My Picture Diary is an odd little book. It is a day-to-day/day in the life of the author, Maki Fujiwara (also illustrated by) and her family. Things are fairly dull on the surface, but a lot is going on nonetheless. You can see the era (the late 1970s/early 1980s) and the culture and country (Japan); and of course, the husband and wife and the parent(s) and child relationships. The illustrations are simple, but deceptively so. The style itself is not overly detailed, but they do have a lot to say. They are an experience that each reader/viewer takes what they bring to the table.
The interesting part for me was that it did not feel like it was translated as sometimes a translation can seem forced to me which means it was bulky or did not flow. In fact, it was pretty much the opposite. Things are actually fairly light, even if we are dealing with something serious (the father, called Daddy, lives with a form of serious depression) and it flowed so well I had to slow myself down as I think you should take your time reading, be comfortable, relax and enjoy the ride. I am a fan of Ryan Holmberg’s translation for Fujiwara’s story.
If I have any issues with the story it is not the fact that the action is only things like the son going to school, or the father collecting cameras, or the mother doesn’t like to clean the bathroom. That, in fact, was clever as it shows how similar we are regardless of when or where we live. Plus, things like the bathroom are not what you’d normally see in a Western home, so you are seeing a world you may never experience first hand. The issue I did have is that Fujiwara uses Mommy and Daddy to describe herself and her husband. It is as if she is writing a child’s fairy tale and she is saying “The mommy did this, and the daddy is this way,” and not as if she was writing about real people right in front of her. The other thing that threw me off a bit is that the copy of the book I had and some of the images that I found online show two different covers, so I am assuming that there are probably other editions of the book (such as in Japanese or other translations).
Also included is a long essay afterwards talking about the artist Fujiwara. She was active in the underground scene in the 1960s and 1970s, married a man (Tsuge Yoshiharu also an influential artist) that was not necessarily the best fit, but was what the times gave her, and we see how the patriarchal elements she was part of influenced her, her work, how she was seen, expressed herself and more There is also much in the way of information about her husband as well. I did not finish this part, but do recommend reading it if you are interested in the historical parts of the book.