Hajime Isayama Expresses Respect for Legendary Postcard Artist Toru Mitsumine as He Reflects on 30 Years of Contributions

Toru Mitsumine, known as the “legendary postcard artist,” has been active in submission activities for nearly 30 years, from the late 1980s to the present.

Notably, his submission volume is impressive; he has submitted to various genres, primarily focusing on bishoujo manga magazines, and his illustrations have appeared simultaneously in multiple publications.

Even if people may not know Mitsumine’s name, many have likely been captivated by his unique and impactful art style at some point. Due to his highly active and mysterious behavior, rumors have circulated, suggesting there might be “multiple people involved,” that he could “actually be a woman,” or even that “editors are drawing his submissions.” These rumors evolved into urban legends, leading to whispers among editors that “books submitted by Mitsumine never fail,” labeling him as the “house spirit of the publishing industry.” It came to be said that “the presence of Mitsumine’s submission signifies that a work is recognized as a book.”

Even as his name has spread, he has continued to submit without stepping into the limelight, captivating many hearts and inspiring numerous creators to become his fans. Hajime Isayama, the author of “Attack on Titan,” has also named him as someone he “respects,” and he is regarded as a living legend who even appeared on the TV program “Tamori Club.”

In the current Reiwa era, Mitsumine has gained support from a broad range of fans, including those from the ’90s as well as new fans emerging from the social media age. In the summer of 2024, his biographical manga “Ijin Gaho Toru Mitsumine” was published by Shonen Gahosha.

Amidst the changing media landscape, we sought to uncover how he views the world today while continuing his activities unchanged.

 

In the ’90s, he submitted 100 pieces a month but said he was “scolded by my family.”

――What prompted you to start submitting your work?

“I’ve always loved submitting. At first, I submitted written pieces to magazines like ‘The Television’ and general publications. I also enjoyed submitting to radio shows, listening to broadcasts by Mami Koyama and Hiroko Taniyama on ‘All Night Nippon,’ and sending in my contributions. During the early ’80s bishoujo manga boom, I became a fan of manga artist Tō Moriyama. I submitted to magazines for the chance to get one of his telephone cards, and when I was accepted, I was so thrilled that I got even more into submitting. I admired Shotaro Ishinomori and wanted to be a manga artist, so I started submitting illustrations from there.”

――What do you find most rewarding about submitting?

“The joy of getting published sums it up. It’s disappointing when you put in effort and don’t get accepted. But sometimes, a piece you thought was rejected shows up months later, like a comeback. Occasionally, when the submission volume is low for a month, past rejected works get published. I often think, ‘I didn’t submit that,’ but it’s fun to realize how much has happened in between. It’s not just about the happiness of getting published; there’s also a sense of relief, which makes it a complex feeling.”

――How frequently have you been submitting your work?

“During my most active period in the ’90s, I submitted around 100 pieces a month. There were plenty of magazines back then, and I bought as many as I could to submit to. After I suffered a stroke in 2015, my submissions decreased to about 20 to 30 a month. The stroke was a significant event; I collapsed at work, and since I live alone, my family found out about my health issues. I had been hiding my submission activities from them. ‘Toru Mitsumine ‘ is my pen name. When my family entered my room to collect my clothes, they were shocked at how messy it was, especially when they saw magazines where my work had been published, including many adult comics. They got angry about that.”

――Have you been able to gain your family’s understanding?

“Well, after everything that happened, I think my family and even relatives know about my activities, especially with the biography out. I don’t bring it up, and they seem to understand but don’t mention it either (laughs).”

A website studying the Toru Mitsumine  style was created.

――How did you start to become known to the public?

“From around the mid-’90s, I began to gain attention among magazine editors, especially at events like Comic Market, and the rumors spread. For the first ten years after I started submitting, both readers and editors told me I was ‘bad’ at it. However, by the end of the ’90s, doujinshi (fan publications) about me started to emerge, and more people began to make jokes about me. Then came the internet era, and a website dedicated to studying Toru Mitsumine  was created, where people gathered and analyzed the various illustrations I had submitted (laughs). Learning about that, I bought a computer, which I didn’t own before because I’m not tech-savvy. I didn’t contribute, but I did go and check it out.”

――How did you develop your unique and impactful art style?

“It’s the result of just drawing continuously. I tried to mimic and incorporate the techniques and expressions of artists I admired, thinking, ‘I like this way of drawing noses,’ and adapted what I could to create my current style. People often say, ‘Your style hasn’t changed in 30 years,’ but to me, it has changed quite a bit (laughs). Once, I asked on Twitter (formerly X) if anyone used my art as a reference, and only one person said they ‘used it.’ I was so happy to hear that (laughs).”

――What is your drawing environment like?

“It’s completely analog. I use a kabura pen for faces and a G pen for bodies. The kabura pen is easier to handle. I love Junji Ito, and since he uses a mill pen, I tried that too, but the pressure I applied crushed the nib (laughs). I’ve been told to switch to digital, and I’ve thought about it, but since I’m not good with technology and I love working analog, I might just end up being the last person to keep drawing this way (laughs). Maybe that’s a good angle to aim for.”

――Have you experienced any setbacks?

“I haven’t, but there have been shocking moments. There was a time when I found out I had become part of the ‘unopened group’ for the magazine ‘Lemon Club’ (published by Nippon Shuppan), where my submissions were being discarded without even opening the envelope. I felt like the world had gone dark. But I kept reminding myself that there are other magazines, so I continued submitting. No matter what anyone said or if my work didn’t get published, I just kept drawing the next piece. By continuing to submit, I managed to cope with the disappointment. Even if a piece was rejected, I wasn’t given any feedback on what was wrong, so I kept telling myself to just submit. Eventually, it turned around, and the magazine’s submission editor started reaching out to me, asking me to submit (laughs).”

