Artist's commentary
Subterranean Animism
This was presented at the Meikasai held in Nagoya this past June.
I once looked into what the early days of the telephone were like and used that as reference material for creating this piece.
I was vaguely aware of the existence of telephone operators, but it seems that in the early days of their introduction during the Meiji period, the job was primarily handled by students earning pocket money. However, their arrogant attitudes drew constant complaints, leading to them gradually being replaced by women with a gentler demeanor. Since a certain level of decorum was required, young ladies from middle-class families were often hired. But the idea of women working independently wasn't common, and it wasn't an era where they could freely spend their earnings on shopping. So, it seems they worked almost unpaid, more like serving the state.
I meant to make this during Golden Week but ended up doing something else and only started drawing it at the last minute. Same thing happened with the Kōroumyō event two weeks ago. Since it's always like this, I'm starting to rethink my approach to doujin work.
