Written by Jake Harvey (@youranimeguy)
On Friday, February 8th, I met Yoshihiro Togashi’s brother. For those who don’t know, Yoshihiro Togashi is a famous manga artist best known for creating the series Hunter x Hunter, Yu Yu Hakusho, and more. He is also my favorite manga artist, which is a big reason why I visited his family’s paper store in Shinjo, Yamagata, Japan. If you’re a tourist visiting and don’t know Japanese, it’s not an easy place to travel to.
At the time, I was leaving Hokkaido to fly to Yamagata. When I arrived, I got on a bus to Yamagata Station to check into my hotel not far away. At first, I had planned on visiting the paper store the next day since I wouldn’t have had time to visit before it closed in the afternoon, until I made a phone call. Snow was about all you could see in Yamagata, and with trains being shut down, I wanted to make sure the store would still be open the next day. I’m glad I did, because calling the store ended up changing my plans in a good way. On the other line was none other than Yoshihiro Togashi’s younger brother, Hideaki Togashi.
Hideaki Togashi is a very talkative guy. I had heard this from reading forums online by Japanese citizens who had visited prior, as well as the manga Sensei Hakusho, and I can now attest to this. Talking on the phone with him, you could tell he had a fun, spirited personality. When I told him my plans, he wasn’t sure about the store staying open, as he had also planned on going to Tokyo the next day if the trains were running, so he had planned to close the store early. I was willing to accept that I wouldn’t be able to see him and simply explore Yamagata, but when I told him I was from America, he was surprised. I thought perhaps he didn’t get many visitors from there, so I was relieved and excited to hear him say he would wait for me at the store. He had to ask again if I was really coming, because he didn’t believe it. I almost didn’t either. I couldn’t even give him what time I would arrive, but he didn’t seem to mind it, telling me that he also had to do his taxes there. Already, I could tell how nice he was.
After I checked into my hotel and dropped off my bags, I took a train ride to Shinjo Station, which lasted about 2 hours. I’d seen this station online before, but to actually be there, it felt like this experience was really becoming true. I knew I was far away; when my SUICA (Japan’s transportation card) stopped working and I had to get a paper ticket. This area was rural, so I can see why Hideaki would be surprised someone from America was coming to visit. With the snowfall everywhere, it almost looked like everyone was trying to stay inside. I got a taxi at the station to drive to the store, and even the driver had a little trouble figuring out how to get there. Successfully, after about a ten-minute drive, I made it. There I saw, after years of wishing and waiting, the Togashi’s Family Paper Store.
Walking inside was just like how I had seen online, with a lot of other objects that I couldn’t necessarily discern what they were besides decorations. While I was trying to take it all in, there came a man behind the front desk walking down the stairs. I could tell then that it was definitely Hideaki. For a brief moment, I thought he was Yoshihiro Togashi, as they both look similar. You can tell these two guys are brothers. When he walked up, we greeted each other, and I asked, “Hideaki-san?” to show him that I knew who he was. He was so surprised that I knew who he was that he even thanked me. Very humble guy.
I wanted to ask him so many things, so my mind was scrambling to think of something. It’s funny how people always have things they want to say or ask, but once they’re in the moment, the mind goes blank. Thankfully, the store had some art that I was curious about. One piece of art, Hideaki said he drew. It was a piece of the local Shinjo Festival held there years ago. Hideaki and Yoshihiro, both brothers, liked to always compete with each other when they were little. They later had a contest to see who would be the first to draw the Shinjo Festival for a national magazine. Hideaki won, and because of this; he did something a normal brother would do, funnily enough. Hideaki put his drawing at the end of his manga with a message to his brother, “I won.” Yoshihiro Togashi was frustrated when he saw this, so he countered by drawing a cover of Hunter x Hunter that looked like the Shinjo Festival’s portable shrine.
Talking to Hideaki, it felt like I was getting exclusive information that almost made it seem like I was being a journalist, but in all honesty, I was just interested and happy to listen to him. As a genuine fan of his brother, I appreciated every moment I spent with him. While talking to Hideaki, he showed me some pieces of a board game. These pieces had drawings on them that were originally drawn and created by the brothers when they were kids. It was the game that Yoshihiro Togashi mentioned in Hunter x Hunter Vol. 8. Hideaki said he was working on commercializing the board game, hoping to be have it ready by May, and that it will only be available to visitors at the store.
