Understanding the Characteristics of the Heta-Uma Illustration Works in the 1980s: A Case Study of Teruhiko Yumura and Yosuke Kawamura

Abstract

Heta-Uma, a Japanese illustration style, was first proposed in the 1970s and flourished in the 1980s. It involves illustration that expresses a unique artistic temperament through the use of childlike and naive forms. However, such a special cultural phenomenon has not been widely explored in the literature. The aim of this article is to examine the Heta-Uma works during the 1980s and reveal the role of these works’ characteristics. We conduct a case study of the two most representative Heta-Uma illustrators: Teruhiko Yumura and Yosuke Kawamura. Specifically, we analyze a total of their 514 works using the combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods. Our key findings suggest that the number and the type of Heta-Uma works changed from the early 1980s to the end of 1980s and the text in Heta-Uma works potentially plays an important role in supporting their understanding. In addition, the study demonstrates that Heta-Uma is likely to have a relationship with Japanese aesthetics. We take a first step towards understanding Heta-Uma systematically, and believe that this article complements the knowledge gap in the context of Japanese illustrations. Meanwhile, our study opens up avenues for future work, such as investigating the birth of Heta-Uma, the relationship between the works and the social impact, and the effect of Heta-Uma on the modern Japanese illustrations.