Umisen-Yamasen

Umisen-Yamasen are back for HYPER JAPAN 2011. Last year, Chie Kutsuwada and Inko charmed the crowds with their manga seminars and the manga-style portraits they were offering at their booth. Chie and Inko are back again this year - make sure to immortalise yourself in manga by popping by their booth!

CHIE KUTSUWADA

Chie Kutsuwada was born and brought up in Japan. After graduating Royal College of Art, now she lives and works in London as a professional manga artist. She also attends some manga-related events and runs manga workshops at schools, libraries, and museums around UK, such as British Libraries and Victoria and Albert Museum. She usually creates story as well as illustration by herself like King of a Miniature Garden (2007), her first manga and Moonlight (2008) which was shortlisted in Manga Jiman competition organised by UK Japan Embassy.

She also works with story writers, such as 'As You Like It' (2008 SelfMadeHero, London) by Shakespeare and 'Hagakure' by T Yamamoto (adopted by Sean Michael Wilson, 2010 Kodansha International, Tokyo)

Read her blog, Secret Garden, here.

INKO

Inko was born in Kyoto, Japan, she grew up with manga comics, loving both reading and drawing them.

After Graduated Kyoto University of Art & Design, she moved to England and studied at Central Saint Martin's college of Art & Design. She has been working as a Manga artist delivering manga workshops in schools, galleries, museums and libraries, around UK. Such as British Libraries and Victoria and Albert Museum.

She also actively takes part in Art projects such as creating 19 manga posters at Embankment station (Art on Underground supported by London Underground), the most recent Animation work was shown at Gallery Seventeen and ICA in London - both are collaboration with an artist David Blandy.

Her manga appears on "Manga Cupcakes" (ITCH Anthology) "MangaQuake" (FutureQuake Press), "Howl!" (Milk The Cat Comix), "WAR human cost" (Paper Tiger Comix) , "Spirit of Hope"(Comic Book Alliance) and more manga anthology comics. A recent publish is "Fantasy World" (Ajiey Media) written by Theo Ajibode.

Read her blog, Inko-redible!, here.

Click here to buy tickets for HYPER JAPAN 2012 Spring.