Category: Kawaii Illustrators

Junichi Nakahara

Junichi Nakahara and the elevation of girl culture

Nakahara Junichi was an artist and illustrator popular during the pre- and post-war periods in Japan. He is known for his graceful, lyrical style featuring young, stylish women with large eyes and long eyelashes. His illustrations were featured in a variety of magazines targeted at young girls and women including the immensely popular Shojo No Tomo during the 1930s and Soleil, Junior Soleil, and Himawari, all published by Junichi soon after WWII.

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Yumeji Takehisa - Tanabata

Yumeji Takehisa – Taisho Romanticism and the Roots of Kawaii

While Kawaii as a modern concept didn’t begin until the 1970s, the roots of Kawaii can be traced back to the Taisho period (1912-1926), starting with artist, poet, and illustrator, Takeshisa Yumeji. Considered to be the godfather of kawaii, Takehisa was a leading figure of the Japanese Taisho Romanticism art movement, which combined current western art styles, such as Art Nouveau and Jugendstil, with Japanese artistic traditions.

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