26/07/2026
I’ve hung a print by manga artist Hisashi Eguchi in my room.
Isn’t it lovely?
The characters from *Stop! Hibari-kun*, dressed in ’60s-style American fashion, are gathered around Hibari.
I absolutely loved this manga, which was published in the ’80s, and I used to read it voraciously.
The protagonist, Hibari, who stands in the center, is actually a boy, but he has behaved like a girl since childhood and was recognized as a girl at school. The only ones who know his secret are his family and the other protagonist, Kosaku. And as a girl, Hibari is the most popular girl in school.
Hibari’s family is a traditional Japanese yakuza family, and besides Hibari, there are three sisters.
That’s where the protagonist, Kosaku—who had been left all alone in the world—ended up living with them.
Kosaku is an adolescent boy who falls in love with the manager of his boxing club, but for some reason, he frequently finds himself seduced by Hibari. It seems Hibari has fallen for Kosaku.
It’s a comedy that’s entertaining to watch as Kōsaku gets swept up every day by Hibari, who is free-spirited in so many ways.
This work never directly pushes sexual issues as social problems. I still feel that way today. Hibari simply remains free, and the world of this manga is one of tolerance.
It’s a truly wonderful manga.
I bought this drawing in 2011 at Hisashi Eguchi’s solo exhibition in Shimokitazawa, held right after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
I remember talking with Eguchi, who was present at the gallery, in a dimly lit space where power hadn’t yet been fully restored, and we spoke in a slightly quiet voice.
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江口寿史 EGUCHI HISASHI