Yukako Ito's New Picture Book "Kuro-neko-chan" Released | BOOK

BOOK | A Story of Love Told Through the Bond Between a Black Cat and a Girl

Yuka Ito's New Picture Book "Kuro-neko-chan" Released

Yuka Ito, who focuses on poetry creation, recitation, and writing, has published a new picture book. "Kuro-neko-chan," which teaches the joy of companionship, is now available from Manabi Link.

Text by KUROMIYA Yuzu

A Book Unique to Yuka Ito, Who Navigated Adolescence with Heightened Sensitivity and Freedom

This work is a love story depicting the encounter and parting between a drenched, tattered black cat and a girl. It's a poignant yet life-affirming story that gently accompanies the heart during times of lost confidence or dejection.

Author Yuka Ito is known for her unique perspective and relatable way of capturing the essence of things. Her activities are diverse, including hosting TV programs, working as a radio personality, providing lyrics and poems for artists, and holding poetry reading live events.

However, her path to the present was marked by periods of not attending school during her high school years and experiencing various emotional struggles. It is precisely because of these experiences that she can depict the complex, yet pure and optimistic, state of mind during adolescence in this picture book.

The 15 illustrations that grace this book were created by Naomi Mizuno, a student at Hokkaido High School of Art (Nagoya Satellite Campus), a correspondence school for art education. The delicate and beautiful illustrations, which belie the fact they were drawn by a high school student, intertwine seamlessly with the narrative.