Daily Expeditions for Buried Gold[1]
On That Day, At That Time
Written by Manga Artist Hirohiko Araki
I used to hanker for the world of Edogawa Ranpo when I attended Komatsushima Elementary School in Sendai. Pretending to be the Boy Detectives was the go-to play for make-believe, and I never went straight home on my way back from school. My friends and I built a secret base by stacking up wooden crates from the fishmonger, in somewhere hidden that only we knew about.
There were big forests and swamps nearby the residential areas where we could explore, with the historical townscape still well preserved in my neighborhood. It was brimming with enticements and mysteries which aroused the curiosity of children.
For example, the legend of buried gold. There was a legend of buried gold hidden by an old man who had renounced the world, and we used to go around exploring the bomb shelters on the outskirts of Dainohara. We had a fantastic time, laying out symbols only understood between ourselves with twigs and such.
There were also rumors of psychic phenomena and places where unidentified flying objects (UFOs) would supposedly appear. I got all worked up when a university professor conducting research on thoughtography showed me a photograph of the dark side of the moon. Setting aside the veracity of this photograph, my imagination was strengthened by being drawn in to the unknown.
I always enjoyed drawing since I was small, even though it was only upon entering Tohoku Gakuin Tsutsujigaoka High School that I started drawing manga seriously and began submitting my work to publishers.
I made my first manga when I was in the 4th grade of elementary school. I was so happy when a childhood friend came and told me how good it was.
Looking back at it, all the things that made me want to become a manga artist originated from my neighborhood.[2]
(Note: A photograph and a personal profile of Araki appeared as well, with the following comment printed inside a speech bubble drawn above: Whenever I watch the movie Stand by Me, it reminds me of my childhood days and warms my heart.)
[Translated by Aldo[1] and Morganstedmanms[2] (JoJo's Bizarre Encyclopedia)]