Junichi Yamakawa

The native form of this personal name is Yamakawa Junichi. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Junichi Yamakawa
山川純一
NationalityJapanese
Years active1982–1988
Known forGay manga
Notable work

Junichi Yamakawa (山川純一, Yamakawa Jun'ichi) is a pseudonymous Japanese manga artist, whose works in the gay manga genre were published in the gay men's magazine Barazoku and its manga supplement Bara-Komi in the 1980s. Distinguished by his works depicting male–male sexual relations with heightened and exaggerated storylines, Yamakawa is best known for his manga Kuso Miso Technique, published in Bara-Komi in 1987. While Yamakawa's manga was originally published in relative obscurity, Kuso Miso Technique gained notoriety as an Internet meme in the early 2000s, leading to newfound public interest in the artist's manga.

Biography

Life and career

Essentially no direct information about Yamakawa's life exists, as the artist has never made public appearances or statements, and published no works beyond his contributions to Barazoku in the 1980s.[1] Most information about his life and career is sourced from Ito Bungaku, editor-in-chief of Barazoku, who himself lost contact with Yamakawa after the artist stopped contributing to the magazine.[1] According to Itō, he first encountered Yamakawa after the artist came to the offices of Barazoku to submit an unsolicited manuscript for publication.[1] "Junichi Yamakawa" was a pseudonym used by the artist; he never disclosed his legal name, address, or contact information to Itō.[1] Itō estimated Yamakawa to have been in his late thirties at the time of their first meeting, and that he appeared to be of modest economic means;[2] he told Itō that he had been working as a part-time manga artist and that his manuscript fees from Barazoku were his sole source of regular income.[3][4]

Roughly thirty one-shots (single-chapter manga) authored by Yamakawa, each around sixteen pages in length, were published in Barazoku and its manga supplement Bara-Komi from 1982 to 1988.[1][3] Among these were Umi Kara Kita Otoko [ja], published in Barazoku in 1984, and Kuso Miso Technique, published in the second issue of Bara-Komi in 1987.[1] According to Itō, the editorial staff at Barazoku strongly disliked Yamakawa's manga, as the slender men the artist drew deviated from the magazine's typical style of masculine and muscular men.[2][5] Itō was eventually pressured into ceasing publication of Yamakawa's manga, but nevertheless continued to accept submissions from the artist for several years, and paid him a manuscript fee even for works that went unpublished.[1][3]

Three collected volumes of manga by Yamakawa were published between 1986 and 1988 by Keisei Publishing; when the company went bankrupt, the remaining inventory of unsold copies was purchased and sold by Daini Shobo, the publisher of Barazoku.[3]

Internet popularity

While Yamakawa's manga was originally published in relative obscurity, Kuso Miso Technique gained notoriety in the early 2000s after pirated scans of the manga were posted to image boards such as 2channel.[6] The manga and excerpts from it subsequently became a popular Internet meme, and led to newfound public interest in Yamakawa's manga.[1] An anthology of works by Yamakawa published in 2003 in response to the artist's new popularity quickly sold out two of its first print runs,[1] and by 2010 was in its ninth edition.[7] A variety of official merchandise related to Kuso Miso Technique has been produced, including t-shirts[8] and body pillow covers.[9]

In 2006, Itō discovered the original artwork for thirteen works by Yamakawa in storage, which were subsequently auctioned.[4] When Itō's house was repossessed due to financial issues arising from the insolvency of Barazoku, four unpublished manuscripts by Yamakawa were discovered, which were printed in Barazoku and later collected in an anthology.[1]

Current status

Yamakawa's whereabouts from the late 1980s onwards are unknown; Itō stated in 2008 that he strongly suspects he is deceased.[1] Itō held the copyrights for Yamakawa's works, and in 2013 transferred the copyright for Kuso Miso Technique to the production company IKD International.[10] In 2018, the copyrights for all of Yamakawa's works, including Kuso Miso Technique, were transferred to the entertainment company Cyzo [ja].[11]

