𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐔𝐩, 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐮?

Suetsugu: This was partly because of the impressions Mr.Tarareba wrote when he made a movie review of Chihayafuru-Musubi (the 3rd live action movie) [link to the review on Twitter || Link of our translation of some parts of the review]
Tarareba: Oooh! T- thank you very much!! I’m honored!
Suetsugu: Hototogisu is a bird that announces the arrival of summer (≒ the end of spring), like a “time-bird” and it’s also a bird that calls “I cannot go home, even if I want to go home”. Besides, the poem says: “there it is!!! I thought I would see it but when I looked, it was not there”. He is there but he also isn’t there, he is not in serious (valuable) situation/case (maybe she means that he is just walking around but not striving for a crucial thing), or even the opposite, he is not there but he is there which is also like Taichi (fits his character/role in Chihayafuru)
(Maybe she means Taichi’s role in the manga, he is not one of the pillar character aiming for some goal that will take him to the end of the story (where the biggest goals in a story are achieved), but still he is there in lot of situations where he might not be expected, and sometimes the opposite, people see/imagine/expect him where he isn’t meant to be.)
Tarareba: aaah... this is true... Taichi, he is good in his studies and good at athletics, not to mention his good looks and he is supposed to be the center of attention at school. still there are some things that Chihaya's eyes just don't reflect right...how unfortunate....
Suetsugu: I wanted to draw an illustration of Taichi and Hototogisu having a carefree encounter in a park. Taichi would look a bit surprised to see the hototogisu too, he would say: “You are here!”
it’s like a rare-character that you might not see often but both Taichi & Hototogisu are here. They are the only characters who are like that in the world (of the calendar) so I wanted everyone to find them (on May)

Tarareba: This is a beautiful poem about frost, white chrysanthemums and white on top of white. Why did you choose this poem?
Suetsugu: This is a beautiful poem, but, if it’s to choose a poem written by Oshikochi no Mitsune to add to the hyaknin Isshu, why was this one chosen while he had other better poems? This was said about this poem.
Tarareba: [confirms the fact that the poet is talented and has better poems….]
Suetsugu: I did some research and I found that Oshikochi no Mitsune was a highly regarded poet who was said to be a man of quick wits and that even his breath comes out as a poem. So I thought that such important person wrote about such simple common feeling.
In the illustration, Arata picks a white chrysanthemum and offers it to someone saying: “Here, please take it /This is for you”. I wanted everyone to think: “ I am the one Arata offered the flower to”
Tarareba: “This is for you”, I think I can hear the cries of "Arata fans" all over the country now.
Suetsugu: I really like “The Tomb of Wild Chrysanthemums” (written by Sachio Ito || HERE IS A LINK ON YT to an animated version) and in there is a line that says: "Tami-san is like a wild chrysanthemum.”
wild chrysanthemums and white chrysanthemums are different, but, picking wild chrysanthemums from the road and offering them is already a confession of love, isn't it?
Tarareba: it’s a complete confession. it’s not like “The moon is beautiful right?” (which is vague compared to offering the flower)
Suetsugu: In this pure scene, I wanted to draw Arata offering a white chrysanthemum without any pretense.
December is also Arata's birth month, so I wanted to draw him in December (December 1st).

