless of what anyone else thought. Experiencing her work as is without middle men obfuscating and editing it is remarkable.
The worst part about this collection is that there isn’t more. It’s particularly noticeable when reading the essay in the back—which, one could argue, ought to be read before attempting to engage with Tsurita’s work—which references works by Tsurita that aren’t included in this volume. A bummer, but I’m glad I at least got this hefty volume of works to enjoy and ponder.
To sum things up: if you have any interest in experiencing the work of a groundbreaking and wildly imaginative woman artist—not just a mangaka, but an artist in her own right—then give this a go. It might not be your exact cup of tea, but it sure is a wild and intriguing ride.
August 30, 2024
This is a collection of short comics that are all quite poetic and expressionistic: they mostly have narratives, but they're often elliptical and sometimes dreamlike, and they generally feel more like the author trying to express a feeling than trying to tell a story. Within those parameters, the collection exhibits significant range – some of the comics are realistic, some surreal or myth-like – but they all share a macabre pessimism, featuring melancholic characters searching for meaning or wallowing in aimlessness, and often ending with death. As elucidated in the 39-page essay included in my edition, the earlier comics show the author grappling with her liminal position as a woman involved in Tokyo's male-dominated 1960s counterculture, while the later comics reflect her struggling with a debilitating terminal illness.
On my first read-through, some of the comics were a bit too obtuse for me to connect with, but at their best, they're really powerful – my personal favourite being “Woman”, a tragic almost-wordless comic reflecting on gender relations. They also have really strong artwork, with deft and sometimes experimental visual storytelling. I think comics like these are more impactful when read in isolation, giving each one time to sink in, so I might have done them a disservice by reading them all over the course of a couple of days; fatigue started to set in by the end, but I nonetheless think this is a very impressive book, to which I look forward to returning in the future.
On my first read-through, some of the comics were a bit too obtuse for me to connect with, but at their best, they're really powerful – my personal favourite being “Woman”, a tragic almost-wordless comic reflecting on gender relations. They also have really strong artwork, with deft and sometimes experimental visual storytelling. I think comics like these are more impactful when read in isolation, giving each one time to sink in, so I might have done them a disservice by reading them all over the course of a couple of days; fatigue started to set in by the end, but I nonetheless think this is a very impressive book, to which I look forward to returning in the future.
November 20, 2023
As a lifelong lover of science fiction, I’m in awe of Kuniko Tsurita’s work. Her short comics are deeply philosophical, introspective, and haunting. Fans of horror, literary fiction, and classic manga (of many genres, and in defiance of genre!) will also enjoy this collection.
Tsurita’s art style mixes simplicity with surrealism, often featuring stylized human figures amidst fantastical backgrounds. Her storytelling is exquisite. The experimental structure of many of her comics will be familiar to readers of classic sci-fi: particularly, the “new wave science fiction” of the 60s and 70s. I’d never read existential sci-fi in a graphic format before, nor had I read classic manga at all. I’m eager to check out other authors and stories from Garo! (The alt-manga magazine in which much of Tsurita’s work was initially published).
As an American, English-language reader, I especially enjoyed viewing the counterculture movements of the 60s and 70s through Tsurita’s eyes: as a Japanese person, a Japanese woman, and in her later works, as a person struggling with chronic illness. I particularly enjoyed the androgynous style in which she drew many of her female characters.
My favorite stories from this collection were: “Mr. Jin Roku,” “The Tragedy of Princess Rokunomiya,” "Occupants," “My Wife Is an Acrobat,” “Max,” and "The Sea Snake and the Big Dipper." But the whole collection is amazing!!
Tsurita’s art style mixes simplicity with surrealism, often featuring stylized human figures amidst fantastical backgrounds. Her storytelling is exquisite. The experimental structure of many of her comics will be familiar to readers of classic sci-fi: particularly, the “new wave science fiction” of the 60s and 70s. I’d never read existential sci-fi in a graphic format before, nor had I read classic manga at all. I’m eager to check out other authors and stories from Garo! (The alt-manga magazine in which much of Tsurita’s work was initially published).
