was a Japanese
manga writer/artist. His works belong to the
gekiga
, literally "dramatic pictures", is a style of Japanese comics aimed at adult audiences and marked by a more cinematic art style and more mature themes. ''Gekiga'' was the predominant style of adult comics in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s. It is ...
, or "dramatic pictures", genre of manga.
In France he was knighted a Chevalier of the
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system ...
in 2011.
Career

Taniguchi began his career as an
assistant
Assistant may refer to:
* Assistant (by Speaktoit), a virtual assistant app for smartphones
* Assistant (software), a software tool to assist in computer configuration
* Google Assistant, a virtual assistant by Google
* ''The Assistant'' (TV seri ...
of
manga artist
A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan.
Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist be ...
Kyuuta Ishikawa. He made his manga debut in 1970 with ''Kareta Heya'' (A Desiccated Summer), published in the magazine Young Comic.
From 1978 to 1986, he created several hard-boiled comics with the scenarist
Natsuo Sekigawa, such as ''City Without Defense'', ''The Wind of the West is White'' and ''Lindo 3''. From 1987 to 1996, Taniguchi and
Natsuo Sekigawa produced the 5-volume series ''Botchan no Jidai''. In the 1990s, he came up with several albums, among which were , '', and .
From 1980 to 1983, he collaborated with
Garon Tsuchiya for the manga , and .
He illustrated
Baku Yumemakura’s works, ''
Garouden'' from 1989 to 1990 and ''Kamigami no itadaki'' (
The Summit of the Gods) from 2000 to 2003. He later received awards at the
Angoulême International Comics Festival
The Angoulême International Comics Festival (french: Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after L ...
in 2002 and 2005. For ''Kamigami no itadaki'', he hiked to
Kathmandu
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, coordinates =
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, subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Nepal, Province
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,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
for research.
In 1997, he created the ''Ikaru'' (Icarus) series with texts by
Mœbius.
Jiro Taniguchi gained several prizes for his work. Among others, the
Osamu Tezuka Culture Award
Named after Osamu Tezuka, the is a yearly manga prize awarded to manga artists or their works that follow the Osamu Tezuka manga approach founded and sponsored by Asahi Shimbun. The prize has been awarded since 1997, in Tokyo, Japan.
Current ...
(1998) for the series ''Botchan no Jidai'', the Shogakukan prize with ''Inu o Kau'', and in 2003, the Alph'Art of the best scenario at the
Angoulême International Comics Festival
The Angoulême International Comics Festival (french: Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after L ...
(
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
) for ''
A Distant Neighborhood''. His work has been translated in many languages. Mexican filmmaker
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films '' Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and '' The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for ...
praised his work, stating that "Taniguchi was a manga poet, the
Kieslowski of the page and a serene, profound observer of the world."
''A Distant Neighborhood'' was adapted into a
live-action Belgian film in 2010.
Taniguchi has cited
Hiroshi Hirata,
Takao Saito
was a Japanese manga artist, although he rejected the term and considered his work gekiga. He was best known for '' Golgo 13'', which has been serialized in '' Big Comic'' since 1968, making it the oldest manga still in publication. ''Golg ...
,
Moribi Murano, and
Kyuuta Ishikawa as major influences.
Taniguchi died on 11 February 2017 in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, at the age of 69.
Bibliography
1980s and earlier
*1979 – Lindo 3!
*1980 – Muboubi Toshi
*1980 – Ooinaru Yasei
*1981/03 – Jiken Ya Kagyou – Trouble is my Business
*1982/03 – Blue Fighter (Ao no Senshi)
*1982/03 – Hunting Dog
*1983/08 – Knuckle Wars – The Fist of Rebellion (Nakkuru Wōzu – Ken no Ran)
*1983/03 – Shin Jiken Ya Kagyou – New Trouble is my Business
*1983/09 – Live! Odyssey
*1984/02 – Seifuu Ha Shiroi
*1984/12 – Rude Boy
*1985/10 – Enemigo
*1986/01 – Hotel Harbour View
*1986/10 – Blanca
*1987/06 – , based on ''
Botchan'', a 1906 novel by
Natsume Sōseki
, born , was a Japanese novelist. He is best known around the world for his novels '' Kokoro'', ''Botchan'', '' I Am a Cat'', '' Kusamakura'' and his unfinished work ''Light and Darkness''. He was also a scholar of British literature and write ...
*1988/05 – K
*1988/06 – Ice Age Chronicle of the Earth
1990s
*1990/01 – Genju Jiten
*1990/09 –
Garouden (Hungry Wolves Legend)
*1991/06 – Samurai Non Grata
*1992/04 – Aruku Hito –(歩くひと, translated in French as ''L'Homme qui Marche'' and English as ''
The Walking Man'')
*1992/09 – Kaze No Sho (translated in English as ''
Samurai Legend'')
*1992/10 – Inu wo Kau
*1993/09 – Keyaki no Ki (translated in French as ''L'orme du Caucase'')
*1994/09 – Mori He – Into the Forest
*1994/11 –
A Journal of My Father
*1996/04 –
*1996/07 – Blanca II (Dog of God)
*1997/10 –
Kodoku no Gourmet
is a Japanese cuisine ''seinen'' manga series written by Masayuki Qusumi and illustrated by Jiro Taniguchi. It has been adapted into a Japanese television drama series and a Chinese web series (). A 10-episode original net animation
An ori ...
*1998/09 – Haruka na Machi e (translated in English as ''
A Distant Neighborhood'' – translated in French as ''Quartier Lointain'')
*1999/01 – Tokyo Genshi Gyou
*1999/12 –
The Quest for the Missing Girl
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Jiro Taniguchi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's '' Big Comic'' and published in a single volume in December 1999.
Publication
The series is written and illustrated by Jiro Taniguchi. ...
2000s
*2000/11/30 – Ikaru
*2000/12 – Kamigami no Itadaki (''
The Summit of the Gods'')
*2002/09 – Ten no Taka –
Sky Hawk
*2004/11 – Toudo no Tabibito – The Ice Wanderer
*2005/03 – Seton
*2005/12 – – A Bright Blue Sky (translated in French as ''Un ciel radieux'')
*2006/03 – Sampo Mono
*2007/09 – Mahou no Yama (The Magic Mountain)
*2008/03 – Fuyu no Doubutsuen (''
A Zoo in Winter'')
2010s
*2012 – Furari (ふらり)
*2013 – Tomoji (とも路)
*2013 – My Year
*2014 – ''
Guardians of the Louvre
, lead=yes is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Jiro Taniguchi. The manga revolves around an artist visiting the Louvre for five days and learning about artists whose works are there and figures who were part of its history. Commissi ...
''
*2014 – Venice (Louis Vuitton Malletier)
References
External links
*
Jiro Taniguchi's Town(his approved fan-site)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taniguchi Jiro
1947 births
2017 deaths
Manga artists from Tottori Prefecture
Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres