#sobacchi

[allmimsyweretheborogroves]

When you’re trapped in your 1-man tent for 12 hours due to torrential rains, make sure you bring a buddy.

[people-of-iwate]

Yudai Ogasawara of Morioka City Have you ever seen Iwate’s mascots, the Wanko Brothers? These are five anthropomorphic bowls (called “wanko”) with Iwate food on the inside, representing Iwate’s sense of hospitality towards its guests. The designer of those famous characters is Mr. Ogasawara, who has delighted many with his drawings ever since (he’s also the designer of the Pokémon illustrations that are part of the Let’s Go Geodude in Iwate project!).

“My reason for getting into design? I’ve liked to draw since I was a kid. And one of the ways to use that tool as a job is to go into design. But when I say I’m an illustrator or graphic designer, I’m not only just that. Which is why I don’t like to give myself a title. If you look at my business card, you’ll see that it’s just my name. I just sort of change it depending on the situation. If you need a designer, I can be a designer, but I find that if you give yourself a title, you get tied to that sort of work. I did a lot of commercial work in the past, but then I started forgetting what I really wanted to draw. So I decided to get back to basics. I’d like to keep experimenting, but I tried a lot of different styles to see what fit me most, and now I’m at where I am today. I figured I really did like doodling. Just like when I was a child. I’ve tried many things, but I’d like to think that where I’m at today is just fine.”

An example of Mr. Ogasawara’s drawings

“When you just have a photograph of a place, it may look cool, but then when you actually go there, it feels nothing like the photo. It’s hard to get across a feeling with a photo. But you can represent that feeling with art. For example, Morioka is my hometown. I don’t know what to recommend about the place, but I still love it. It doesn’t have a famous place or landmark that would go to see; there’s no Buddha statue like in Kamakura (near Tokyo). But in Morioka, you can just spend time relaxing. For about a year and a half, I would walk around and to see the culture and surroundings, and learned a lot. Zaimokucho, Konyacho (names of neighborhoods in Morioka). Whatever I felt, I put into this art. Morioka’s good point is that it makes you feel relaxed, I think. People are just relaxing, not stressing out. So my art also kind of looks like that, I think.”

Learn more! Mr. Ogasawara’s illustrations for the Let’s Go Geodude in Iwate project About the Morioka and Hachimantai region