Nekojiru

In 1990, she debuted in the June issue of the monthly manga anthology Garo with Nekojiru Udon, which is now considered her definitive work. She committed suicide on May 10, 1998. As per her own and her families wishes, she is buried in an unmarked grave. Yoshiaki Yoshinaga has written about his friendship with Nekojiru, along with more stories about her, and her eventual suicide, in a memoir dedicated to her titled "Memories of Nekojiru".

With the exception of Tsunami, all Nekojiru's work has main characters drawn as cats. Even in her manga essays, Jirujiru Travel Journal and Jirujiru Diary, she drew herself as a cat. But though the characters appear as animals, the artist chose as her setting not a forest, but rather the human world. Her manga detailing the daily life and adventures of the cats Nyāko and Nyatta are held in high esteem. The major themes of her work are a child-like zaniness, cruelty and nostalgia. And, as we know from Dream Memo, included in the posthumously released compilation Nekojiru Udon 3, many of her bizarre works of fantasy were based on her own dream experiences. Psychedelic mushrooms and LSD also often appear in her works. Her husband Yamano Hajime, using the pen-name Nekojiru-y, took over Nekojiru's world, and continues to produce new works. Currently on his official site, one can read a free chapter of Nekojiru's manga.