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Takashi Yanase (やなせ たかし,Yanase Takashi,February 6, 1919 – October 13, 2013) was a Japanese writer, poet, illustrator and lyricist. He was best known as the creator of the picture book and animated series '' Anpanman''. Yanase was chairman of the Japan Cartoonists Association from May 2000 to 2012.


Early life, Military service

After graduating from the Tokyo School of Arts and Crafts in 1939 he entered Tokyo Tanabe Pharmaceuticals in the marketing department. In 1941 he was drafted into the army under the 6th Field Heavy Artillery Reserve Company stationed in China. As an educated non-commissioned officer he was assigned to '' senbu'' operations, presenting
kamishibai is a form of Japanese street theater and storytelling that was popular during the Great Depression of the 1930s and the postwar period in Japan until the advent of television during the mid-20th century. were performed by a (" narrator") who ...
to Chinese civilians. His younger brother was killed in action during the Pacific Campaign. Post-war alongside other veterans Yanase made a living collecting garbage. To pursue his artistic embarkations he entered Kochi Shimbun in 1956, working as an editor. Hearing that his co-worker Nobu Komatsu was quitting and relocating to Tokyo, Yanase did the same. They would marry in 1947. While working at
Mitsukoshi is an international Department stores in Japan, department store chain with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Its holding company, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, is a member of the Mitsui, Mitsui Group. History It was founded in 1673 with the (sho ...
as a graphic designer he would pick up drawing manga seriously, submitting his works to newspapers and magazines. Finding success, Yanase would quit to work on manga full-time in 1953. His income from manga was triple that of his department store job.


Religion

The day after his death, an obituary in the October 16, 2013 edition of the Tokyo Shimbun reported that he was "a dandy Christian with a strong faith." However, a correction was later published in the November 20, 2013 edition of the Tokyo Shimbun: "It was an error to refer to Takashi Yanase as a Christian.” Yanase himself wrote in "Gekkan Omoshihan No. 57, Special Feature: No Need for Religion!” in the March 1976 issue of Gekkan Omoshiban No. 57, "I don't have any religious beliefs at all. I’ll probably never turn to religion.” and “I’m not religious at all, even though I respect religion and worship God in my own way. I’m not religious at all.” Photos of his gravesite also show no evidence of him being a Christian. His gravesite lacks crosses and references to Jesus Christ. He was cremated and buried at his father’s former home, where he spent his early childhood. On his gravestone is this poem translated from Japanese, “I want to be a magnolia tree. In the season, bashful and shy, white flowers will bloom. I want to sway with the breeze.”


Works


Poetry


Prose nonfiction

* * * * * * * * — written in response to the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a  9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...


Picture books


Standalone works

* * * *


''Mighty Cat Masked Niyandar'' series

: This series was created as a revision to the premise of his newspaper comic , which ran in the ''
Asahi Shimbun is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...
'' from 1996 to 2000 and had a rabbit protagonist. Three books were published concurrently with the anime of the same name, which was developed in tandem. # # #


''Anpanman'' series

; The first four books:In 2009, the anime series Anpanman entered the
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...
for having the highest number of characters (over 1,700). : The original books in the ''Anpanman'' series, published during the 1970s. All except ''Go! Anpanman'' were run in the monthly anthology series before being subsequently republished for the mass market under the imprint; however, the first book was not republished until 1976, making the second book technically the first canonical ''Anpanman'' story to be released. Of these, ''Anpanman and Gorillaman'' is currently out of print. # # (Published under "Froebel-kan no Ehon" imprint) # # ; : : Several books originally serialized in the monthly anthology series in the early 1980s. While they were also released to the mass market, they are now out of print. # # # # ; : : A series of 25 storybooks published from 1983 to 1984 after the end of the monthly comic. These books were out of print for over a decade until 2010, when they were republished. # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ; : : A 15-book series published between 1987 and 1989, which ended just prior to the start of the weekly newspaper comic strip. Some (but not all) of the series were published in picture-book anthologies prior to mass-market publication. The ''Soreike! Anpanman'' anime began during the release of this series, and the character Dokinchan (introduced in book six, ''Anpanman and Dokin'') featured heavily there from the start, influencing Yanase's later ''Anpanman'' works. # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ; Omusubiman series : A spinoff of the main ''Anpanman'' series, featuring the character Omusubiman and his younger companion Komusubiman. Published in the 1980s and early 1990s, all books in the series are now out of print. ; : : A 12-book series begun immediately after the end of the newspaper comic. # # # # # # # # # # # # ; series: : A collection of bedtime stories for children. # # # # ; series: : Another 12-book collection of original Anpanman stories following up the "''Ohanashi Detekoi''" series. # # # # # # # # # # # # ; : : A series of small-format storybooks, published in 2003. # # # # ; : : The latest, still-ongoing Anpanman picture-book series, with six books to date. # # # # # # # ; Anpanman Christmas books: : Christmas-themed Anpanman books, published irregularly (roughly once a decade). # # # # ;''Soreike! Anpanman'' theatrical movie series: : Official adaptations of the latest films in the ''Soreike! Anpanman'' anime series, published concurrently with the film release. In contrast to the official movie titles, the book titles are written without any
kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...
. # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #


Comics

; : The heroic adventures of a small person wearing a hat that comes down over his eyes, run in
Takashimaya is a Japanese multinational corporation operating a department store chain selling a wide array of products, ranging from wedding dresses and other apparel to electronics and flatware. It has more than 12 branches in Japan located in 2 region ...
department store's mail-order catalog. A prototype for the ''Anpanman'' character Butterko appears here with the same name, though the name pun is different (from ''dotabata'', running around noisily). ; : Published in the January 1975 to May 1976 issues of . This manga was a series of illustrated stories aimed at adults, and included the supporting characters "Nakasu Yaruse" (a cartoonist) and "Miruka Mite" (a female reporter). Never reprinted. ; : Serialized in the September 1976 to July 1982 issues of , published by
Sanrio is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and manufactures products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and Fashion accessory, a ...
. The series consisted of 71 two-page chapters of six or eight panels each. In January 1981, partway through the series, the title was changed to (the same name, written in
katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji and in some cases the Latin script (known as rōmaji). The word ''katakana'' means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana characters are derived fr ...
instead of
hiragana is a Japanese language, Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' means "common" or "plain" kana (originally also "easy", ...
). Though never republished in collected form, it included several important elaborations of the ''Anpanman'' mythos, detailing the character's origin story and introducing the characters Butterko, Cheese, Shokupanman, Currypanman, and Baikinman. ; : A newspaper comic that ran in the Sunday issue of the ''
Yomiuri Shimbun The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are ''The Asahi Shimbun'', the ''Chunichi Shimbun'', the ''Ma ...
'' from 1 January 1990 to 29 May 1994, with a total of 227 strips. The series is partially reprinted in a three-volume collection that covers the first year and a half, with English translation (by Yuriko Tamaki) in the margins. Apart from its bilingual printing, it is also known for having Baikinman as its focus character, with a number strips in which Anpanman does not appear at all. # (March 1991) # (November 1991) # (December 1991)


Animation


Creator

* * * * * *


Vocal performance

* ''
Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...
'' (2001): Minor role as a tribute to his former colleague,
Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu'', – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Considered to be among the greatest and most influential cartoonists of all time, his prolific output, pioneering techniques an ...
* '' Soreike! Anpanman'' Christmas Special — "Dance! Sing! Christmas for Everyone" (2006): Special cameo as "Yanase Bunny"


Lyrics

* '' Norakuro'' (1970) - Opening theme who was sung by Norakuro's voice actor, Nobuyo Oyama, who was known for dubbing
Doraemon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. First serialized in 1969, the manga's chapters were collected in 45 volumes published by Shogakukan from 1974 to 1996. The story revolves around an earless robotic ...
in Doraemon's 1979 series and being the first voice actor of Katsuo Isono from
Sazae-san is a Japanese ''yonkoma'' manga series written and illustrated by Machiko Hasegawa. It was first published in Hasegawa's local paper, the , on April 22, 1946. When the ''Asahi Shimbun'' wished to have Hasegawa draw the four-panel comic for ...
. * '' Mighty Cat Masked Niyander'' (2000) * '' Tenohira wo Taiyou ni(Japanese wiki page)'' (1961)


References


External links

*
Takashi Yanase
in Animemorial
Message from the chairman-JCA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yanase, Takashi 1919 births 2013 deaths Japanese lyricists Manga artists Writers from Kōchi Prefecture Japanese children's writers 20th-century Japanese musicians Chiba University alumni Military personnel of the Second Sino-Japanese War Imperial Japanese Army personnel of World War II Artists from Kōchi Prefecture Japanese children's book illustrators Japanese illustrators