Reiko Okuyama
Encyclopedia
, née , was a Japan
ese animator
, notable for being one of the first female Japanese animators. She has also been credited as and .
she left her home town to attend university in Tokyo
.
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
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 on the part of the studio heads.
Okuyama continued her work as second key animator for 1960's Saiyuki
(released as Alakazam the Great
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
and Akira Daikuhara.
Around 1960, Okuyama married fellow animator Yoichi Kotabe
; she gave birth to their first child shortly thereafter. 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
, 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
in 2003. She then continued to produce animation until she died on May, 2007 (though her death was announced only in September, 2007).
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
, notable for being one of the first female Japanese animators. She has also been credited as and .
Biography
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 IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
she left her home town to attend university in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
.
In 1957 Okuyama applied for a position with Toei Doga
Toei Animation
Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...
, mistakenly believing that they were publishers of children's books. Her drawing skills were enough for her to be hired as an in-betweener
Tweening
Inbetweening or tweening is the process of generating intermediate frames between two images to give the appearance that the first image evolves smoothly into the second image. Inbetweens are the drawings between the key frames which help to create the illusion of motion...
. Her first work was on the landmark feature-length anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
Hakuja den (released in the US as The Tale of the White Serpent
The Tale of the White Serpent
is the first color anime feature film, released in 1958. It was also the first to be released in America, under the title Panda and the Magic Serpent, preceding Magic Boy by three months...
, 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 on the part of the studio heads.
Okuyama continued her work as second key animator for 1960's Saiyuki
Saiyuki
is a manga series by Kazuya Minekura which was serialized in G-Fantasy from 1997 to 2002. The story is loosely based on the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West . In 1999 the Saiyuki OVA by Tokyo Kids was released. A year later it was adapted into an anime series by Studio Pierrot...
(released as Alakazam the Great
Alakazam the Great
is a 1960 Japanese anime film, based on the Chinese novel Journey to the West, and was one of the earliest anime films to be released in the United States. Based on the manga by Osamu Tezuka, he was named as a director of the film by Toei Company. However, Tezuka later stated that the only time he...
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
Yasuji Mori
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....
and Akira Daikuhara.
Around 1960, Okuyama married fellow animator Yoichi Kotabe
Yoichi Kotabe
, is a Japanese manga artist and animator who has worked with Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki. He is a lecturer at Tokyo Designer Academy in their cartoon film course....
; she gave birth to their first child shortly thereafter. 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
Nippon Animation
is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City....
, 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
Winter Days
is a 2003 animated film, directed by Kihachirō Kawamoto. It is based on one of the renku in the 1684 collection of the same name by the 17th-century Japanese poet Bashō....
in 2003. She then continued to produce animation until she died on May, 2007 (though her death was announced only in September, 2007).