Tarareba: This will be the last point in my questions. Finally, volume 45 of "Chihayafuru" is on sale. Over the course of 12 years from the start of the series, the main characters finally reached the pinnacle of the game, the queen and meijin tournament. What kind of thoughts do you have now?
Suetsugu: I, every time I think about the story, I interview my characters (in my head) and ask them: “what are your feelings?”, Now, everyone is like: “This is not the time for this”, they refuse to answer me.
Tarareba: th-that’s right, all the main characters don’t have time for that right now (laughs)
Suetsugu: Especially the 4 of them who are playing, they are like: “Shut up! my hands are full!! /I’m occupied !!”
Tarareba: Yeah, I think they can’t get more full.
Suetsugu: So I point the microphone towards the characters around them (and ask): “How do you feel about what you see?”
Tarareba: Oh, I see your point.
Suetsugu: I ask around things like: “Are these feelings of jealousy? or envy? Do you want to be a supporter?” Still, the game is ongoing but it will end eventually, so I thought that now is the only time I can draw everyone’s feelings (she means the 4 players specifically) but I couldn’t do that yet.
Tarareba: y-yes. such disappointment. I think this is what everyone wants to know the most so it’s understandable if it’s hard for you to answer. But did you already decide how the matches will end?
Suetsugu: I didn’t decide yet. I’m drawing them while thinking: “Who is gonna win this?”
Tarareba: Oooooh, so you haven’t decided yet. In novels and manga, writers often say: “The last scene is floating in my head and I’m drawing/writing to arrive there”. So do you also have such scene?
Suetsugu: Ah, the last is floating (in my head, yes).
Tarareba: Oooh (i’m so excited that my legs are dancing)
Suetsugu: I have the last scene floating (in my mind) but I didn’t decide who will win before that (Means that the end of the manga is not related to the winner of the Queen/Meijin tournament)
Tarareba: Oooooooh (more movements of excitement)
Suetsugu: About that scene I thought: “I want to draw it no matter the victory or loss” but I also wondered “how should I take everyone (the characters) there?” I wanted to take them around the world before getting them to their goals but I ended up going around 3 times. I'm thankful for that; it's a very happy thing, but how to follow up to the destination after that? I will work hard so that the characters at the end won’t say: “I won’t forgive such an end of the trip!” and not to arrive to an uninhabited island where the characters would tell me: "Don't drop me in such a place!"
Tarareba: 3 times around the world… Seems like a hint related to volume 44 […]
Suetsugu: We are not at the stage of creating new hints anymore, I think that now is the time to link what was written so far, in what order, what each (character) has and carries, I think we are at a stage where we have to show this.
Tarareba: Out of all the stories to be included in vol45, personally I was so touched by the story of full-reader Youko Kuzuryu
Suetsugu: I have always been meaning to draw Kuzuryu’s story somewhere. One of the 7 full-time readers; Arata and Shinobu are two strong players, and I wanted Kuzuryu to be the key-wind to blow (& support) Chihaya & Suo who have prepared well.

Tarareba: In Chihayafuru, the spotlight is not only on the main characters but also on the side characters who help & support them. Is this something you decided to do from the start?
Suetsugu: no no no, Up until now, I've been able to manage the relationships between about four people (in the manga), that's all I could do. But thanks to the support of everybody, I had a chance to work longer on this story so I could gradually build up my skills and expand my writing to the characters around the main ones. I am very happy to be able to convey the fact that there are different people and they have different feelings.
Tarareba: Yes -- if you can continue for a long time, you can dig deeper into the character, add depth to the story, and above all, the ability of the author to sustain it increases.
Suetsugu: That’s why I love the “Naniwazu” poem.
Tarareba: Ho Hohoo, the opening poem. It is added to an illustration in the calendar, for the month of January. [read the poem and includes a modern translation of it]
Suetsugu: This poem is known as the "Hand Study poem" and it's the first poem everyone learns, right? What’s important about this poem is that it uses a repeated phrase to say that “the flowers will bloom over and over”
Tarareba: I see, […] Even though it's a waka poem that can only have 31 characters, it uses seven of them and repeats the phrase "flower are in bloom" twice.
Suetsugu: I think this means: “Love of repetition”
Tarareba: Love of repetition…
Suetsugu: For this calendar, I drew illustrations of "Tamaru-san and Hara-chan" and "Sakurazawa-sensei and Inokuma-san". In the main story,
I could draw Kyokotan (Yamashiro Kyoko) and Kuzuryu (Youko), This is a lot of people of different ages, because I wanted everyone to come across karuta over and over throughout all age stages.
Tarareba: Oooh, I see… That’s another way to meet with “someone” again.
Suetsugu: that’s right. You cannot play Karuta alone.
Tarareba: Ooooh! this takes us back to what Harada sensei said back in the 1st volume: “If you don't have friends, you can't continue".. amazing… I got Goosebumps again...
Suetsugu: Yes, it’s a lot of fun having friend to work with, and above all, It ’s very “rich”, is n’t it? ( leads to “rich” life/experiences.)
Then Tarareba san ends the interview.