As an American, English-language reader, I especially enjoyed viewing the counterculture movements of the 60s and 70s through Tsurita’s eyes: as a Japanese person, a Japanese woman, and in her later works, as a person struggling with chronic illness. I particularly enjoyed the androgynous style in which she drew many of her female characters.
My favorite stories from this collection were: “Mr. Jin Roku,” “The Tragedy of Princess Rokunomiya,” "Occupants," “My Wife Is an Acrobat,” “Max,” and "The Sea Snake and the Big Dipper." But the whole collection is amazing!!
September 30, 2024
2.6 stars
I'm honestly disappointed in this book because a collection of one of the first female alt mangakas is sooooo up my alley. But I didn't really enjoy this.
Our of the 18 stories, I liked maybe about 6-7 of them. I really enjoyed the art, I thought Tsurita has great penmanship and her stories are ethereal and grounded in a cool way, even if it's to the detriment of telling a good story. In the second half, the stories start to get really conceptual and more complex despite the page count, and it was definitely cool to see her writing progress.
The essay in the back helped contextualize and explain some of her artistic choices, her life, and the difficulties she faced as a very lonely woman in an extremely male dominated feild. I feel for her struggles trying to break the mold and do something different from what was expected for women mangaka at the time (relegated to either clean-up or in-betweeners in animation or do shoujo stories), but I personally found a lot of her stories to have the "I'm not like other girls" vibe. Of course, my favorites were the ones that center more on women and their thoughts/experiences and not just the lives of bohemia or "complexer" stories.
I read it all but slogged through the essays. And I actively avoided looking at the book for days because I didn't want to have to deal with it.
I'm honestly disappointed in this book because a collection of one of the first female alt mangakas is sooooo up my alley. But I didn't really enjoy this.
Our of the 18 stories, I liked maybe about 6-7 of them. I really enjoyed the art, I thought Tsurita has great penmanship and her stories are ethereal and grounded in a cool way, even if it's to the detriment of telling a good story. In the second half, the stories start to get really conceptual and more complex despite the page count, and it was definitely cool to see her writing progress.
The essay in the back helped contextualize and explain some of her artistic choices, her life, and the difficulties she faced as a very lonely woman in an extremely male dominated feild. I feel for her struggles trying to break the mold and do something different from what was expected for women mangaka at the time (relegated to either clean-up or in-betweeners in animation or do shoujo stories), but I personally found a lot of her stories to have the "I'm not like other girls" vibe. Of course, my favorites were the ones that center more on women and their thoughts/experiences and not just the lives of bohemia or "complexer" stories.
I read it all but slogged through the essays. And I actively avoided looking at the book for days because I didn't want to have to deal with it.
March 23, 2021
Many of my favourite stories in here have no straightforward reading. They are evasive and puzzling. They often stare at death or illness. Stories like 'Max' feel nihilistic but beautiful and defiant: "I will simply disappear"
These comic stories can't be separated from the cartoonist, and what I know about her life and death colours my reading of them. But that's ok, that's good actually - they manage to communicate something profound about her life - and that's pretty rare I think.
They also leave wide open spaces for me to bring my own meaning and my own life experiences. The meaning of the art emerges out of dialogue with the reader.
If it's not clear - this book is wonderful, and the sort of book that I'll come back to again and again.
The Sky Is Blue with a Single Cloud by Kuniko Tsurita
These comic stories can't be separated from the cartoonist, and what I know about her life and death colours my reading of them. But that's ok, that's good actually - they manage to communicate something profound about her life - and that's pretty rare I think.
They also leave wide open spaces for me to bring my own meaning and my own life experiences. The meaning of the art emerges out of dialogue with the reader.
If it's not clear - this book is wonderful, and the sort of book that I'll come back to again and again.
The Sky Is Blue with a Single Cloud by Kuniko Tsurita
May 28, 2021
I've not dabbled much in literary/alternative manga, and I'll admit reading this volume of Kuniko Tsurita's work was a definite stretch for me, populated with dark and at times inexplicable comics that I fear I often failed to parse. To that end, the essay on her life which closes this volume was probably my favorite part, dense but rewarding to learn about her and the inspiration for a number of the pieces in the collection. I respect Tsurita so much even if her work felt quite inaccessible to me at times. My favorite piece in this collection was Sounds, a story about a disembodied voice that speaks and speaks for fear of ceasing to exist. I was also quite struck by 65121320262719, The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud, and Arctic Cold. I know I'll keep thinking about these stories and I'm grateful to have learned a bit about her as well.