While speaking with Hideaki, I also got to learn about what he does in his spare time. He creates dioramas as a hobby, and was able to show me what he was currently working on. The jawline of the diorama character was taken from the character Hisoka of Hunter x Hunter. You can tell that both brothers have talent. I asked Hideaki if he wanted to create manga again, but he shook his head no, saying he doesn’t think he’d be as great as his brother is. He told me that Yoshihiro is on another level. A genius.
For those who don’t know, the brothers also have an older sister. This sister’s husband had previously placed a notebook in the store where visitors wrote down comments/messages for Yoshihiro Togashi. Yet, he never knew about the notebook, until one day Hideaki brought it up to him. All Yoshihiro said after seeing it was, “Oh that’s nice, thank you.” but Hideaki didn’t like that response, so he told his brother, “Hey, these are your fans! Don’t be rude!” Yoshihiro took that to heart and decided to create a Hunter x Hunter illustration for the fans who came to the store with a message from him saying, “Thanks for all the signatures and warm messages!” Hideaki then stated that the blue ink used in this illustration was also the same ink pen used for Yoshihiro’s previous work Yu Yu Hakusho. This illustration was drawn upstairs at this store. Hideaki took out his phone and swiped through images of Yoshihiro drawing it on a traditional black Japanese table, sitting on a tatami mat, eating soba. I asked Hideaki when was the last time he talked with him, but he said he hadn’t been in contact with him ever since.
I showed Hideaki a photo of his brother that has been pretty popular online and he just laughed. He said his editor took the photo and that he was really like this. It was no act. Hideaki said “No matter what room it is, when my brother uses it, it always becomes like this.” When Yoshihiro Togashi got married, he wanted to clean out his office in Tokyo, so he sent all his things to the store in Yamagata. In the past, when Yoshihiro and his wife came to visit, Hideaki thought it was bothersome because his brother’s wife would always have them clean up and move things around. He told me that both him and his brother were lazy.
When we were talking about manga, Hideaki mentioned his favorite manga of his brother’s is Level E, as it shows Togashi’s true self in the manga. Although only 10% of it. These days, through Hunter x Hunter, Yoshihiro can finally write and draw more of what he wants. This makes Hideaki glad, even though Hideaki hasn’t read the series since the Chimera Ant arc, which was completed in 2012. When I told Hideaki that the Level E manga isn’t available in the U.S., he was really surprised. He wants more people to read Level E, but thinks it’d be very difficult to translate with all the nuances. I mentioned to him that the English translator for Hunter x Hunter, Lillian Olsen, is excellent at translating. Personally speaking, I would prefer her to translate Level E, if it ever came to be.
Hideaki then told me later that his brother won’t change companies because of a past editor of his that had passed away years ago from a sub-hemorrhage. Yoshihiro stated that he wants to make it up to him, and feels like he hasn’t done it yet with Hunter x Hunter. Yoshihiro Togashi wants to make Hunter x Hunter have another huge wave of popularity again and believes he can do it. After that happens, Togashi said he’d change companies. However, Hideaki doesn’t think his brother will finish the series before he passes away.
With Yoshihiro Togashi being almost 60 years old, Hideaki finds it a little strange how his brother can be into Japanese idols so much. The love Yoshihiro has for them can be shown recently when he told his possible endings of Hunter x Hunter in a letter to a Japanese idol. Hideaki states that he shouldn’t have done that.
After talking for over 2 hours, I decided to call up a taxi to head off back to Yamagata Station as I didn’t want to keep Hideaki away from his personal time, which in this case was his taxes so he didn’t mind it at all. I bought a notebook with an illustration and a bag designed by Yoshihiro Togashi, and Hideaki was so kind enough to throw in a couple of Yu Yu Hakusho badges for free, showing off his kindness.
I asked Hideaki if it would be alright to write a message in the notebook that other fans wrote in and he said, “Of course!” But then the taxi arrived, so I had to write in a hurry. I’m not sure my handwriting was legible, but if you ever visit and see the only English comment in the book, then know that was me. When I thanked Hideaki for his time, I walked to the car only to have him follow behind. Saying thank you several times, he walked out in the blistering cold and snow to wave goodbye, as I rode off back to the station.
Never had I ever thought I would have this experience. I am truly blessed to have had this opportunity to not only experience but to share with the world. Hideaki was a really nice guy to meet, and I will always appreciate the time he gave me. As a fan to another fan, if you’re ever able to come to Japan, and specifically Yamagata, I highly recommend you come visit the paper store. Just don’t forget to call first. I’m sure Hideaki Togashi will be happy to welcome you.