Style

Yamakawa's work is distinguished by its depiction of male-male sexual relations with heightened and exaggerated storylines. He depicted themes of male-male romance and sex across a wide range of genres, including historical drama, mystery, and wartime drama. Visually, his art is defined by depictions of handsome, slender men with long hair and long faces, with Itō comparing his visual style to that of shōjo manga.[2][3]

Bibliography

  • Aniki ni Doki Doki (兄貴にドキドキ), 1986, Keisei Publishing[12]
  • Kimi ni Nyan Nyan (君にニャンニャン), 1986, Keisei Publishing[13]
  • Wakuwaku Boy (ワクワクＢＯＹ), 1988, Keisei Publishing, ISBN 4874443745
  • Uho!! Ī Otoko-tachi Yamajun Pāfekuto (ウホッ!! いい男たち ヤマジュン・パーフェクト), 2003, Daini Shobo, ISBN 4835440676
  • Uho!! Ī Otoko-tachi 2: Yamajun Mi-happyō Sakuhin-shū (ウホッ!! いい男たち2〜ヤマジュン・未発表作品集), 2009, Fukkan. ISBN 978-4835444062

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k ネット人気でホモマンガ復刻…ヤマジュンって誰だ？ [Homo manga reprinted due to internet popularity...Who is this Yamajun?]. Zakzak (in Japanese). February 9, 2007. Archived from the original on February 9, 2008. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Itō, Bungaku (February 3, 2013). 「やらないか」山川純一について ["Yaranika": About Junichi Yamakawa] (video) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e Itō, Bungaku (September 7, 2005). "眠っているものを掘り起こす仕事". 月刊『薔薇族』編集長伊藤文學の談話室「祭」 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 2, 2006. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Itō, Bungaku (November 28, 2006). "山川純一作品の原画がみつかった！". 月刊『薔薇族』編集長伊藤文學の談話室「祭」 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 1, 2006. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  5. ^ "ウホッ！！いい男たち". fukkan.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  6. ^ Kidd, Chip; Kolbeins, Graham; Ishii, Anne, eds. (2014). Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It. Seattle: Fantagraphics Books. p. 277. ISBN 978-1-60699-785-7. 1987: Bara-Komi publishes Junichi Yamakawa's one-shot manga 'Kuso Miso Technique' – a matter of little consequence in 1987, yet the comic will rise to worldwide notoriety in 2002, when bootleg scans go viral on the Japanese message board 2channel.
  7. ^ Itō, Bungaku (2010). やらないか!: 『薔薇族』編集長による極私的ゲイ文化史論 (in Japanese). Sairyusha. ISBN 978-4779115820.
  8. ^ Itō, Bungaku (November 14, 2008). "山川純一作品の名場面「やらないか」を使ったTシャツが出来たぞ！". 月刊『薔薇族』編集長伊藤文學の談話室「祭」 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 6, 2010. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  9. ^ "すごく大きいことで有名な「阿部さん」の抱き枕が満を持して発売". Gigazine (in Japanese). July 26, 2009. Archived from the original on April 23, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  10. ^ "IKDI公式くそみそテクニック" [IKDI Official Kuso Miso Technique]. IKD International (in Japanese). May 19, 2013. Archived from the original on January 16, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  11. ^ "くそみそテクニックをはじめとする山川純一作品の著作権管理業務を株式会社サイゾーに移管致しました。" [Copyright management operations for Junichi Yamakawa's works, including Kuso Miso Technique, has been transferred to Cyzo Co.]. FMC Entertainment (in Japanese). March 19, 2018. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  12. ^ 兄貴にドキドキ ぼくらのスゴイやつ (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023. {cite book}: |website= ignored (help)
  13. ^ 君にニャンニャン ちび蔷薇行進曲 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023. {cite book}: |website= ignored (help)

External links