Inside Mirror in the Woods #9: “Between Talent and Resistance”

“Her art opened doors—but it also revealed the quiet violence of the workplace.”

Miho interviewed at an advertising agency in Fukuoka. Although she had hoped to remain in Tokyo after graduating from university, her parents strongly urged her to return home. Teaching high school art was one option, but Miho chose instead to pursue a creative position within the local art industry.

The interview itself went smoothly—her art school background likely left a strong impression. After being hired, Miho rented an apartment near the office and bought a bicycle, already accustomed to living alone from her years in Tokyo. On her first day, she nervously introduced herself to her new colleagues. Senior staff members, including the company president and the art director, greeted her warmly. Her peers, however, regarded the graduate of a well-known art university with a mixture of curiosity and distance.

Within days, that gaze shifted—subtly, then unmistakably—into envy and hostility.

Confused and unsettled, Miho found herself targeted by a female coworker who assigned her unreasonable workloads and subjected her to behavior that could only be described as workplace bullying. Miho endured the situation in silence. Drawing became her refuge; losing herself in lines and forms was the only way she could steady her heart.

Over time, her talent spoke louder than the hostility. Miho became the art director’s most trusted illustrator, entrusted with increasingly important work. Eventually, internal whistleblowing exposed the mistreatment she had suffered, and her harasser left the company. Despite the pain, Miho found herself genuinely fascinated by the challenge of producing commercial artwork—art constrained by purpose, deadlines, and clients.

This was still the pre-digital, fully analog era. There was no Photoshop, no copy-and-paste—every storyboard for client presentations had to be drawn by hand. The rigorous drawing discipline Miho had acquired at Teacher Abe’s studio proved indispensable.

At just twenty-five, Miho was appointed Chief Illustrator and placed in charge of major accounts. Gradually, her work began to seep into the city itself—bank logos, brochures, fashion posters, magazine covers, department store advertisements. Without realizing it, Miho’s art was quietly reshaping the urban landscape.