PROFILE

Description

Description

Known for his distinctive hand written letters, graphic designer and book cover artist Kouga Hirano first blossomed in the world of theater. From the 1960s to the 1970s, he was already establishing his unique approach to designing title characters for "underground" categorized theater and subculture magazines that were gaining popularity in Japan. Especially as the art director from the inception of the magazine "Wonderland" (later 'Takarajima'), the groundbreaking pages he created with editor Jinichi Uekusa are still considered landmark designs in the history of subculture scenes in Japan. Subsequently, the book covers he started to handle through his association with renowned editors refined his title calligraphy further, earning him support from not just authors but also a broad readership. His relationship with Shobunsha Publishing, which began in the 1960s, was particularly strong, with Hirano designing the covers for almost all the books published by the company for over 30 years. The rhinoceros logo mark of Shobunsha Publishing was also designed by Hirano.
In the 1990s, when Apple's Macintosh opened up new possibilities for DTP, he quickly adopted it and transitioned to creating all his designs digitally, which became major news in the publishing industry. Hirano's decorative hand written letters, composed almost like drawings, had an excellent affinity with digital formats. This experience was greatly utilized in his art direction from the inception of the magazine "Quarterly Book and Computer." Furthermore, his efforts to popularize digital characters as a font named "Kouga Grotesque" significantly elevated the value of designing Japanese characters.
Alongside these achievements, it's worth noting his establishment of the theater "Theater Iwato" in Kagurazaka, Tokyo, at his own expense. The theater, which supports young theater people and classical performing arts, and the visuals used to actively promote various performances can also be called Hirano's works. The archives, including works exhibited in solo exhibitions held during his lifetime and his self-produced works, are mainly stored at Musashino Art University, the University of Illinois (posters only), and the DNP Foundation for Cultural Promotion.
An interview was conducted with his partner from the theater days and media producer, his wife Kimiko Hirano, about his activities until his later years.

Masterpiece

Major works

Logo mark design "Shobunsha Publishing " (1964)
Book design "The Theater Beyond the Gate" by Tsuno Kaitaro, Hakusuisha Publishing (1972)
Book design "The Job of Interviewing" by Studs Terkel, translated by Nakayama Yō and others, Libroport Publishing (1984)
Book of collected works "Kouga Hirano: Book Design" Libroport Publishing (1985)
Book design "The Complete Works of Juvenile Novels", San-Ichi Shobo Publishing (1988)
Book design "Midnight Express" by Sawaki Kōtarō, Shinchosha Publishing (1986)
Typeface "Kouga Grotesque" (2007)
Hand written letters "The Heart Sutra"（2016）
Book design "The Life of Tsurumi Shunsuke" by Kurokawa Sou, Shinchosha Publishing (2016)
Hand written letters "Yosuke Yamashita Trio 50th Anniversary Concert: Explosive Half-Century! "（2019）
Digital Book of collected works "Kouga Hirano 100 Works" Voyager Ideal Bookstore (2019)

著書

"Kouga Hirano's Binding Art: The Shape of Favorite Books" Shobunsha Publishing（1986）
"The Power of Characters" Shobunsha Publishing（1994）
"My Drawn Letters" Misuzu Shobo Publishing（2007）
"Talking About Yesterday Today" Shobunsha Publishing（2015）
"Kouga Hirano 100 Works" Voyager Ideal Bookstore （2019）
"With Kouga Hirano" horo books （2020）
"With Kouga Hirano 2" horo books（2022）

Interview

Interview

Book cover design is the “Face” of a product when it hits the market
Developing the handwriting font “Koga Grotesque” accessible to everyone

Theater work and magazine work
An obsession with both in the 1960s

ー　Was your first meeting with Mr. Kouga Hirano during the time of the theater troupe "Black Tent"?

