The model for Fudetabi comes from a personal travel diary

I think it was about 20 years ago when I drew a travel diary like this for the first time while traveling in Greece. At the time, I was already drawing “picture letters that stitched together feelings with art and words,” but the picture letters were postcards, so I drew them while thinking about who would receive them, and since I ultimately sent them, I don't have anymore.

That is why I wanted a travel diary that would preserve my memories for me. The accordion style sketchbook (a folding book) was drawn from successive trips, and it was fun to spread them out and look at them later, so it was very fitting for me. This “personal travel diary” is the true starting point for Fudetabi.

Drawing what I want to depict one by one

A travel diary comes together from honestly drawing things experienced on a trip. It's about leaving behind things that moved me on a trip, or things I wanted to depict as they came to me one by one. Just like how all of you click a camera's shutter because you feel like you “want to leave behind a picture,” I pile up colors through my sketches.

Drawing at a walking pace

It depends on what I am drawing, but it takes quite a bit of time, so while I'm drawing, I carefully look at everything including what I'm drawing. That is why each and every thing remains endearingly memorable forever. But I don't think about trying to draw my art skillfully or beautifully. When I am writing down the words, I also listen carefully to the sounds around me. I want to leave behind the ambiance of the area, so I draw at a walking pace.

Opening it spreads out that journey before me

Once I have a travel diary in my hands, the memories from back then are perfectly clear to me. Even for that trip to Greece 20 years ago, it still vividly comes to mind. My Greece travel diary is a monumental work totaling 5 books that is roughly 19 meters long. One of the great charms of doing a travel log is that once the pages are opened up, the aura of that destination spreads out before me.

Longing, joy, and heartbreak...

A travel diary is very personal. I believe that conveying the fascination of something is done when personal feelings are infused into it. Whether it's the longing felt for that place, the joy experienced there, or feelings of heartbreak, if you sympathize with and enjoy my modest yet vivid feelings towards my travels, then that would give me no better feeling.

Sachiko HANASHIRO

She supervises Etegami Hananokai. She started drawing picture letters in 1985, and starting in 2000, she depicted her memories of her travels in a sketchbook similar in form to Fudetabi. One of the fascinating things about Fudetabi is that by sketching at a walking pace, the ambiance of those locations back then have been strongly represented. She has made an appearance on the TBS TV program "Prebato!!" to provide insight for picture letters.