My sister, two years older, was a very assertive type of person and a “genius” that could do anything. I felt I was capable of nothing compared to someone like her. As a child I was always reading books, muttering to myself. I had no friends but I wasn’t lonely because I thought that was normal. It never felt like a painful situation to me.

Whenever I made something, my mother would give me compliments. That made me so happy. However, that also amplified my desire to avoid being scolded.

I wanted to become an artisan because I’ve always been good at taking instructions from others and creating something tangible from them. I enrolled in an art-related university recommended to me by my high school art teacher.

After entering university, I understood the joy of making others happy for the first time in my life. I used to like space suits, so I made one and showed it to my friend. They said it was cool and complimented me a lot.

Once I graduated, I worked as a salaryman for six months. During that time, I secretly drew small illustrations in my pocket notebook as a way to relieve stress. I’m a naturally pessimistic person and was just tired of life at that point. So, I drew as a way to persuade myself that there are interesting things in this world if only I look close enough. That they’re all around me, every-which-where. It was like a form of rehabilitation for me.

In 2013 I made my picture book debut, but I wasn’t able to color well. My editor said, “Why don’t we have a designer do it then?” That was a relief. I’m sure you’ve never heard of a picture book writer that doesn’t do the coloring themselves. But everyone has things that they’re not good at. As long as you give your best doing what you can do, you can live on in this world by helping and being helped by others.

From around two years ago, I’ve had increasingly more opportunities to correspond with children who’ve stopped going to school. This made me want to share my own thoughts regarding the theme of “running away,” which led me to publish Run-And-Seek this year.



One day, these children decided “I’m not going to school” due to some sort of reason. Some of them have clear reasons, like not being able to keep up with the classes. Many others stopped going “just because.” The fact that their instinct said to them “I’m not really sure why, but I don’t want you to go” is proof that they have the strength to live.

I think the most important thing as a human being is the “capacity to make a choice.” It can be said that “running away” is a form of “making a choice” in order to live. Running away isn’t something that should be criticized in the slightest.

People tend to think that those who run away aren’t thinking about their future. But we just need to rephrase it, and instead say “They’re removing themselves from this place in order to go and seek a place where they would feel comfortable.”

I don’t like doing things as part of a group. I’m not great at teamwork either. I’ve lived on until now by listing up everything I don’t like and choosing only to do things I feel I could tolerate. However, I’ve finally been able to find a place that feels comfortable to me.

I have two sons. Parents who have a child that refuses to go to school don’t wish that their child went; they just wish for their child to be happy. So please parents, praise your child for being able to state that they don’t want to go and making that decision for themselves. I know parents would have their own concerns, but I hope these children can take all the time they need to find something that will make them happy.

Sometimes I’m asked “What should I do while I’m young?” To which I say, gather many collections of things that will make you happy. It can be photos, text, or really, anything. These collections will end up saving you in your moments of dire need.

If there’s nothing that you like, collect things that you hate. Because “likes” change as frequently as the weather, but “dislikes” tend to stay the same. Either way, strong emotions will give you the momentum to move.