, née, was a Japanese
animator
An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...
, notable for being one of the first female Japanese animators. She has also been credited as and .
The 2019
asadora
, colloquially known as , is a serialized, 15 minutes per episode, Japanese television drama program series broadcast in the mornings by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. The first such series aired in 1961 with the black-and-white , starring Ta ...
Natsuzora is loosely based on her life and career.
Early life
Okuyama spent much of her early life confined to bed due to a series of illnesses. She developed her interest in drawing during this time.
After the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, she entered mission school. After graduation, she entered
Tohoku University
is a public research university in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. It is colloquially referred to as or .
Established in 1907 as the third of the Imperial Universities, after the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, it initially focused on sc ...
as per her father's wishes, but she eventually dropped out and left her home town to work in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
.
She had various jobs in Tokyo. A few years later, her uncle referred her to a job at Toei Animation.
Career
In 1957 Okuyama applied for a position with
Toei Doga, mistakenly believing that they were publishers of children's books. Her drawing skills were enough for her to be hired as an
in-betweener. Her first work was on the landmark feature-length
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
''Hakuja den'' (released in the US as ''
The Tale of the White Serpent'', 1958). She was promoted to second key animator on 1959's ''Shonen Sarutobi Sasuke'' (released as ''Magic Boy'' in the US), in spite of some
sexual discrimination
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...
on the part of the studio heads.
Okuyama continued her work as second key animator for 1960's ''Saiyuki'' (released as ''
Alakazam the Great
''Alakazam the Great'', known in Japan as , is a 1960 Japanese anime musical film, heavily based on the 16th-century Chinese novel ''Journey to the West''. It was one of the earliest anime films to be released in the United States. Osamu Tezuka ...
'' in the US). Her primary role was to even out the stylistic differences between the work of Toei Doga's two top animators,
Yasuji Mori
was an animator who worked with Toei Animation, while it was still known as Toei Doga. He was also a famous illustrator of children's books. Mori was responsible for one of the major animation styles within Toei Animation. In '' The Little Prince ...
and Akira Daikuhara.
Okuyama continued to work for Toei Doga until 1976, eventually rising to the position of head animator.
After briefly joining her husband at
Nippon Animation
is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with its headquarters in their Tama, Tokyo, Tama City studio and an administrative office in the Ginza district of Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō.
Nippon Animation is known for prod ...
, Okuyama went freelance, providing work for one last Toei film, 1979's ''
Tatsu no ko Taro'' (released in the US as ''Taro the Dragon Boy''). She has gone on to illustrate several children's books, and has taught animation at the
Tokyo Designer Academy. She participated in the animated project ''
Winter Days
is a 2003 Japanese anime film directed by Kihachirō Kawamoto. It is based on one of the ''renku'' (collaborative linked poems) in the 1684 collection of the same name by the 17th-century Japanese poet Bashō.
The creation of the film followed ...
'' in 2003. She then continued to produce animation until she died on May 6, 2007 (though her deat
was announced only in September, 2007.
Personal life
In 1963, Okuyama married
Yoichi Kotabe Yoichi may refer to:
*Yōichi, Japanese given name
*, district in Shiribeshi, Hokkaidō Prefecture, Japan
*, town in Yoichi District
*, a Japanese whisky distillery in the town
*, train station in Yoichi District
* also Yoichi is a masculine Japane ...
, a fellow animator. Okuyama gave birth to their first child shortly thereafter.
On May 6, 2007, Okuyama died.
[Sept 2007.]
See also
* ''
Natsuzora'', the 100th
Asadora
, colloquially known as , is a serialized, 15 minutes per episode, Japanese television drama program series broadcast in the mornings by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. The first such series aired in 1961 with the black-and-white , starring Ta ...
References
External links
*
Article on Reiko Okuyama
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okuyama, Reiko
2007 deaths
Anime directors
Modern printmakers
Japanese animators
Japanese printmakers
Japanese women animators
1936 births
Japanese women engravers
20th-century Japanese engravers
21st-century Japanese engravers
Japanese children's book illustrators
Japanese women children's book illustrators
20th-century Japanese illustrators
21st-century Japanese illustrators