Hirano　No, it was before "Black Tent." Around 1966 or 67, Kaitaro Tsuno, Hiroshi Osada, and others, including Kiki Kirin who was using a different stage name at that time, and Shin Kishida, along with Daigo Kusano, created a theater troupe called "June Theater." At that time, there were various types of plays with people like Juro Kara, Shuji Terayama, and Waseda University theater students, and I frequently went to see them. For some reason, I was particularly drawn to June Theater, which seemed to be the most freely and carefreely run place. But you know, the actors there were better than those at other places.
June Theater was operating in a small space like a rehearsal room. Kouga Hirano was responsible for the stage and set design, and even that small space looked amazing. I wasn’t planning to become an actor, but I really wanted to work behind the scenes with these people and be around them, so I went to ask for a position. Kaitaro Tsuno turned me down bluntly. I still remember it well. I was about 21, and they were around 27 or 28, serious theater people. When I said I really wanted to work at June Theater, Tsuno said, “Well, even if you want to work, this isn’t a theater that takes on trainees.” But I insisted that I would be useful and could start from the next day. Tsuno seemed troubled, but since he had some spare time, he started discussing theatrical theories of Chekhov and Brecht. I didn’t know much about those theories yet. But that’s how I started working there.
Kouga Hirano had initially worked at Takashimaya Department Store's advertising department but left after about two years and went to America. After he returned, Tsuno invited him to work on theater sets, which he found very interesting. Kouga is someone who loves taking concrete actions and finding things interesting. So, when considering what kind of table would be best for a play, he would build it himself because the troupe had no money. When it came to costumes, he would start by finding the fabric, and I would go along with him. Maybe that’s when he thought, "Ah, here’s a girl who will help me." I was already helping from that time. I’d run off to buy a necessary part saying, “Need a drill? I’ll get it!” or find someone to help with sewing by saying, “I’m not good at sewing, so I’ll find someone who is…” I thought Kouga Hirano would continue these activities for a long time.

ー　Was Mr. Hirano working on book design alongside theater during that period?

Hirano　Yes, Kouga started doing book design gradually after Kaitaro Tsuno began working at Shobunsha Publishing and asked him to do some design work. At that time, I had no interest in it at all (laughs). I thought he would continue with theater. But, you know, there was no money coming in. Really, none at all. I still clearly remember that when we got married, we were renting a room for about 18,000 yen, and when we had a child, we increased the rent by about 10,000 yen, and it was still only two rooms. Around that time, the magazine "Takarajima" was created, and Kouga started working on it alongside his theater and book design work. It was apparently very interesting to him. At that time, there were no digital technologies; he had to cut and paste the plates by hand and use newspaper type. Even then, he was very particular about typography. I think it was the first time he made such large type for the magazine "Takarajima" title. Despite becoming a very famous magazine, Kouga only designed it for about two years. He was the art director only up to issue 5. After that, Takarajima-sha took over. They wanted to take Kouga along with their director, but he declined. He also turned down offers from Magazine House Publishing to work as a designer. It would have been better if he had gone (laughs). Most of the work was for the not-so-popular Shobunsha Publishing. Back then, the design fee was only 20,000 yen, so after paying the rent, we only had about 2,000 yen left. I can’t say it was good to be poor, but we were used to it. But I thought Kouga would be in trouble if he didn’t have money, so I made sure to put cash into his wallet instead (laughs). He probably never imagined that he might be short of money.

ー　So, it was a time when Mr. Hirano was deeply involved in both theater set design and the magazine "Takarajima" work?

Hirano　Yes, Kouga was really passionate. He was doing both the design work for the magazine "Takarajima" and theater, but his attitude towards book design seemed a bit different. Gradually, he started receiving book design commissions from not only Shobunsha publishing but also Shinchosha publishing, and he began to earn some money from it. The intense involvement in designing the magazine "Takarajima" for two years and the passion for theater were different from his approach to book design. Book design was more consistent. He never argued about how it should be and did it calmly. Looking back, he was always moving on to new things every few years with different groups. For example, "Suigyu Gakudan," which he worked on with Yuji Takahashi and others, continued for about nine years from the end of 1970, making booklets and concert flyers. I think it was the first time Kouga felt he was working with “friends” rather than just collaborators. Unlike with theater, everyone in "Suigyu Gakudan" was an adult, and he seemed to really enjoy it.

ー　Was there a specific trigger for Mr. Hirano to pursue a career in art and design?