Cw for suicide.
Cw for suicide.
March 6, 2022
Kuniko Tsurita oli vaihtoehtoisen mangan naispioneeri 1960- ja 1970-luvulla Japanissa. Ainoassa englanniksi käännetyssä kokoelmateoksessa on sarjakuvia hänen koko uraltaan, joka kuitenkin jäi lyhyeksi sairastelujen ja ennenaikaisen kuoleman takia. Kokoelmasta näkyy hyvin Tsuritan kehittyminen piirtäjänä ja tarinankertojana.
Jotkut sarjakuvista jäi minulle hämäriksi ja en ymmärtänyt poukkoilevaa juonta tai tarinan ideaa. En ole myöskään mangaosaaja eli todennäköisesti osa asioista meni ihan siitä syystä minulta ohi. Teemat kuten naisen asema ja yhteiskunnallinen epätasa-arvo nousivat esiin erilaisina dystopioina. Kokoelman nimisarjakuva "The Sky Is Blue with a Single Cloud" oli pysäyttävä. Vaikka kokonaisuus tuntui epätasaiselta, mukana oli myös todellisia helmiä ja niissä omana aikanaan radikaaleja ajatuksia.
Jotkut sarjakuvista jäi minulle hämäriksi ja en ymmärtänyt poukkoilevaa juonta tai tarinan ideaa. En ole myöskään mangaosaaja eli todennäköisesti osa asioista meni ihan siitä syystä minulta ohi. Teemat kuten naisen asema ja yhteiskunnallinen epätasa-arvo nousivat esiin erilaisina dystopioina. Kokoelman nimisarjakuva "The Sky Is Blue with a Single Cloud" oli pysäyttävä. Vaikka kokonaisuus tuntui epätasaiselta, mukana oli myös todellisia helmiä ja niissä omana aikanaan radikaaleja ajatuksia.
March 19, 2025
I first read the comics over, then read the afterword while looking over the comics again. The comics were very opaque at first, but the afterword reveals their meaning and they become shining (the afterword was amazing). They are reflective of the feeling of that time in Japan and Tsurita's own mental state and circumstances.
I am so inspired by her that created comics with her own goals in mind and not giving a shit about their consumers. I am also taking a cue from her reading list!
I have not given much thought to Death of the Artist but now I have decided to reject it wholeheartedly. I am going to make my own art with myself in mind. And I would like to put more effort into consuming art dependently on other materials. Am I becoming a smug elitist hater?????
I am so inspired by her that created comics with her own goals in mind and not giving a shit about their consumers. I am also taking a cue from her reading list!
I have not given much thought to Death of the Artist but now I have decided to reject it wholeheartedly. I am going to make my own art with myself in mind. And I would like to put more effort into consuming art dependently on other materials. Am I becoming a smug elitist hater?????
September 25, 2022
4.0 stars
A confusing, yet important manga, one of the first in Garo to be written by a female, and her totally different style shows how in little circles of literary manga fans her name is brought up. When skimming through the 40 page essay on her life I was delighted to see that she had worked with Mizuki and Tsuge for around a month before she left to be published somewhere else, in my mind showing her totally unique style compared to the men’s works of the time. Really confusing, really dark, and a whole lot of fun. This defiantly isn’t a “beginner” manga, but I’ve read nearly 10,000 chapters of manga and I still don’t understand it, so give it a shot!
A confusing, yet important manga, one of the first in Garo to be written by a female, and her totally different style shows how in little circles of literary manga fans her name is brought up. When skimming through the 40 page essay on her life I was delighted to see that she had worked with Mizuki and Tsuge for around a month before she left to be published somewhere else, in my mind showing her totally unique style compared to the men’s works of the time. Really confusing, really dark, and a whole lot of fun. This defiantly isn’t a “beginner” manga, but I’ve read nearly 10,000 chapters of manga and I still don’t understand it, so give it a shot!
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