Kaoru Mori

Kaoru Mori (森 薫, Mori Kaoru, born 18 September 1978) is a Japanese manga artist from Tokyo and the creator of the manga series Shirley, Emma, and A Bride's Story. Many of her works are centered on female characters in the 19th century, such as a maid in Victorian Britain and a bride in Turkic Central Asia. She also wrote dōjinshi (self-published manga) under the pen name Fumio Agata (県 文緒, Agata Fumio) as a member of the dōjin circle Lady Maid.

Mori's works are known for their high level of detail in terms of clothing design, historical nuances, and background work. Her manga series are often published outside Japan in larger, hardbound editions in order to complement the heavy detail seen on every page. Similar to authors such as Hiromu Arakawa, Mori often depicts herself in unflattering self-portraits with a simple outline for a body and a head full of wild hair, as she is very reluctant to show her face during public events or interviews.

In 2010, Mori's first published work, Shirley, was revived in a two-part continuation called Shirley Madison in Fellows! (now Harta) magazine, where her latest work, A Bride's Story, is currently being serialized.

• Shirley (シャーリー, Shārī) – Release date: February 2003, relaunched in 2010. ISBN 4-7577-1313-4.
• Emma (エマ, Ema) – Serialized in Enterbrain's Comic Beam magazine from 2002 to 2006. Published in 10 volumes.
• A Bride's Story (乙嫁語り, Otoyomegatari) – Serializing in Enterbrain's Harta magazine since October 2008.

Contributions

• Violet Blossoms (すみれの花, Sumire no Hana) – Art; story by Satoshi Fukushima.

• Excellence Prize – 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival, for Emma
• Prix Intergénérations ("Intergenerational Award") – 2012 Angoulême International Comics Festival, for A Bride's Story
• 7th Annual Manga Taishō Award – 2014 Manga Taishō, for A Bride's Story