Jiro Taniguchi Explained

Birth Date:14 August 1947
Birth Place:Tottori, Tottori, Japan
Death Place:Tokyo, Japan
Nationality:Japanese
Awards:Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (1998)
Occupation:Manga artist
Signature:Jiro Taniguchi signature.svg

[1] was a Japanese manga writer/artist. His works belong to the gekiga, or "dramatic pictures", genre of manga.[2] In France he was knighted a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2011.[3]

Career

Taniguchi began his career as an assistant of manga artist Kyūta Ishikawa. He made his manga debut in 1970 with Kareta Heya, 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 The Times of Botchan. 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, Garōden from 1989 to 1990 and The Summit of the Gods from 2000 to 2003. He later received awards at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2002 and 2005. For The Summit of the Gods, he hiked to Kathmandu, Nepal, for research.[2]

In 1997, he created the Icaro series with texts by Moebius.[2]

Jiro Taniguchi gained several prizes for his work. Among others, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (1998) for the series The Times of Botchan, the Shogakukan Manga Award with Inu o Kau, and in 2003, the Alph'Art of the best scenario at the Angoulême International Comics Festival for A Distant Neighborhood. His work has been translated in many languages. Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro praised his work, stating that "Taniguchi was a manga poet, the Kieslowski of the page and a serene, profound observer of the world".[4]

A Distant Neighborhood was adapted into a live-action Belgian film in 2010.

Taniguchi has cited Hiroshi Hirata, Takao Saito, Moribi Murano, and Kyūta Ishikawa as major influences.[2]

Taniguchi died on 11 February 2017 in Tokyo, at the age of 69.[5]

Selected works

Year Series Notes
1981Jiken ya Kagyō
1983Shin Jiken ya Kagyō
1986Hotel Harbour View
1987The Times of BotchanBased on Botchan by Natsume Sōseki
1988K
1990GarōdenBased on a novel by Baku Yumemakura
1992The Walking Man
1992Samurai Legend
1994A Journal of My Father
1996Benkei in New York
1997Kodoku no Gourmet
1998A Distant Neighborhood
1999The Quest for the Missing Girl
2000Icaro
2000The Summit of the GodsBased on a novel by Baku Yumemakura
2002Sky Hawk
2004The Ice Wanderer
2005Hare Yuku Sora
2008A Zoo in Winter
2012Furari
2014Guardians of the Louvre
2014VeniceArt book

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Award-Winning Manga Creator Jiro Taniguchi Passes Away at 69. Anime News Network. 11 February 2017. 15 February 2021.
  2. Book: Lehmann, Timothy. Manga: Masters of the Art. 2005-11-01. Harper Collins. 978-0-06-083331-2. en.
  3. Web site: L'auteur japonais de bande dessinée Jiro Taniguchi est mort. Huffington Post France. 1 March 2017. fr. https://web.archive.org/web/20170302194028/http://www.huffingtonpost.fr/2017/02/11/lauteur-japonais-de-bande-dessinee-jiro-taniguchi-est-mort/. 2 March 2017. dead.
  4. Guillermo del Toro. Guillermo del Toro. RealGDT. 831598261194461184. 14 February 2017. Jiro Taniguchi was a manga poet. The Kieslowski of the page. A serene, profound observer of the world.. 20 February 2017.
  5. Web site: Japanese Manga Legend Jiro Taniguchi Dies at 69. Variety. 11 February 2017. 12 February 2017. Seth. Kelly.