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ENTRY TYPE: new
WORK TITLE: WILDFUL
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WEBSITE: https://www.studiokengo.com
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COUNTRY: United Kingdom
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RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Male.
EDUCATION:Schumacher College, master’s degree (deep ecology).
ADDRESS
CAREER
Game programmer, animator, illustrator, and writer. Has worked at an architectural firm and in the gaming industry.
WRITINGS
Also author-illustrator of the picture book The Unnamed Flower, Blurb, 2013.
SIDELIGHTS
[open new]Kengo Kurimoto broke into the world of children’s literature with a graphic novel about the therapeutic power of wilderness. Rather than favoring conventional toys during his youth, his mother usually gave him tools and materials, leading him to spend hours constructing and crafting things. He drew often, with his creative impulse channeled toward computer graphics and digital design during his teenage years. Already nestled deep within was a profound appreciation for nature, largely owing to his mother’s influence. As he explained to Foreword Reviews, she suffered from bouts of depression, which were mitigated by walks in gardens or local patches of woods. Kurimoto related: “I remember she collected beautiful rocks and twisted branches and laid them out as proudly as any ornament. She revelled in the softness of moss and the silhouette of trees in winter. It was infectious and seeded my own love of Nature.”
Studying holistic science at Schumacher College, in southwestern England, Kurimoto self-published a picture book inspired by Goethe and phenomenology, The Unnamed Flower, in 2013. In commentary for Transition Consciousness, Kurimoto described the moment observing a scraggly raspberry bush that inspired the book: “Suddenly, I was hit by a sense I had not felt before. It was a feeling of vibrancy, a very strong sense of life, far more than my intellectual understanding or even its visual beauty.” He imagined that he had perceived beyond the physical sight of the plant to “the true ineffable miracle of the plant itself.” After earning a degree in deep ecology, Kurimoto gained career experience at an architectural firm and then as a video-game creator. He made his mainstream debut as an author-illustrator with the graphic novel Wildful in 2024. About the common ground of his varied professional efforts, Kurimoto told Foreword Reviews: “Ultimately, whether architecture, video games, or a graphic novel, they are all about communicating a feeling to another person. Bridging the gap between your imagination and the experience of someone else is the toughest and most compelling challenge for me.”
Kurimoto’s graphic novel is founded in the appreciation for the great outdoors fed by his mother and by a modest parcel of wilderness near his childhood home. He told Foreword Reviews, “Wildful was inspired by many experiences in my life; as a child, we used to slip under a metal gate, just like the one in the story, and out into the woods. Looking back, it was just a thin sliver of neglected land at the edge of a housing estate, but to us it was another world.” Dissatisfied with his earliest drafts, Kurimoto streamlined the tale to focus on “experiencing the magic of Nature.”
With her mother stricken with grief over the death of her own mother—Poppy’s grandmother—Poppy takes solace in walks outside with her dog, Pepper. She is readily engrossed in her phone, but one day Pepper spies a fox and embarks on a chase, leading Polly to wilder spaces and the companionship of a boy named Rob. A rapt student of nature, Rob helps Poppy learn to recognize plants and identify animals and their tracks, boosting her emotional state. Eventually Poppy determines to get her mother outside for fresh air, exercise, and a healing recognition of the beauty and peace of the natural world.
Horn Book reviewer Gabi Kim Huesca called Wildful “gorgeous,” as rendered in “moody sepia tones” that, in the words of a Kirkus Reviews writer, “convey the shadowy feel of the forest, inviting readers to envision its quiet.” The Kirkus Reviews writer appreciated how the regular panels often unfold like shots in a film, inviting readers to focus on details alongside the characters. Alicia Abdul in School Library Journal likewise appreciated how the many wordless panels allow readers to “engage with the story at their own pace” and “languidly peruse” the sights to be “savored within each frame.” Abdul hailed Wildful as a “meditative experience” that makes a “powerful statement.” Huesca lauded the book’s message that “reconnecting with the natural world just outside of our doors can provide joy and healing.” The Kirkus Reviews writer hailed the “touching narrative and “satisfying ending” and called Wildful a “gentle, poignant tale of awakening to the subtle, healing wonders of the wild.”[close new]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Horn Book, January-February, 2024, Gabi Kim Huesca, review of Wildful, p. 98.
Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2023, review of Wildful.
School Library Journal, December, 2023, Alicia Abdul, review of Wildful, p. 92.
ONLINE
Foreword Reviews, https://www.forewordreviews.com/ (January 1, 2024), Peter Dabbene, review of Wildful; (February 9, 2024), Peter Dabbene, “Kengo Kurimoto Discusses Wildful, His Magisterial New Graphic Novel about Rediscovering Nature.”
Kengo Kurimoto website, https://www.studiokengo.com (September 5, 2024).
Transition Consciousness, https://transitionconsciousness.wordpress.com/ (January 20, 2014), Kengo Kurimoto, “How Do I Relate to the World?”
I am happiest when making things. Sitting at my desk in my studio. As a child, my mother would give me tools rather than toys to play with and I would sit for hours, snipping and gluing whole worlds into existence. Now, my tools are digital art and animation, game engines and code, but the impulse remains the same.
It starts with something from the world, a quality that raises it from the everyday. Then the long mull, as a form begins to take shape. It can be violent, where structures are torn apart and rebuilt, cherished things discarded; is it strong enough to survive the long path to fruition? And then there’s the work. The ever growing pile of things that need to be done, until one day when it begins to shrink, then another when it is everything that it needs to be.
It still astounds me that a picture in my mind can be brought forth into reality using just my hands. Something tangible, that can be experienced by another. Something that stirs laughter, sadness or a sense of wonder. But most of all, something elevated from the everyday like that first impression that began it all.
This is endlessly fascinating to me, and I hope you will share my fascination too.
Kengo Kurimoto Discusses Wildful, His Magisterial New Graphic Novel about Rediscovering Nature
wildful billboard
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While you were checking your phone, you may not have noticed the hundreds of scientific studies confirming the health benefits of nature. Old news, right? Well, isn’t it about time our healthcare system did something about it? Like encourage doctors to write nature prescriptions, for example.
Dear readers, that’s happening. Numerous nature prescription programs like Park Rx America are currently providing healthcare providers with nature-based activities, lists of participating parks and outdoor areas, and other resources to help them write actual prescriptions for their patients. Park Rx cites dozens of studies showing the benefits of outdoor activity in treating obesity, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, ADHD, depression, and anxiety, and more doctors are prescribing daily walks in parks, quiet times on park benches, or simply the mindful act of staring at trees and birds out the kitchen window.
This buy-in from the professionals is a hugely important step because, as the National Institute of Health says, “Medical providers are the fundamental institution involved in maintaining the health and well-being of society at large, and could pave the road toward wide-scale re-involvement of natural amenities in health care.”
Psychologists and mental health counselors are embracing a similar ecotherapy movement; dozens of universities and reputable organizations are offering certification and even graduate programs in ecotherapy.
Wildful coverIt’s all very unexpected and exciting. Especially because our healthcare system is so driven by profit-seeking big pharma. Indeed, without any money to gain, it’s not likely Pfizer is researching a pill that’s the equivalent of listening to birdsong.
Today’s interview spotlights a spectacular new graphic novel Peter Dabbene reviewed in Foreword‘s January/February 2024 issue: Kengo Kurimoto’s Wildful. We just had to get the two a’talking.
Wildful is a beautiful story of rediscovering nature in the midst of an urban landscape. Was there any particular experience or understanding of nature that inspired the story? If not, what did?
Wildful was inspired by many experiences in my life; as a child, we used to slip under a metal gate, just like the one in the story, and out into the woods. Looking back, it was just a thin sliver of neglected land at the edge of a housing estate, but to us it was another world.
But it was a more recent encounter that started me drawing. I was walking in the woods at dusk when I saw a small, white blur in the path ahead. It was moving towards me, fast. A badger, it hadn’t seen me. Just as it was about to crash into my legs, it stopped, showed its white fangs and let out a hiss before disappearing into the undergrowth. A moment later, I saw it with a cub trailing closely behind. I was stunned.
The book keeps the dialogue to a minimum, and the effect is stunning, bringing the reader closer and more intimately into the world that’s portrayed. Was the ratio of text to art something that you thought about before starting this project, or did it just turn out the way it did? Did you consider writing the story with no dialogue at all?
The amount of dialogue in the book changed a lot while I figured out what the story was about. As my first book, there was always the temptation to fill it full of ideas, characters, and nature facts. But I remember flicking through early drafts and noticing there were more pictures of people talking than of the forest. I didn’t think I was making the best of the medium either, since it was too easy to skip from line to line without taking in the drawings.
At this point I decided to rewrite from scratch, this time asking myself: if the book was about a single thing, what would it be? I realised it had been there from the beginning; experiencing the magic of Nature. Not just for the characters in the book, but for the reader too. This began the process of stripping out the dialogue, moving instead into the senses.
I did consider taking out the dialogue altogether, but I felt it important to explore why experiencing Nature matters through the relationships between the characters.
Your drawings of plants, birds, and other animals are simply stunning in their detail and anatomical accuracy. What’s your method for achieving such realistic depictions?
Thank you! I’m flattered! :)
I used to draw a lot as a child but less so since my teens when I discovered computer graphics. Wildful was an opportunity to get back to the simplicity of pen to paper, but it was challenging in a different way.
My drawing did improve over the years working on the book. Aside from lots of practice, I think the biggest benefit came from the amount of time I spent observing.
One time I became intrigued by how chestnuts form and over the course of a year I drew each stage; starting from a bud, bursting into leaves and flowers, then from flowers into the nut. When you really look, each transformation is nothing short of miraculous, and when you learn to see it in all plants, you see the whole forest in a new way.
For the animals I used a lot of photographic reference, though their personalities came from real life experience. That’s the great thing about graphic novels as a medium; I could also capture how they move.
As much as Wildful centers on nature, it’s also very much about human relationships, including the one between the main character, Poppy, and her mother, who’s depressed after the death of her own mother. Your treatment of grief in the story is both moving and true to the characters, an impressive feat for a debut graphic novel. Were aspects of these characters and their situations influenced by events from your own life, or were they completely imagined?
Both Poppy’s mum and her gran are both loosely inspired by my own mother. As a child, I remember she collected beautiful rocks and twisted branches and laid them out as proudly as any ornament. She revelled in the softness of moss and the silhouette of trees in winter. It was infectious and seeded my own love of Nature.
But she suffered terribly from long bouts of depression. It was very difficult for us all. Over time, we realised that taking her out into the garden or local woods helped; sitting quietly, pointing out a passing bird, or a colourful mushroom. There was always an improvement, no matter how small, and eventually her joy would return.
Later in life, she was diagnosed with dementia. Again we made sure to go out into the woods. She would ask me the name of the same plant over and over which was tough at first until I realised she was experiencing it like new every time. Those were some of the best times I had with mum, sitting quietly, enjoying the sound of the birds together. She passed away last year.
According to the biography on your web page (www.studiokengo.com), you’ve worked at an architectural firm, studied eco-building, and earned a masters degree in Deep Ecology. Did you study art or design formally, and if not, how did your art style develop? Who or what would you say were your major influences?
I have been making things since I can remember; my mother would give me tools rather than toys to play with and I would sit for hours making my own worlds. I guess I never stopped. I love learning and trying out new things and there are so many amazing resources now for free.
One of the best things about having worked in many domains is that they help inform each other. For example, when I worked in the games industry, where you can create fantastical worlds, it benefitted from the real world rigours I learned in architecture. I think it is always good to pull in inspiration from outside the domain you are working in, it makes fresher, more grounded work. My influences are too many to mention, from across fields and throughout history, but if I were to choose one, it would be Hayao Miyazaki since he brings things together so well.
Ultimately, whether architecture, video games, or a graphic novel, they are all about communicating a feeling to another person. Bridging the gap between your imagination and the experience of someone else is the toughest and most compelling challenge for me.
The final scene in Wildful is a two-page spread that depicts a grand chorus of birdsong, visualizing the acoustic differences among different species, while conveying the overwhelming experience of hearing them all together. How did you decide on how best to illustrate such a non-visual concept?
I have always liked the idea of depicting sounds visually and it made sense for the birdsong. I started off almost like a spectrum analyser, left to right with high notes shown high and low notes low. But the more I listened, there was an incredible variety of textures, like sharp, staccato, meandering, or vibrating sounds. The robin’s song is just incredible in its complexity with a cascade of notes rivalling even the most experimental of jazz saxophonists.
I wanted to record it as accurately as possible whilst keeping in mind it needed to look nice on the page. For this, I was very much inspired by the elegance and articulation of Islamic script.
For the crescendo, I spent a number of mornings out at 4am listening to the Dawn Chorus. It is spectacular; the way it builds into a continuous soundscape where every moment is filled by the song of a bird, possibly miles away. I imagined it almost like a net of scripts, spreading far into the distance.
Given your somewhat eclectic background, it’s hard to imagine what your next project might be. Will you be looking to do another graphic novel, or do you have something else in mind?
I already have the first draft of my next book. It is about an ancient Temple of Song and asks the question, “what is sacred?” It was nice to apply the many lessons I have learned from Wildful and I’m really starting to love the writing process. I am pushing forward with the story first and have not yet decided the format, though I do think it would work well as an animated feature. In the meantime, I am also working on a pitch for a new game. What happens next will largely be defined by the pragmatics of funding, but I am always working on things regardless. If you are interested in [my] new projects, the best way [to follow] is to subscribe to my website.
Thanks for the great questions, it was really good to reflect about the making of Wildful, I do feel changed by the process.
Peter Dabbene
February 9, 2024
Guest Article: Kengo Kurimoto: How do I relate to the world?
January 20, 2014 · by Simon · in Guest articles. ·
The Unnamed FlowerA couple of weeks ago at Schumacher College Maria and I had the pleasure of meeting Kengo, a designer who is currently studying Holistic Science. Kengo’s intention for reading the masters is “to ground my experience in the design industries with the Deep Ecology of Schumacher College to engage in ecological and socially orientated enterprises”.
As part of his course work, Kengo has produced a beautiful book The Unnamed Flower, the full preview of which can be read here.
When I read his book I thought it both exquisite and a wonderful introduction to Goethe’s way of science, of which I write about often on Transition Consciousness. Last week I wrote a prequel so to speak to this guest article of Kengo, on Goethe and Sensemaking, which introduces the central theme of Goethe’s work, that of the need for different modes of consciousness to fully understand and make sense of organic systems, which are self-contained “wholes” and which unlike machines, have an ability to “come forth out of themselves”.
In this article, Kengo has graciously shared his artwork (please click on each picture to see a larger version). I can strongly recommend you spend time reading The Unnamed Flower. Sometimes it seems in our technological world we have lost the art of observation, a skill which is as relevant in business as it is in science. Organic life is not a machine ruled by cause and effect, but also have a creative freedom, and in studying Goethe, as Kengo has done, we can develop new “organs of perception” which reconnect us with the livingness of life, and new windows on the complex world we are embedded within.
How Do I Relate to the World?
Kengo Kurimoto
Kengo Kurimoto
Kengo Kurimoto
This is the question I am exploring during my master’s programme at Schumacher College. It has been a unique space in my busy life to pause and question my relationship with the world. Together we looked deeply into the nature of perception, and through this, I met Goethe and Phenomenology.
I must admit, I struggled to begin with. I felt bogged down with strange words and theories that were in essence telling me simply how to see. After a frustrating week, I was clearing my head in the vegetable garden and sat looking at a scruffy raspberry plant. Suddenly, I was hit by a sense I had not felt before. It was a feeling of vibrancy, a very strong sense of life, far more than my intellectual understanding or even its visual beauty. Had I just seen what Goethe saw?
I realised for this work to be meaningful, I had to go out and practice it. This was when my project began; painting a sequence of a flower’s metamorphosis from bud to seed.
Credit: Kengo Kurimoto
Credit: Kengo Kurimoto
Credit: Kengo Kurimoto
Credit: Kengo Kurimoto
Credit: Kengo Kurimoto
Credit: Kengo Kurimoto
Credit: Kengo Kurimoto
Credit: Kengo Kurimoto
Credit: Kengo Kurimoto
Credit: Kengo Kurimoto
Credit: Kengo Kurimoto
Credit: Kengo Kurimoto
Credit: Kengo Kurimoto
Credit: Kengo Kurimoto
The process was surprisingly tricky, fighting with the environment and the flower itself to capture its essence. However, through this struggle, a shift in perspective occurred. Again, I felt a profoundly moving, fleeting sense of life, though this time through its transformation.
What did I sense and why does it matter? I think Goethe’s insight allowed me to see past my conceptual idea of the plant to the true ineffable miracle of the plant itself. This left me with the question what else am I missing and how differently would I treat something if had I truly felt its miracle?
To read my story, visit www.blurb.co.uk/b/4921061-the-unnamed-flower and press “Preview”
Related Articles
Goethe on Sensemaking
Related Pages
Personal webpage of Kengo Kurimoto
KURIMOTO, Kengo. Wildful. 216p. Groundwood. Feb. 2024. Tr $22.99. ISBN 9781773068626.
Gr 4-7--Poppy and her canine companion discover nature in a powerful statement on slowing down and opening up. Poppy's mother has been struggling with the death of Gran--her mother and Poppy's grandmother. Befriended by Rob who is a nature-lover, Poppy and her pup spend time each day uncovering the restorative power of the outdoors, which eventually also helps Poppy's mother on her road to recovery after she relents to Poppy's request to get outside. A story of relationships and connection, there are person-to-person and person-to-nature explorations that deepen the meaning of the story, no matter how readers engage with the book. The sparse dialogue is enhanced by the well-paced panel progression throughout, which gives space for understanding how animals and nature are transforming Poppy. Without cluttering the pages, Kurimoto intentionally chooses to allow readers to engage with the story at their own pace alongside the characters. In fact, there are plenty of pages without any dialogue or narration at all, permitting readers' eyes to languidly peruse. Flora, fauna, and an occasional busted vehicle behind a gate can be found and savored within each frame. The overall effect is a quiet graphic novel with a muted palette and a loud message. VERDICT This meditative experience is a necessary addition for celebrating the outdoors and providing another avenue for SEL for all ages.--Alicia Abdul
KEY: * Excellent in relation to other titles on the same subject or in the same genre | Tr Hardcover trade binding | Board Board Book | pap. Paperback | BL Billingual | SP Spanish
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Abdul, Alicia. "KURIMOTO, Kengo. Wildful." School Library Journal, vol. 69, no. 12, Dec. 2023, pp. 92+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A779118705/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4e2f01bc. Accessed 3 Aug. 2024.
Wildful
by Kengo Kurimoto; illus. by the author
Intermediate Groundwood 216 pp.
2/24 9781773068626 $22.99
e-book ed. 9781773068633 $16.99
In this gorgeous graphic novel with minimal text, it's an ordinary day as Poppy takes her dog, Pepper, out for a walk, all the while listening to music, scrolling mindlessly through her cell phone. Pepper, spotting a fox, breaks free and runs off into the woods, unplugging Poppy from the digital world and immersing her in the natural one. They encounter another child, who is fully engrossed in the woodland life around them. Poppy returns to the woods the next day, and the day after that. Nature walks become routine, and Poppy begins to notice the birds, plants, and sounds all around. She tells her mom--who, in grieving her own mother's death, can't seem to get off the couch--about her adventures when she gets home. The illustrations ("drawn in Biro, painted using inks and tweaked in Photoshop") portray nature in moody sepia tones that challenge viewers to use their imaginations to fill the pages with color. In the first chapter, the text asks: "What does the wild speak?" This question is explored throughout the story, and Kurimoto's detailed illustrations capture the essence of a walk through the woods; depictions of flora and fauna bring the sounds of the woods (including the wild "morning chorus") and movements of new buds to life, along with the layered emotions that nature can evoke. Readers are reminded that in an increasingly connected digital world, reconnecting with the natural world just outside of our doors can provide joy and healing.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/default.asp
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Huesca, Gabi Kim. "Wildful." The Horn Book Magazine, vol. 100, no. 1, Jan.-Feb. 2024, p. 98. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A781187781/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=999a218e. Accessed 3 Aug. 2024.
Kurimoto, Kengo WILDFUL Groundwood (Children's None) $22.99 2, 6 ISBN: 9781773068626
Encounters with the natural world help a girl and her mother grieve.
With Mum inert with grief over Gran's death, Poppy passes the time taking her dog, Pepper, for walks. Unlike Poppy, who stares obliviously at her phone, the lively dog is distracted by the sights of the world around him. When Pepper suddenly chases after a fox, Poppy frantically runs after him, ending up in a forest clearing, where she encounters a boy named Rob, whose affinity with nature intrigues her. She returns again and again to the forest, where, with Rob's guidance, she learns to be still and observant, recognizing deer tracks and understanding the calls of wrens. She even starts noticing the beauty of pockets of nature in town. As Poppy experiences more of the wild (and less of her phone), she longs to show Mum the world she's discovering. Soft, sepia-toned images executed in ballpoint pen, ink paint, and Photoshop convey the shadowy feel of the forest, inviting readers to envision its quiet. The clean, regular panels, most of them wordless, often present series of scenes that unfold like the frames of a film, asking readers to closely observe details alongside Poppy and Rob. Emotional complexities are soothingly resolved, and readers will be drawn in by the appealing characters, touching narrative, and satisfying ending. Poppy and her mother are cued British Asian; Rob reads white.
A gentle, poignant tale of awakening to the subtle, healing wonders of the wild. (author's note) (Graphic fiction. 9-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Kurimoto, Kengo: WILDFUL." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2023, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A774415108/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1b53ed67. Accessed 3 Aug. 2024.