Manga and MBAs. These two things would seem to have nothing in common, yet KAMBE Minori has found a way to fuse them together through her work as what she calls an “MBA manga artist.” After receiving high praise for her artwork outlining the basics of management and accounting, she began creating manga that focused on the realm of business. Over the years, she saw the range of her activity begin to expand, and in 2024, she incorporated the unfinished work of the late KIJIMA Hideto, her senior at Kobe University who was traveling the world in a wheelchair, into her own manga as a collaborative piece for the world to see. Greatly inspired by the life of Kijima, how exactly did Kambe find herself in her current line of work? She spoke to us about what she has gained through a life full of both its ups and downs.
Finding where she belongs at the International Student Center
While at Kobe University, Kambe was enrolled not in the School of Business Administration, but in the Faculty of Law. That said, she wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about studying law. After losing her best friend and classmate to illness right before university entrance exams, she pushed through the pain and managed to pass her exam. Though her tension faded after she entered Kobe University, so, too, did her motivation.
She spent her days wondering, “What should I do?” That was until she found the International Student Center, and with it, a place where she felt as though she belonged. During the summer of her first year at university, Kambe went on a homestay to the US, where a friend of her father lived, and from there her interest in the world abroad grew. This led her to visit the center, where she joined Truss, a student group that provides support for international students in their daily lives and plans activities for them to meet and interact.
When she was in her second year, she learned of an alum and former member of Truss who was traveling the world in a wheelchair. That individual was Kijima. While practicing rugby during his third year of high school, Kijima injured his spinal cord, which resulted in him spending his life in a wheelchair. After graduating from Kobe University, he joined the advertising agency Dentsu. “I’ve got to meet him,” thought Kambe, and once they began talking she was blown away by his energy.
“‘Kiji’ (Kijima’s nickname) was not your average person, and in more ways than one. He would say things like ‘I pooped myself on a bus trip one time.’ He certainly wasn’t trying to impress anyone. He would tell me off whenever I would whine, but even so, we got along well.”
As a student, she never even dreamed that she would become a manga artist one day. And she certainly never thought that she would create manga based on Kijima’s writings some 20 years later.
After skipping out on job hunting, she found her own path through MBA and manga
Even though she was just about to graduate, Kambe refused to hunt for a job. When she saw her classmates dye their hair black and suit up for interviews, she thought, “No way, I just don’t want to.” After working some part time jobs, she set off for the UK. Her first year there she studied English, and in her second, she studied design at a vocational school.
After she returned to Japan and was working part time jobs in Tokyo at age 27, she received an invitation to work at a food import agency “since she spoke English.” It was her first position as a regular employee, and she felt a real sense of accomplishment at work. But then, the company’s management took a quick turn for the worse. This all happened during the economic crash of 2008, which made finding a new job all the more difficult.
“All I did was complain when I would meet with my friends. Most of my friends from Kobe University were gaining experience at major corporations, but I didn’t have a career or any qualifications that I could put on my resume. I thought that it was all because I refused to hunt for a job; I really regretted my decision.”
Thankfully, her third workplace didn’t require much overtime, so nights were hers to use as she pleased. It was then that she decided to spend her time studying to acquire some certifications. She learned of the Global School of Management at GLOBIS University and decided to go for it, despite her lack of confidence.
Once she began, she discovered people who had gained all kinds of experience, like office workers, managers, and certified public accountants. Hearing her classmates say things like “I tanked a bunch of companies” and “eventual successes are never failures” made her wonder why she was ever worried at all.
But in the realm of business and management, she was a complete newbie. Without even basic knowledge in the field, she struggled mightily in class. It was then that she decided to incorporate drawings into her studies, a hobby of hers since she was a child. She summarized what she learned in her courses in her drawings, which received high praise from her classmates and instructors.
“To those around me, drawing wasn’t seen as something ordinary, so I came to treasure that ability. But I wasn’t as good at drawing as other manga artists, so to cover for my lack of skill, I began to call myself an ‘MBA manga artist.’”
The most striking feature of her manga had to be their simplicity. From the basics of accounting to the fundamentals of management, Kambe illustrated real world examples through short comics that got straight to the point. In fact, it was precisely these kinds of explanations that would have helped her during her own struggles with the basics. In 2014, right after acquiring her MBA, she published her first book entitled “Learning the very basics of MBA taught at Japan’s largest business school through manga,” which made quite a splash.
Turning the thoughts of Kijima, the wheelchair-bound world traveler, into a book
Kambe was leading a very busy life as both a successful MBA manga artist and mother of two when she got the news of Kijima’s passing in July of 2022. He was still just 49 years old and had recently become a university instructor. It was a subarachnoid hemorrhage.
“I just couldn’t believe such a thing could happen to such a powerful person like him. I felt like I had lost a huge source of support in my life.”
When Kambe visited Kijima’s home, his family handed her his unfinished writings. The words he left turned to pictures in her head, which made her want to turn them into a book. That very book was published in August of 2024 under the title “What is happiness? Finding your best life: Messages from the flying wheelchair.” The experiences and emotions of Kijima, who traveled to 175 countries mostly by himself, were brought to life through Kambe’s manga.
The manga portray a lively Kijima. One features a night in Macau where Kijima took the stage to dance while those around him followed suit, paying little mind to his wheelchair. Another recounts his tour of a ski jump facility in Hokkaido, where he rode the lift to the top on his wheelchair. Yet another highlights a visit to Djibouti to reunite with friends. Together with these experiences, the book features Kijima’s thoughts regarding the question of “What is happiness?”
“We don’t know what the future will bring so we might as well just go for it.”
“Happiness isn’t something you search for, it just finds you.”
“I’ve found something that I want to do, so I’m happy.”
Kambe said, “When I find myself wondering what to do, I often think to myself ‘What would Kiji do?’ as a sort of criteria to help me make a decision.”
“Just go for it.” This is the message Kambe wants to express to readers through her book. She herself made plans to live in Cambodia with her children for a few months this year. Carrying on the mindset of Kijima, she continues to immerse herself in new worlds. The thoughts and emotions shared by these two Kobe University alums will live on forever through this book, touching the hearts of those who read it.
Resume
Born in Nishiwaki, Hyogo in 1980, KAMBE Minori entered the Faculty of Law at Kobe University in 1999, where she studied under the late Professor Emeritus IOKIBE Makoto, graduating in 2003. In 2006, she received a High National Certificate in illustration with design at Telford College in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, and in 2014, she received her MBA at the Global School of Management at GLOBIS University. Her works include “Learning to read financial statements the MBA way (through Manga)” (Asahi Shimbun Publications). Apart from her work as an author, Kambe also serves as a corporate training instructor. She currently lives in Nishiwaki.
