Takashi Yanase

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 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 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

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* — written in response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

Picture books

Standalone works

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''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'' 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.
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''Anpanman'' series

; The first four books:In 2009, the anime series Anpanman entered the Guinness World Records 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.
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: 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.
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: 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.
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: 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.
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; 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.

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: A 12-book series begun immediately after the end of the newspaper comic.
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: A collection of bedtime stories for children.
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: Another 12-book collection of original Anpanman stories following up the "''Ohanashi Detekoi''" series.
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: A series of small-format storybooks, published in 2003.
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: The latest, still-ongoing Anpanman picture-book series, with six books to date.
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; Anpanman Christmas books:
: Christmas-themed Anpanman books, published irregularly (roughly once a decade).
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;''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.

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Comics

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: The heroic adventures of a small person wearing a hat that comes down over his eyes, run in Takashimaya 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).

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: 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.

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: Serialized in the September 1976 to July 1982 issues of , published by Sanrio. 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 instead of hiragana). 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.

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: A newspaper comic that ran in the Sunday issue of the ''Yomiuri Shimbun'' 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.
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Animation

Creator

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Vocal performance

* ''Metropolis'' (2001): Minor role as a tribute to his former colleague, Osamu Tezuka
* '' 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 in Doraemon's 1979 series and being the first voice actor of Katsuo Isono from Sazae-san.
* '' Mighty Cat Masked Niyander'' (2000)
* '' Tenohira wo Taiyou ni(Japanese wiki page)'' (1961)

References

External links

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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