Hirano　There was no background in art from his parents, and although he applied to Tokyo University of the Arts for architecture and failed, he entered Musashino Art University for design. Perhaps he enjoyed creating stage sets because he had an interest in architecture. While he collaborated with others in theater, he seemed to have difficulty forming a group in the design field. It seemed like he was somewhat out of place in the world of graphic designers.

ー　At the ginza graphic gallery (ggg), there was an exhibition focusing on Mr. Hirano's lithograph works in 1994, and in 2017, a solo exhibition showcasing his culmination of book cover art works.

Hirano　We hadn’t met ggg curators before, but when they reached out, Kouga and I decided to visit. When we met them, it was clear that they liked Kouga’s work and were also well-versed in the work of Tadanori Yokoo.
When they asked us for input on how to structure the exhibition, we felt that focusing on publishing and design would be ideal. Of course, Kouga had done a lot of great work with many publishers, but we wanted to highlight "Hirano Koga and Shobunsha," with Shobunsha Publishing’s help. Ultimately, it was great that Shobunsha Publishing lent us all the books for the exhibition.
Just like with the lithograph works, the pieces on display were re-designed by Kouga himself. He was very fond of the work done at the Awagami Factory in Tokushima and became very close with the only printer there. He wanted to print his designs and typography not in lithograph but digitally on Japanese paper. About 100 pieces were produced in 2017, which became his final exhibition.
I currently keep the 100 pieces of type design, with two copies of each, at home. I was asked to loan some of them for the upcoming Hangzhou Biennale, so I lent them out. All the correspondence for this was in English, so I asked my son to help with that.

"Kouga Hirano and Shobunsha Exhibition"（ginza graphic gallery） photo by Mitsumasa Fujitsuka

"Kouga Hirano and Shobunsha Exhibition"（Kyoto ddd gallery）phot by Akihito Yoshida

ー　So, Mr. Hirano’s previous book design work has also been digitized?

Hirano　If there’s one remarkable thing about Kouga's work in book design, it’s definitely that he digitized his own typefaces. It was around 1992 when he started using computers for this purpose. Looking back, it’s clear that for Kouga, type was like artwork. He used to say, "Because type is art," and he also drew very well. So, with the same sensibility as drawing, he could create digital typefaces. After he started designing digitally, he consulted with Osamu Toriumi of Jiyu Kobo, who helped turn his typefaces into fonts, such as "Kouga Grotesque." However, once it was turned into a font, it didn’t sell well. When you use that type, everything looks like it was designed by Kouga Hirano. Although Kouga didn’t intend to sell it from the start, he spent a lot of money to create the font, package it, and commercialize it—all at his own expense.
When we made the catalog for the Musashino Art University exhibition (note: "Kouga Hirano’s Work 1964-2013" exhibition), we included "Kouga Grotesque." He said that while he would like to be informed if it was used commercially, it could be used freely for personal projects or business cards. Kouga’s philosophy was that "type is nobody’s property."

ー　It seems Mr. Hirano utilized Macintosh for production very early on. What prompted him to start designing digitally?

Hirano　Kouga suffered from a retinal detachment-like eye condition in the 1990s, which left him almost blind in one eye... In fact, he was a designer with only one eye that could see. During the year he took off due to the illness, he was considering printing his work as lithographs. I was worried because such projects could be costly (laughs). Nonetheless, he realized this idea and exhibited the lithograph works in a small gallery. A designer familiar with digital technology saw his work and told him, "This type can be completely digitized." He offered to teach Kouga if he needed help with using a computer. Kouga visited that designer’s office, observed how it was used, and likely thought it was a good idea. However, Kouga didn't ask for formal instruction; he preferred to learn everything himself. Seeing this, I said, "Alright, let’s buy a computer." Even though it was still expensive at that time, I said, "It’s okay. The lithograph works sold well, so let’s get a computer." He started right away and was able to design even with just one eye. While he could have done it without digital tools, it certainly made things easier. About a year later, when he began doing all book design digitally, it was still a novel approach, and publishers would make a fuss about how it was done digitally. However, the president of Shobunsha Publishing seemed to think, "Where’s the digital aspect?" (laughs). But isn’t that fine? Digital tools are just that—tools.

