Nekojiru

In 1990 she debuted in the June issue of the monthly manga anthology Garo with Nekojiru Udon which is now considered her definitive work. She committed suicide on May 10 1998. As per her own and her families wishes she is buried in an unmarked grave. Yoshiaki Yoshinaga has written about his friendship with Nekojiru along with more stories about her and her eventual suicide in a memoir dedicated to her titled Memories of Nekojiru. With the exception of Tsunami all Nekojirus work has main characters drawn as cats. Even in her manga essays Jirujiru Travel Journal and Jirujiru Diary she drew herself as a cat. But though the characters appear as animals the artist chose as her setting not a forest but rather the human world. Her manga detailing the daily life and adventures of the cats Nyko and Nyatta are held in high esteem. The major themes of her work are a childlike zaniness cruelty and nostalgia. And as we know from Dream Memo included in the posthumously released compilation Nekojiru Udon 3 many of her bizarre works of fantasy were based on her own dream experiences. Psychedelic mushrooms and LSD also often appear in her works. Her husband Yamano Hajime using the penname Nekojiruy took over Nekojirus world and continues to produce new works. Currently on his official site one can read a free chapter of Nekojirus manga.