(10 April 1936 – 7 October 2019) was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

illustrator, essayist, and film director.

Biography

Wada was born in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

on 10 April 1936. He attended

Tama Art University or is a private art university located in Tokyo, Japan. It is known as one of the top art schools in Japan. History The forerunner of Tamabi was Tama Imperial Art School (多摩帝国美術学校, Tama Teikoku Bijutsu Gakkō) founded in 1935. ...

, where he won the Japan Advertising Art Award in 1957. As an illustrator, Wada drew many cartoons and caricatures for

Shinichi Hoshi Shinichi Hoshi (星新一 ''Hoshi Shin'ichi'', September 6, 1926 – December 30, 1997) was a Japanese people, Japanese novelist and science fiction writer best known for his "flash fiction, short-short" science fiction stories, often no more ...

and

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been bestsellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for his ...

. He designed more than 2,000 covers for the magazine ''

Shūkan Bunshun is a Japanese weekly news magazine ( Shūkanshi) based in Tokyo, Japan, known for its investigative journalism and frequent clashes with the Japanese government. It is considered one of the most influential weekly magazines in the country. Hist ...

'' from 1972 to 2017 and provided illustrations for the book review section of the ''

Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...

'' from 1992 to 2018. Being a passionate film fan, he started his career as a film director in 1984. He won the award for best director at the 31st

Blue Ribbon Awards The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan. The awards were established in 1950 by which is composed of film correspondents from seven Tokyo-based sports newspapers. In 1961, the six major Japanes ...

for ''

Kaitō Ruby is a 1988 Japanese film directed by Makoto Wada. Cast *Kyōko Koizumi - Rumi Kato (Ruby) *Hiroyuki Sanada - Toru Hayashi *Kumi Mizuno - Toru's mother *Hideyo Amamoto *Masumi Okada * Takanori Jinnai - Rumi's friend *Taisaku Akino - Detective *Aki ...

''. Since 1972, Wada was married to Remi Hirano, the granddaughter of Henry Pike Bowie. They had two sons: Sho and Ritsu. Their eldest son Sho is the guitarist and vocalist of

Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivore, herbivorous Chasmosaurinae, chasmosaurine Ceratopsidae, ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 68 m ...

and is married to actress

Juri Ueno is a Japanese actress. She first gained recognition in the 2005 film ''Swing Girls'' where she was a recipient of Newcomer of the Year prize at the Japanese Academy Awards. Ueno achieved mainstream success for playing the titular role in the live ...

. Wada died on 7 October 2019 at the hospital in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. He was 83 years old. The cause of death was

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

Filmography

*''

Mahjong hōrōki is a 1984 Japanese film directed by Makoto Wada. The film is based on a autobiographical novel by Takehiro Irokawa. Awards and nominations 6th Yokohama Film Festival * Won: Best Film * Won: Best Actor - Takeshi Kaga * Won: Best Supporting Acto ...

'' (1984) *''

'' (1988)

References

External links

Makoto Wada
at J'Lit Books from Japan 1936 births 2019 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in Japan Japanese illustrators Japanese film directors Japanese graphic designers Japanese essayists People from Osaka Tama Art University alumni {{Japan-actor-stub