YOKOYAMA, Ryuichi

Ryūichi Yokoyama

横山隆一

17 May 1909 - 8 November 2001

• born in Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture
• 147cm tall
• mentored by Ippei Okamoto
• famous for Fuku-chan and Hyaku-baka manga series
• founded Otogi Pro
• a collector of model trians, airplanes, ships, stamps, cameras, clocks, toys, and old furniture
• Yokoyama Memorial Manga Museum

1909 Born on May 17th in Sakaimachi (Kochi City).

• He was the youngest son of Shonosuke and Masae Yokoyama. His father was a silk tradesman.

1916 Starts Kochi Dai-ichi Primary School

1922 Starts Kochi Joto Jr.High School(now Otemae High School ).

• Joins the swimming club

1927 Graduates from the Kochi Joto Jr. High School. Moves to Tokyo the next day.

1928 Becomes an apprentice to the Tosa born sculptor Motoyama Hakun.

1929 publishes his first manga and begins his career as an illustrator.

1932 June: founds the Shin-manga-ha-shudan (today known as Manga-shudan 漫画集団).

1936 January: Begins the Edokko Ken-chan 江戸ッ子健ちゃん』serial publication in the Tokyo Asahi Shimbun.

October: re-brands the comic under the new name Yoshi no Fuku-chan 『養子のフクちゃん』with Fuku-chan as the main character.

December: adapts Edokko Ken-chan 『江戸ッ子健ちゃん』into a moving picture at Toho Studios with Meiko Nakamura 中村メイコ as Fuku-chan.

1938 Fuku-chan is awarded the first Children Culture Prize by the Japan Culture Association.

1939 The Ministry of Education recommends Yokoyama's illustrated book Chiisana Sencho-san 『小さな船長さん』

1941 Goes to Manchuria with several Asahi Shimbun journalists including Jirō Osaragi 大佛次郎and Fumiko Hayashi 林芙美子.

1942 Enrolls in the army and is stationed in Java (Indonesia). He is responsible for writing the news.

1945 After the war, he begins writing again.

• Reforms and renames the Shin-manga-ha-shudan as the Manga-shudan.
• Publishes "Fuku-chan" in regional newspapers.

1948 Peko-chan 『ぺ子ちゃん』serial begins in the Mainichi Shimbun.

1949 Densuke 『デンスケ』serial begins in the Mainichi Shimbun.

• Fuku-chan published as a book.

1950 "Ryuichi/Taizo Brothers Exhibition" 隆一泰三兄弟展 held at the Mitsukosi department store in Nihonbashi.

• Densuke and Fuku-chan 『デンスケとフクちゃん』serial published in the Mainichi Sunday Weekly.

1951 Goes to San Francisco as a Mainichi Shimbun reporter to cover the Japan Peace Conference.

1955 begins making animation in earnest

• Completes production of the short film Onbu-obake 『おんぶおばけ』

1956 Fuku-chan serialized in the Mainichi Shinbun morning edition.

• Founds his animation studio Otogi Pro / おとぎプロ

1957 Release of Otogi Pro manga film Fukusuke 『ふくすけ』

• Receives the Blue Ribbon Award for Fukusuke

1958 Fukusuke wins the Educational Culture Prize at the Mainichi Film Festival.

1959 Feature length animation film Hyotan-suzume 『ひょうたんすずめ』

1962 Feature length theatre animation omnibus Otogi's World Tour『おとぎの世界旅行』. Screened nationwide by Toho.

1966 Publishes the manga collection Yuki 『勇気』and receives the Mainichi Shuppan special prize.

1967 Publishes the essay collection Fuku-chan zuihitsu『フクちゃん随筆』

1971 Retires the Fuku-chan manga with a record 5,534 serialized publications.

1974 Receives the Shijuhosho. (the Purple Ribbon Medal)

1979 Publishes the manga collection Hyaku-baka 『百馬鹿』and receives the Japan Cartoonists Association's Japan Cartoonist Award.

1981 the first "Ryuichi Exihibition"「隆一展」, exhibiting his oil and ink paintings.

1982 The Manga-shudan 50-Year Anniversary Party at the Teikoku Hotel.

November 1982 - March 1984 Anime/Fuku-chan 『アニメ・フクちゃん』is televised on Asahi Television.

1992 Receives the Ministry of Education Prize.

1993 Named Honorary Citizen of the town of Yasu in Kochi Prefecture.

1994 Named Person of Cultural Merit.

1996 Named Honorary Citizen of Kochi City in April and of Kamakura City.

1998 Designs the Junshin Ouma Monument「純信・お馬のモニュメント」 for the newly refurbished Harimayabashi waterway.

1999 Onna iroiro ten 芸術功労者」exhibition at the Daimaru department store in Kochi.

Named Person of Artistic Merit at the Waseda University Graduation Ceremony.

Comes to Kochi for the "Yokoyama Ryuichi Gengaten"横山隆一原画展 ceremony held at the Kochi Chuo Post Office.

2001 Dies on the 8th of November at the age of 92.

2002 The Yokoyama Memorial Manga Museum opens.