Title: Hakata Drive-in
Year: 1998
Illustrator: Navin Production
Volume: 1
Page: 40
Publisher: Navin Production Co., Ltd.
Related Exhibition/Project: Hakata Drive-in

Based on a true story, this is an honest, tributary look into the life of one hard working Fukuoka taxi driver, Toshimi Matsuo, who has been driving cabs for half a century. The tale begins on a rainy day back in 1998, as Navin leaves his co-op building apartment in Fukuoka hailing a taxi to the airport. Navin and the driver, Matsuo, strike up conversation, and Navin is surprised to learn the cabbie has been driving the city’s streets since he was 16 years-old. A keen amateur photographer, Matsuo shows a fascinated Navin his scrapbook of old photos that span the decades. Navin’s imagination takes readers on a historic journey through a series of flashbacks, starting with Matsuo’s first day on the job in 1947. Jumping through time, we learn more about the history of Fukuoka including how Matsuo met and fell in love with his devoted wife, of the great flood that nearly destroyed the city, and the year Marilyn Monroe paid a visit. We also relive the day in 1971 when Matsuo finally had enough money to buy his own cab, earning his independence.