ー　So, whenever Mr. Hirano started something new, you handled the fundraising.

Hirano　Yes, that’s right. I don’t think he knew how much money he had. He would carry money for taxis in case he got lost somewhere, but I handled budgets for large-scale production costs, like lithograph printing. When negotiating with the factory for lithograph production, asking if we could pay half upfront and the rest later, they seemed to sense that we might be struggling financially. It wasn’t exactly poverty, and we could cover production costs, but we often faced tough situations if things didn’t sell.

ー　There was also a time when you created a small theater, "Theater Iwato," in Kagurazaka, Tokyo, where you hosted plays, rakugo performances, and concerts.

Hirano　This was before we moved to Shodoshima, Kagawa. Since we met through theater, we thought it would be great to create a venue where young theater people could have more opportunities. Of course, we charged for venue use, but we kept the fees much lower than typical theaters, hoping it would be used for various purposes. Pianist Yuji Takahashi and others held concerts there, which helped spread the word about the place.
The Theater Iwato was in a building from 1953 and was quite old. We were allowed to use it however we wanted, and Kouga and I kept pouring money into it, saying, "Running a theater is the most fun." But after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, the building's condition worsened, and we had to vacate. It was a pity since we had spent about 10 million yen renovating the old building into a theater. We couldn’t give up and quickly looked for another place. Although it was smaller, about one-third of the previous space, we tried to operate a "Studio Iwato" there, but the rent was very high. We ran it for two years, but we couldn’t keep up with the payments, so we decided to close it. Even there, Yuji Takahashi held a concert titled "Concert for 50 People." Now, another person continues under the name "Shichoushitsu (=Listening room)."

Archives at Home,
Musashino Art University, and the University of Illinois

ー　After you moved from Tokyo to Shodoshima and then to Takamatsu, did anything change?

Hirano　After closing down Theater Iwato, which we had invested a lot of money into, we realized we couldn’t continue living in Tokyo as before. We thought it would be interesting to try living somewhere different, so we moved to Shodoshima. However, regardless of where we lived, creating typefaces remained unchanged. Just as we had collaborated on the magazine "Takarajima" and theater projects in our youth, we continued to create typefaces.
Takamatsu, where we moved later, is conveniently located for easy travel from Taiwan and China. As a result, young aspiring designers would occasionally visit us unexpectedly. They would often come without prior notice or phone calls. One time, a young designer from Taiwan visited and said, "I was shown Mr. Kouga Hirano's work by my design teacher, and I was deeply impressed. I was told to come to Japan and show the original to Mr. Hirano to see if it was okay." Kouga was delighted by such enthusiasm and praised them, even though their type design was different from his own. We also had two young people from Korea visit us.
There are many people in Taiwan who really like Kouga’s typefaces. When we held an exhibition of the 100 pieces printed on washi, Kouga was invited to Taiwan. Our daughter and son went with him, and they found that they could somewhat understand the design of the characters due to the kanji. For instance, they could recognize the kanji "劇" as "theater." This made Kouga incredibly happy.
A designer from Shanghai also came directly to purchase works. Kouga showed them more and ended up happily offering some pieces for free. The designer was enthusiastic about buying "Kouga Grotesque" and converting it to Simplified Chinese. When Kouga passed away, I informed this designer, and he wanted to buy all the works along with his studio. We had to decline due to the difficulty of shipping everything, but I sent the digital data of Kouga Grotesque to be printed on good Chinese paper.

ー　Are the works exhibited at Musashino Art University archived there?

Hirano　Yes, they are archived. The exhibition was before we moved to Shodoshima, so the 100 typeface pieces created later are likely archived at the DNP Foundation for Cultural Promotion.
Previously, a university professor named David Goodman, who was researching Japanese theater posters in America, held an exhibition at the University of Illinois. David was involved in Japanese avant-garde theater movements before they became known as the Kurotent (Black Tent) Theater and conducted research on them. After becoming a professor at the University of Illinois, he included Japanese underground theater in his teaching and research. After his passing, his partner, Kazuko Fujimoto, helped preserve the posters he studied in his research office at the University of Illinois. Therefore, Kouga's theater posters are now archived at both Musashino Art University Museum and the University of Illinois.

