What is Himi City Fujiko Fujio Ⓐ Manga World?

Centrally located downtown in Himi-machi and Chuo-machi, Himi City Fujiko Fujio Ⓐ Manga World refers to the area including Manga Road, a street featuring works from and related to Japanese manga maestro and Himi City-born Fujiko Fujio Ⓐ, and the Himi City Shiokaze Gallery.

His real name was Motoo Abiko. He was born in 1934 at Himi City’s ancient Kozenji Temple as the son of the head priest, but his father passed away before he finished elementary school. Abiko then moved to Takaoka City, where he first met Hiroshi Fujimoto (later Fujiko・F・Fujio) at Takaoka Municipal Jozuka Elementary School. Dreaming of becoming a manga artist since his elementary school years, Abiko made his debut with Fujimoto in 1951 in the Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun, a newspaper for children, while still enrolled in Toyama Prefectural Takaoka High School. He joined the Toyama Shimbun newspaper, where his uncle was a senior managing director, in 1952 after graduating from high school. Abiko worked on portrait sketches and interviews in the arts and culture section as well as the society section. He left the newspaper in 1954 at Fujimoto’s invitation. Abiko then moved to Tokyo with Fujimoto to become a manga artist.
The duo would go on to create famous hits, such as “Obake no Q-Taro,” “Ninja Hattori-kun,” “Kaibutsu-kun,” “Pro Golfer Saru” and “Mataro ga Kuru!!.” Strictly speaking, “Obake no Q-Taro” was the final work that the pair created together. Subsequent works that were released under the name Fujiko Fujio were actually solo works from one artist or the other. The duo disbanded in 1987, and Abiko began working under the name Fujiko Fujio Ⓐ. After going solo, Abiko displayed his versatile talents by producing the movie “Shonen Jidai,” among many other impressive works.