Many apologies for how long it took to write this. My mind has gone in too many directions lately. Yuki Urushibara, born in 1974, has won multiple awards for her manga series Mushishi (1999-2008) including the Excellence award at the Japan Media Arts Festival and the Kodansha Manga Award in 2006. Her art style is unique and her stories riddled with mystery.
Reading her works is like taking a meditative plunge into a hot spring deep in an old forest. Incredibly human, each of her stories ranges from the terribly tragic to the beautifully heartwarming. If I could compare her work to anything, it is a lot like Princess Mononoke (1998) in its spirit and atmosphere. But that is stretching it a bit. Really, there is nothing like it out there.
Now to her art. I found a few of her original watercolor paintings to showcase here. The colors are soft and warm, definitely reminiscent of the traditional watercolor paintings from Japan. In all of them, she has Ginko, the only constant character in her series.
I love the otherworldly quality of her art. It is gentle and does not shout at you. They are also in still motion, bringing more attention to the atmosphere then to action. I will post multiple other works below.
If you are a fan of series like Mononoke (2007) or Natsume Yuujinchou (2008-2013), you definitely need to read this series. Also, the first and second anime series based on the Mushishi manga are superb.
From the Perspective of an Old Soul 