Photo by: Karin Shikata

KiKi – Freelance Illustrator&Columnist

I’m from Japan and based in Berlin ・Germany since the summer of 2016.
I studied character design ( Illustration /Animation ) at Kyoto University of Art and Design (JP).
After graduating, I worked for 3 years as an assistant to the manga department of Kyoto University of Art and Design (JP).
After I work as a freelance. I love using unique color palettes to express my perception of the world.
My themes are Sustainable🌱 Ethical 🌍Journey.

2016年夏より、ドイツ・ベルリンにお引越ししました。
京都造形芸術大学キャラクターデザイン学科（イラストレーション/アニメーション専攻）卒業後、同大学マンガ学科研究室にて副手として3年間勤務。
その後フリーランスのイラストレーター・コラムニストに。独自の色使いで、世界観を絵と文章で表現しています。
サステナブル・エシカル・旅を自身の人生テーマであり得意分野として、お仕事をさせて頂いております。

We don’t have any transportation , one hour drive to the nearest store by my father’s car.
Anyway, my home town is a really small village with really beautiful nature.
When I was a child, it was great entertainment to play endlessly with paper, color pens, and the fantasy world of my head.
When I was 15 years old, I left my parents’ home because I have to go to high school.
Our village has unfortunately only elementary school and junior high school.
I had to be independent of 15 years old and drawing illustration with the fantasy world of my head became moral support for me.

For example when children who living in a small village like  me will start to Journey of life from there,
I’d like to leave something to make them realize that “the world is how big and there are so many choices” by my illustrations.

交通機関が何もない、一番近いお店まで父の車で1時間。
とにかく、私の故郷は自然が美しい、とても小さな村です。
子供の頃、真っ白の紙とカラフルなペンと頭の中の空想世界で無限に遊ぶことは最高の贅沢で、いちばんの楽しみでした。

残念ながら、私たちの村には中学までしか通える距離になかったので、15歳のときに高校進学のため実家から旅立ちました。
15歳から自立しなければならなかった私にとって、絵を描くことは心の支えとなりました。

例えば、私のように小さい集落で暮らしている子が、そこから旅立つ時期を迎えたときに、
『世界はこんなにも広くて、こんなにも選択肢があるんだ』って気づけるようなものを残していけたら、最高だなと思いながら絵と文章をかいています。

 

Tandem App – interview

English ▶︎TANDEM TALES : FROM LANGUAGE EXCHANGE TO ART EXHIBITION
日本語 ▶︎TANDEM TALES : FROM LANGUAGE EXCHANGE TO ART EXHIBITION

世界ウェブ記事大賞2019 /ライツ社賞 (副賞として2020年春にライツ社書籍出版に参加が決定）
World Web Article Award 2019 ( Japan ) / writes publisher prize ( As a supplementary prize, my essay join a book and will be published 2020 in Japan. )

京都造形芸術大学卒業制作展2012 / キャラクターデザイン学科　学科賞
Kyoto University of Art and Design Graduation show 2012 / Character design department Outstanding Student Award

Young Germany  /  Client : Embassy of Germany (Tokyo,Japan)  / since 2017.07

Official web magazine of Embassy of Germany in Tokyo.
2019.05 -New column started “Berlin life as an Illustrator.” I write about art culture in Berlin.

veggy /  Client : kirasienne Inc. (Tokyo,Japan) / since 2019.01

The only vegetarian magazine in Japan.
This magazine is attracting the most attention for the category of Sustainable in Japan now.
This magazine is selling in the book store all over Japan and Amazon jp.
My column’s title is “KiKi’s Sustainable life”. 🌱🌏
I’m writing about vegan and sustainable culture in Berlin or other Europa countries.

ELEMINIST /  Client :trustridge Inc. (Tokyo,Japan) / since 2020.05

ELEMINIST is a guide for sustainable lifestyle. ELEMINIST means “Enjoy Lifestyle & Minimal”, it’s coined word.
It’s a new media but attention for the category of Sustainable in Japan. And they would like to know the activity news of sustainability in the world.
I write about mainly in Berlin and EU culture.
MISSION STATEMENT：WE ARE LIVING IN THE SAME PLANET.　THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY.