Troublemakers #2
170 x 240 mm, 176 pages
Tokyo, Japan (Japanese and English-language)
First published 2024
Editor-in-chief: Yuto Miyamoto
Art director: Manami Inoue
‘Embracing misfits’
A sweet new title from Tokyo, the team behind Troublemakers トラブルメーカーズspotlight the perspectives and experiences of various misfits they encounter, through in-depth interviews, photography and essays. Produced by magCulture Flatplan alumni Yuto Miyamoto and Manami Inoue, the stories inside are candid, conversational and ultimately hopeful, shared by everyday people who ‘don’t turn a blind eye to the problems in our society today.’
In the process of creating this spectral second issue, the Troublemakers discovered that home is not necessarily bound to place; it can be a transient feeling that takes the form of a person, mood or shared cultural tradition. Inspired by the Talking Heads anthem ‘This Must be the Place’, you’ll hear personal stories from Fukoku Kobayashi, an 82-year-old literary scholar taking sanctuary in asian feminist literature and gender studies; Manami’s close friend Linda, who found refuge in love on a new continent; and Kayoko and Yuko Tomobe, founders of Hatagaya’s welcoming Wall and the Egg Cafe. Accompanying the usual interviews, you’ll also find the short story ‘Female Degeneracy’, a trans-inclusionary feminist parable by Taiwanese author Li Kotomi.
An intriguing mix of misfits with plenty to take in, each story is followed by its Japanese translation on rose-coloured pages—a simple but effective way of accommodating multiple languages.