[プロフィール]
1947年、東京生まれ。
雑誌『ガロ』編集長を７年務めた後フリーランスに。イラスト、エッセイ、装丁、路上観察学会など幅広いジャンルで独自の活躍をする。そのジャンルのひとつが「顔」。顔に興味を持ち、イラストエッセイ「顔面科学」を漫画誌に連載。後に『顔』（ちくま文庫）『笑う写真』（ちくま文庫）「そっくりアルバム」（マザーブレーン）で顔をキャンパスにした顔面模写を行なう。
さらに月刊誌『旅』で、本人になりきる「本人術」を使って旅をする連載をスタート。後に単行本『歴史上の本人』（JTB）にまとめる。また「本人術」の発展形として、話題の人や動物になる「本人だもの」を雑誌『ダ・カーポ』に連載。「本人の人々」（マガジンハウス）として刊行。
世間の人々が無意味なものと考える事象に光をあて、徹底的に肩から力を抜いた手法でその無意味を面白さに変えていく、深謀遠慮のアーティスト。

[profile]
Born in Tokyo in 1947.
After seven years as editor in chief of Garo magazine, Minami has been active as a freelance creator in a breadth of genres such as illustration, essays and book design as well as with his Roadway Observation Society. One of the themes that interests him most is the human face. He published a series of illustrated essays called Ganmen Kagaku (Facial Studies) in a comic magazine and later continued pursuing his fascination with "facial expression" in Kao (Faces), Warau Shashin (Funny Photos) [both published by Chikuma Bunko] and Sokkuri Arubamu (Lookalike Album) [published by Byakuya-Shobo].
Minami also began a regular column in the monthly magazine Tabi (Travel) that was later compiled in book form as Rekishijo no Honnin (My Historical Selves) [published by Asahi Bunko], where he "became," and traveled as, various historical figures. He further developed this style of honninjutsu (which literally means "the-person-himself technique" but could be glossed "in person-ation") by becoming celebrities and animals for Honnin da Mono (My True Self), a regular column in the magazine Dakapo (Da Capo). A book version titled Honnin no Hitobito (My True Selves) is scheduled to be published by Magazine House later this year.