"Proposal and Design" Chihayafuru Calendar 2021

CORK STORE's launch project is a calendar.

We have put the power of the stories we have read and felt into the form of a calendar. If you pick up each calendar, you will be able to feel the strength of the story of each artist and work.

In this column, I will talk about the appeal of the "Chihayafuru Calendar 2021" from the proposal and the actual completed calendar design. I think the proposal is like a fan letter to "Chihayafuru".

(Cover of "Chihayafuru Calendar 2021")

"Chihayafuru" is a girls' manga about competitive karuta that has been serialized in "BE・LOVE" since issue 2 of 2008. The main character is Ayase Chihaya, a girl who aims to become the "world's best karuta queen," and the story begins with a scene in which Chihaya competes for the title. The series is now in its 13th year, and the latest volume, 45, is scheduled to be released next month on October 13th.
I have already requested the morning off so that I can enjoy Chihayafuru to the fullest.

The appeal of "Chihayafuru" is so multifaceted. The culture and sport of karuta. Team and individual matches, individual and team matches. The contrast between dreams and reality. The lives of women. It is also heartwarming to see how the relationship between master and disciple becomes equal rivals only a few times a year, especially in the Meijin and Queen title challenger matches.

The first step you will encounter when trying to create a calendar is

The question was, "Which of the many charms of Chihayafuru should we pick out and put into a calendar?"

In fact, these are the two things I chose to recreate in the calendar.

(From the actual proposal, p.7)

At this point, I think readers will nod in agreement, but when reading "Chihayafuru," the panels become colorful and I get the illusion of movement. The author, Yuki Suetsugu, often describes flowers, plants, and beautiful seasonal things, and I feel a vividness to her work that makes me feel happy to see the plants depicted. They are alive, they are moving. I, who should have been reading the work, am inside it. The cherry blossoms are blowing in reality. --

I wanted to create this experience, so here are the initial design ideas I came up with and the actual design I created.

(Excerpt from the proposal submitted, p.8)

(Actual calendar design for August)

It's a shame that it's hard to tell on screen, but in reality, tissue paper is placed over the main paper on which the manga panels are printed, and then the bright red autumn leaves are printed on the tissue paper. In this way, it is possible to express what is actually drawn in the manga (the main paper) and the autumn leaves spilling out from it (the tissue paper).

(Calendar design August, left: paper, right: tissue paper)

I hope that readers will feel the magic of the scene, enclosed in a border reminiscent of a Hyakunin Isshu poem, as if they were witnessing with their own eyes, just like Chihaya, the Tatsuta River a thousand years ago, dyed bright red by autumn leaves.

Another thing I wanted to emphasize was this charm.

(Excerpt from the proposal submitted, p.4)

If you could be exposed to Chihayafuru for 12 months, what would you like to receive?

When I asked myself this question, I immediately came to the conclusion that it would be a luxury to be able to "re-encounter" the Hyakunin Isshu, one poem at a time, through "Chihayafuru." The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, which I learned in school a long time ago but which now seems far away...

(Modern Japanese translation of Hyakunin Isshu from Hideko Anno's "Learn Hyakunin Isshu with Chihaya: The Official Waka Guidebook for Chihayafuru")

With this in mind, we have included a Hyakunin Isshu poem that perfectly suits each scene on the tissue paper. By reading the poem and modern translation of the Hyakunin Isshu, experiencing the manga frames, and then reading the Hyakunin Isshu again, we hope that you will be able to appreciate the depth of the poem.

By rediscovering the Hyakunin Isshu in this way, when we talk to others about Chihayafuru, we may be able to talk about the Hyakunin Isshu in a way that resonates with that scene.

It's just like Kanachan, who offers everyone a Hyakunin Isshu that suits the situation like medicine!

In addition, the illustrations for each month are selected from memorable scenes that occurred during that month in the work. For example, in January there is the night before the Meijin and Queen deciding match in the third year of high school, in February there is Valentine's Day for Sumire, and in March there is the graduation ceremony for Higashiosato Elementary School and the day Chihaya, Arata and Taichi face their farewell.

Wouldn't we be inspired in real life by seeing everyone in the story walking with such courage?

In fact, June, when I was planning the calendar to begin designing, was the month of the high school championships. Every time I felt like I was getting fed up with the long rainy season this year, I would think about the exciting high school championships starting in the world of Chihayafuru and competitive karuta, and I would straighten my back, as if I was standing in front of Sakurazawa-sensei.

For readers who will spend 2021 with this calendar, we hope that Chihayafuru will always be by their side, and that they will receive strength from the characters who appear in each month. With that wish, we send out this calendar.