was a Japanese
film director and
animator. One of the most notable auteurs of
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
(one of the industry's most prestigious awards, the
Mainichi Film Award
The
are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946. It is the first film festival in Japan.
History
The origins of the contest date back to 1935, ...
s'
Ōfuji Noburō Award
The is an animation award given at the Mainichi Film Awards. It is named after Japanese animator Noburō Ōfuji.
History
Following the death of pioneering animator Noburō Ōfuji in 1961, Mainichi established a new award in his honour to recogni ...
, is named after him), he worked primarily with
cutout and
silhouette animation
Silhouette animation is animation in which the characters are only visible as black silhouettes. This is usually accomplished by backlighting articulated cardboard cut-outs, though other methods exist. It is partially inspired by, but for a ...
. He also made a number of films in
traditional animation
Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation.
Proc ...
, using then-expensive, imported
cel
A cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid (consisting of cellulose nitrate and camphor) was used during the first half of the 20th century, bu ...
s, while his earliest work known to have survived is a
live-action/animated film. He trained under
Jun'ichi Kōuchi before starting his own company. He is known for his employment of ''
washi
is traditional Japanese paper. The term is used to describe paper that uses local fiber, processed by hand and made in the traditional manner. ''Washi'' is made using fibers from the inner bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub (''E ...
'', especially the coloured and patterned
Edo ''chiyogami'', which gives his films a distinctively Japanese appearance. He was one of the first Japanese animators to earn international recognition for his work.
Filmography
* ''Hanamizake'' (1924)
* ''Noroma no oyaji'' (1924)
*
Kemurigusa monogatari' (煙り草物語)
Story of Tobacco(1926)
*
Kirigami zaiku Saiyuki: Songoku monogatari' (切紙細工 西遊記 孫悟空物語)
he Story of the Monkey King(1926)
*
Baguda-jō no tōzoku' (馬具田城の盗賊)
urglars of "Baghdad" Castle(1926)
* ''Kujira'' (鯨) (1927)
*
Mikansen' (みかん舩)
Ship of Oranges(1927)
* ''Yaji-Kita jigoku gokuraku'' (1927)
* ''Chinsetsu Yoshida goten'' (珍説吉田御殿) (1928)
* ''Hoshi'' (1928)
* ''Kirinuki urashima'' (1928)
*
Kogane no hana' (こがねの花)
he Golden Flower(1929)
* ''Usotsuki-jō'' (1929)
* ''Kuronyago'' (1929)
* ''Jidō shōka eiga: Muramatsuri'' (村祭)
he Village Festival(1930)
* ''Komainu no me'' (1930)
*
Osekisho' (お関所)
t the Border Checkpoint(1930)
*
Kokka kimigayo' (國歌 君か代)
ational Anthem, Kimigayo(1931)
*
Haru no uta' (春の唄)
pring Song(1931)
*
Kokoro no chikara' (心の力)
ill Power(1931)
* ''Musashiyama to Asashio no chin-zumō'' (1931)
*
Kaeru san-yushi' (蛙三勇士)
he Three Fearless Frogs(1933)
* ''Numa no taisho'' (1933)
* ''Saiyuki'' (1934)
* ''San-ba no chō'' (1934)
* ''Tengu taiji'' (1934)
* ''Chinkoroheibei tamatebako'' (ちんころ平平玉手箱)
hinkoroheibei and the Treasure Box(1936)
* ''Dosei'' (1936)
* ''Dango no yukue'' (1937)
* ''Katsura hime'' (1937)
*
Shikisai manga no dekiru made' (色彩漫画の出來る迄)
he Making of a Color Animation(1937)
* ''Sora no arawashi - Sensen manga'' (1938)
* ''Warae yamaotoko'' (1938)
* ''Yakko no Takohei: Otomo wa tsuyoi ne'' (1938)
* ''Umi no arawashi'' (1939)
* ''Kodomo to kōsaku'' (1941)
* ''Mare-oki kaisen'' (1943)
* ''Kumo no itō'' (1946)
* ''Yuki no yo no yume'' (1947)
* ''Kuma ni kuwarenu otoko'' (1948)
* ''Shaka'' (釈迦) (1948)
* ''Taisei shakuson'' (1949)
* ''Seisho genso-fu: Adam to Eve'' (1951)
* ''Kujira'' (くじら) (1952)
* ''Taisei shakuson'' (1952)
* ''Hana to chō'' (1954)
* ''Kojiki sho: Amano iwato-biraki no maki'' (1955)
* ''Yūreisen'' (幽霊船) (1956)
* ''Kojiki monogatari dai nihen: Yamatano-orochi taiji'' (1956)
* ''Kojiki monogatari: Okuni no mikoto to inaba no usagi'' (1957)
* ''Kojiki monogatari: Tenson korin no maki'' (1958)
* ''Kojiki monogatari: Koson-ke no mittsuno takara'' (1959)
* ''Shaka no shogai'' (釈迦の生涯) (1961)
See also
*
History of anime
The history of anime can be traced back to the start of the 20th century, with the earliest verifiable films dating from 1907.This article, by a German researcher, was first published on January 4, 2013 in ''The Japanese Journal of Animation S ...
*
Kenzō Masaoka
was an early anime creator.
Masaoka was the first to use cel animation and recorded sound in anime.Kōdansha (1993). ''Japan: an illustrated encyclopedia.'' Kōdansha, He worked at a number of companies as an animator and actor, and was one of ...
References
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Author pageat the Japanese Animated Film Classics website by the Japanese National Museum of Modern Art
Ofuji, Noburoat the Japanese Animation Filmography Project
*
*
1900 births
1961 deaths
Anime directors
Japanese animators
Japanese film directors
{{Anime-bio-stub