ー　Do you have any of the proofs or originals remaining?

Hirano　Kouga had the habit of tearing up and discarding his original layouts. He also discarded all the proof sheets once the work was done. When we lived in Seijo, Tokyo, we could burn things in the garden, so he did that. This was his approach to book design—consistent and somewhat detached. However, with lithograph prints, there was a sense that the design became a work of art when laid out. While not everything was kept, he did retain pieces he personally liked.
Kouga had a different perspective on book design compared to others' evaluations. He used to say, “Books from authors I really like tend to turn out well. Books from authors I’m not that fond of often turn out even better.” It’s kind of funny, isn’t it? Although he wasn’t particularly fond of many authors, he would say that book designs requested by others, even if they weren't his favorite, usually turned out well. He had a particular fondness for author Shiro Hasegawa but didn’t seem to be very attached to many other authors. Kouga didn’t read proofs either.
He believed that books are products, and that editors are responsible for creating those products. He felt that the editor’s vision for how a book should be presented to the world was the most important. The design of a book’s cover is essentially its face when it’s introduced to the world. Thus, Kouga often asked editors, “How do you want to present this book?” Some editors even cried and left when they couldn’t answer. There were also editors who came to him just to cry about internal company issues. When Kouga asked why things weren’t working out, some editors would respond, “I don’t like this book” or “I don’t understand why we need to create this book.”

ー　Was it difficult to take on book design in such situations?

Hirano　No, I don’t think so. I believe Kouga wanted to show direction through his book design. The editors who came to our place and cried during meetings had known us for decades. There were times when they would pop into the kitchen next to Kouga's room where I was, saying, “I cried today,” and then leave looking refreshed. At large publishers, there might be situations where editors have to publish books they dislike. Some notable editors who came to request designs would disappear without notice once they left their companies, which Kouga found quite sad. He would often remark, “Even after all those tears.” I suppose it’s a natural outcome when editors change companies.

ー　Did Mr. Hirano ever have an office outside of your home?

Hirano　For a time, in the 1970s, our office Kouga located in the Central Apartment in Aoyama. When we had our third child, Kouga decided that it would be too difficult for him to continue going to work by himself, so he decided to combine his home and office, and from about 1976 he worked from our home. I think it was a good decision because it allowed him to see more than just the design industry.

ー　Did he have any assistants?

Hirano　Occasionally, during different periods, yes. However, none of them went on to become designers. They were assistants who helped with specific tasks for a set amount of time. Currently, my partner, Sachiko Kira, who was once Kouga’s assistant, works with me. After spending five years on Shodoshima, we moved to Takamatsu due to Kouga’s illness. We then thought it would be nice to teach how to create hand written letters, which led to the founding of “Marute School,” a school for typography.

“Marute School”

Initially, about ten people applied, and we held classes at a local bookstore. However, it became cramped, so we moved it to our home, and although the number of participants dwindled to about five, we continued. The school eventually dissolved due to Kouga’s worsening health, but some participants went on to work for local publishers, while others pursued entirely different careers. Among them was Sachiko Kira, who had studied art in Germany for about seven years before returning to Japan. She loved Kouga’s typography, bought his books, and imitated his writing.
When Kouga was no longer able to work on large projects due to his illness, we received a couple of book cover design requests. Kouga asked Sachiko, “Could you help a bit?” He trusted her ability and gave her all his typography data, saying, “You can use my typography however you like. Feel free to draw as much as you want.” Of course, she still has all of it.
However, simply using Kouga’s typography for book cover designs might not be very interesting. Now, Sachiko and I are working hard on projects related to Japanese performing arts. For instance, we host the “Iwato Yose” event, featuring young rakugo and kodan performers. One of the performers, who will soon become a headliner, will use banners with Kouga’s typography for his debut. We also continue the little press “horo books,” which Kouga started, together.

ー　We’ll have more opportunities to see Mr. Kouga Hirano’s distinctive typography in the future. Thank you very much for your time.

Kouga Hirano’s archives

horo books　080-5452-3165　Kimiko Hirano

Copyright Successor　Taro Hirano