――When rejections keep coming, do you ever feel negative or fall into a dark mental state?

“I do feel down, but I’ve never fallen into a dark place. I’ve just been doing my best and enjoying it. When a piece was rejected, I had to submit it elsewhere. However, I will admit there were magazines I really wanted to be published in. I thought magazines like ‘Comic Dolphin’ and ‘COMIC Rats’ only published skilled artists (laughs). I really wanted to be in ‘Fan Road’! That magazine felt like a high wall, and in the end, I never got published there.”

――Among the magazines you’ve seen, which submission pages left a lasting impression on you?

“Each magazine had its own unique appeal, but I really liked the submission pages of ‘COMIC Attoteki’ from Kōsai Shobō and ‘Manga Bangaichi’ from Core Magazine.”

――Do you have any techniques for increasing your chances of getting published?

“The first and foremost thing is to meet deadlines. If I can’t make it, I’ll sometimes repurpose my work for another magazine (laughs). Then, I look at the magazine’s tendencies. I consider the types of celebrities that often appear on the cover and think, ‘They probably won’t accept anything too risqué’ or ‘They definitely won’t go for something too childish.’ I also try to align my submissions with the season when the magazine is released. For example, in hot weather, I’ll go for swimsuit themes. If there’s a favorite artist in the magazine, I make sure to write thoughtful comments and feedback, as that tends to be appreciated.”

――What is the current state of submission sections in magazines?

“Many magazines are eliminating their submission sections due to the shift to digital formats. It’s really sad to see announcements like ‘The submission section will be discontinued.’ Looking back, when Pixiv started gaining popularity at the end of the 2000s, everyone migrated there, and that felt very lonely as well.

The industry has its ups and downs. For example, with adult manga magazines, incidents like the Miyazaki Tsutomu case or the Shobunkan incident can lead to a decline in interest. It’s been affected by changes in the times. So even though there’s a trend of increasing digital content and decreasing print, I thought, ‘This is just a temporary downturn, and eventually, print will come back, and more magazines will have submission sections.’ But it’s just continued to decline. I think it’s something we have to accept.”

――Were there any rivals back then?

“There were plenty, but many have quit, moved to social media, or gone professional. I feel like I’m the only one left (laughs).”

――Have you ever thought about becoming a manga artist?

“I used to want to, but my family discouraged me, so I gave up on that. Instead, I focused on submitting illustrations. A company called Hot Powers made an adult toy called ‘Mitsumine  Hour,’ featuring my artwork on the packaging, and I wrote a four-page manga for it (laughs).”

――Are you aware that Hajime Isayama, the author of Attack on Titan, has mentioned you as one of the writers he respects?

“Yes. I saw an interview with Isayama-sensei online, and I bought the magazine where he made that statement. I was so happy and cherished it, but when I had my stroke, my family came into my room to clean up and ended up throwing it away. I wish they had kept that.”

――Have there been changes in magazine submission sections from the past to now?

“No, the submission sections of magazines each have their own personalities and are all different, so I don’t really feel much change due to the times.”

――Isn’t it different from the phenomenon of receiving comments on illustrations posted on social media?

“For me, it’s completely different. I feel happy knowing that it reached the editors, that they understood and recognized it. The interactions with my editor and the excitement with other submitters are something that doesn’t exist on social media. It’s just the way times change, I suppose.”

 

“I was also published in Weekly Gendai.”

――What kind of submissions are you making now in the Reiwa era?

“Currently, I’m focusing mainly on Akita Shoten magazines. While searching for magazines to submit to, I happened to buy one and saw that a manga artist named Eishi had drawn a character inspired by me. That inspired me to continue submitting to Akita Shoten magazines, especially since Riku-sensei is now working on an isekai (another world) version of the ‘Baki’ series for Akita Shoten.

Additionally, I’ve started doing things I hadn’t done before. While I was hospitalized, I found ‘Weekly Gendai’ from Kodansha, which had a senryu (a type of Japanese poem) class that was accepting submissions. I’ve had my senryu published twice, I think? (laughs). I’m also trying new challenges, like submitting to Gakken’s occult magazine ‘Monthly Mu.’

In the past, I was completely absorbed in submitting, and whenever I found a magazine with a lackluster submission section, I felt a sense of mission, thinking, ‘I have to support this magazine!’ (laughs). But now, I’ve lost that feeling and am just enjoying it.”

――What are your plans for the future?

“I want to create a collection of my works. I’m currently involved in distributing doujinshi at events like Comic Market. For a long time, I was labeled as ‘bad’—I was practically synonymous with it. But after about ten years, I started to be recognized by fans. I was able to publish a biography through Shonen Gahōsha, the same publisher of Fujiko Fujio A’s Manga-dō. Oh, and Manga-dō also features Kodansha (laughs). I guess this is my own Manga-dō.

No matter how much criticism I faced, when my work got published, it felt exhilarating and brought me joy. I believe that’s why I continue to this day. I’ll keep submitting my work, so if you happen to see it, please smile. And if you come across me at an event, I hope you’ll smile then too. For updates on my activities, you can refer to my posts on X.”

 

Photography and Text: Miyu Kurusu
Freelance writer. Specializing in humanities, social issues, and subculture, she actively engages in research and writing for various media, including magazines, newspapers, and online platforms. She has published numerous works.

Source Cooperation: Rito Kimi (Researcher of Bishoujo Comics) X ID: @kimirito

Toru Mitsumine X ID: @gQQGT5QMIGy02n

Portrait of a Great Figure: Toru Mitsumine
https://www.shonengahosha.co.jp/book_Info.php?id=10492