Thread by @animaltextures

Ok twitter, since i'm desperately trying to ignore my final papers, here's a thread on a Japanese designer and illustrator who pioneered the "aesthetic" of kawaii in the 60s, revolutionized fashion and design, and helped launch one of Japan's first gay magazines: Rune Naitō

Rune was born in 1932 and got his start working with Nakahara Jun'ichi, another one of the major figures in shojo history. Together, they helped to start Himawari (Sunflower, 1947-1952) one of the first postwar magazines for young girls.

Rune became a major figure in the design and editing of Himawari's successor, Junior Soleil (1954-1960). Junior Soleil was where Rune's career really took off, and his "Rune Girls," became a major hit, launching his career as an illustrator and designer for numerous magazines

As a result of his success in illustration, Rune began designing his own mascot characters that also became huge hits. Characters like Hello Kitty are pretty well known everywhere now, but Rune's Panda character, designed the year before Ueno Zoo received a panda, paved the way

But a major part of Rune's work that's rarely discussed is the work he did for the magazine Barazoku (1971-2008). Barazoku was the first mass-market magazine that catered to same-sex attracted men in Japan, and Rune's long term partner Fujita Ryu designed the first cover

Rune and Fujita met in the 50s during Rune's work at Himawari, and they cohabitated for the rest of their lives, producing goods under the company name "LUNE" together. Lune also did illustrations for Barazoku, but until the mid-80s he used the pseudonym "Sahara Sam" for them

After the mid-1980s, Rune joked that he could use his name for illustrating for gay magazines because his "boom" period was over. For the rest of his life he lived with Fujita, producing dolls, figures, designs, and gay illustrations until his passing in 2007

When he died, many Japanese obituaries credited him as the "godfather of kawaii," but very few noted his contributions to queer visual culture in Japan or his own history as a queer person. As far as I can tell, no English language sources on him discuss it either.

That's why I think its important that Rune get credit for the totality of his works; not only was he a pioneer of the kawaii aesthetic but with his long term partner, he helped to create an entire visual language and artistic lineage for gay men in Japan.

EDIT: Thank you for all the kind responses to this thread! I wanted to add a few sources on Naitō and Barazoku more broadly for those interested:

naitou-rune.jp Naitō 's official site, in Japanese with an English intro

showa-g.org/men/view/285 Profile on Showa Guide

otapol.com/2019/08/post-7… Interview with Bungaku Itoh, publisher of Barazoku, on Naitō and Fujita and their relationship

intersections.anu.edu.au/issue12/aoki.h… This article in the Australian journal Interesections by Jonathan Mackintosh is a great introduction to Barazoku itself in English;

(I in fact recommend the whole issue on Queer Japan from, which is available here: intersections.anu.edu.au/issue12_conten…

amazon.co.jp/%E3%80%8E%E8%9… Barazoku no Hitobito (2006) by Bungaku Itoh has a ton of info on Barazoku and its contributors, including Naitō and other contributors

naitou-rune.jp/20190821/ And finally, if you're in Japan, the Okazaki City Art Museum has an exhibition of Naitō's work running until January 13th! It looks incredible and worth a visit!