Japanese Literary Awards

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Isao Takahata

たかはた いさお

Takahata Isao

Aliases: 武元 哲
Pen Names: Tetsu Takemoto（Pseudonym used during direction of the TV version of "Jyarinko Chie"）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1935-10-29 （Ujiyamada, Mie Prefecture, Japan (now Ise)）
Died
2018-04-05 （Tokyo, Japan） age 82
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese, French

Career

Occupations
Film director, Animation director, Producer, Translator, Lecturer
Active Years
1959-2018
Affiliations
Studio Ghibli, Hata Office, Tokuma Memorial Animation Culture Foundation (board member), Gakushuin University (senior researcher), Tama Art University (visiting professor)
Influenced By
Jacques Prévert, Frédéric Back, Kenji Miyazawa
Influenced
Hayao Miyazaki, Yoshiyuki Tomino, Sunao Katabuchi, Michael Arndt, Many contemporary animation directors

Education

The University of Tokyo
College of Arts and Sciences → Faculty of Letters (French Literature) / French literature
Degree: 学士
Period: 1954-1959
Year of Graduation: 1959
Country: Japan
Graduated from University of Tokyo, Department of French Literature

Awards

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award — Animation
2014
Work: The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Category: アニメ映画賞
Organization: Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Result: 受賞
Japan Academy Prize — Chairman's Special Award
2019
Category: 会長特別賞
Organization: Japan Academy Prize
Result: 受賞（追贈）
Blue Ribbon Awards — Special Prize
1989
Work: Grave of the Fireflies
Category: 特別賞
Organization: Blue Ribbon Awards
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Film Awards — Noburō Ōfujii Prize
1982
Work: Gauche the Cellist
Category: 大藤信郎賞
Organization: Mainichi Film Awards
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Film Awards — Educational/Cultural Film Award
1988
Work: Yanagawa Canals Story
Category: 教育文化映画賞
Organization: Mainichi Film Awards
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Film Awards — Animation Film Award
1995
Work: Pom Poko
Category: アニメーション映画賞
Organization: Mainichi Film Awards
Result: 受賞
Annecy International Animated Film Festival — Feature Film Grand Prix
1995
Work: Pom Poko
Category: 長編部門グランプリ
Organization: Annecy International Animated Film Festival
Result: 受賞
Locarno Film Festival — Pardo d'onore (Honorary Leopard)
2009
Category: 名誉賞
Organization: Locarno International Film Festival
Result: 受賞
Purple Ribbon Medal
1999
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres — Officier
2015
Organization: Government of France
Result: 受章
Winsor McCay Award
2015
Category: 功労賞
Organization: Annie Awards Committee
Result: 受賞
Tokyo Anime Award — Special Prize (Anime Doll)
2014
Work: The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Category: 特別賞
Organization: Tokyo Anime Award
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Grave of the Fireflies

1988 Animated feature film

A powerful wartime drama depicting the struggle of a brother and sister to survive in Japan during the final months of World War II.

WarFamilyLossLife and death

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

2013 Animated feature film

A drawn adaptation of the Japanese classic "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter," rendered in sketch-like watercolor to explore life and parting.

SeparationNature and humanityDesire and stillness

Pom Poko

1994 Animated feature film

A comic and satirical depiction of urban development and ecological conflict told from the perspective of mythical tanuki.

Environmental destructionModernizationFolklore

Only Yesterday

1991 Animated feature film

A film that carefully portrays postwar Japanese life and personal growth through the recollections of a woman working in Tokyo.

MemoryMaturationCity vs. countryside

Gauche the Cellist

1982 Animation (feature)

An animated musical tale of growth based on a short work by Kenji Miyazawa.

MusicDisciplineGrowth

My Neighbors the Yamadas

1999 Animated feature film

A warm, humorous sketch-like depiction of everyday Japanese family life.

FamilyEveryday lifeHumor

Heidi, Girl of the Alps

1974 TV animation / children's drama

A TV series that used location research to realistically portray nature and human relationships from the original story.

NatureGrowthFamily

Bibliography

  • Thoughts While Making Movies 1955–1991
  • Thoughts While Making Movies II 1991–1999
  • Twelfth-Century Animation: Cinematic and Animative Elements in National Treasure Picture Scrolls
  • Animation, Occasionally

Adaptations

  • None (major works are adaptations of classics or original; few further adaptations)

Translations by Author

  • Translation of Jacques Prévert's poems (Kotobatachi)

Translations of Works

  • The Tale of the Princess Kaguya — subtitled and dubbed versions in multiple languages

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Realistic, meticulous depiction of everyday lifeObjective distance toward charactersSketch-like, watercolor screen style (late period)
Recurring Motifs
War and memoryFamily and everyday lifeHuman relationship with natureReinterpretation of folklore and classics

Health

  • Lung cancer
    2017-2018（闘病、入退院あり）
    Affected late-career activity; led to death in 2018

Legacy

Regarded as one of the masters of Japanese animation, he introduced realism in daily-life depiction and experimental expressions that influenced many creators. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he left widely acclaimed works both domestically and internationally.

Museums

  • Isao Takahata Exhibition — Legacy to Japanese Animation (traveling exhibition) The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; Okayama Prefectural Museum; Fukuoka City Museum; Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art; etc. Opened in 2019

Academic Societies

  • Gakushuin University Graduate School — Project on Bodily Representation and Media

Archives

  • Materials held by Hata Office
  • Studio Ghibli archives

In Popular Culture

  • Influenced many animators and filmmakers; memorials and retrospectives held domestically and internationally

Quotes

  • I make a film because I respect the original; if I don't, I won't make it.
    Source: Interview (summary of multiple statements) (2013)

Trivia

  • Nickname: "Paku-san"
  • Used the pen name "Tetsu Takemoto" during work on "Jyarinko Chie"
  • Translated French literature and wrote Japanese lyrics for chanson
  • Played piano and had deep knowledge of music