was a Japanese
cartoonist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
and
independent film
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...
maker. An influential figure in Japanese
independent animation
The terms independent animation or indie animation refers to animated shorts, web series, and feature films produced outside a major national animation industry.
United States
In America, working independent
animators included Mary Ellen Bute ...
, he was the unofficial leader and most prolific of the collective who kick-started the renaissance of modern-styled, independently made,
adult-aimed animation in early 1960s Japan.
He is known internationally for the very
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...
of his films, with the typically
naïve
Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may ...
style of his cartooning often belying the
surreal, obscene and disturbing situations they depict (though he has worked in a variety of styles and mediums, including
pixilation
Pixilation is a stop motion technique in which live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame or frames. This technique ...
);
this made them a favourite among the fervently
counter-cultural
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of Mainstream culture, mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cult ...
audiences, which included such filmmakers as
René Laloux
René Laloux (; 13 July 1929 – 15 March 2004) was a French animator, screenwriter and film director.
Biography
He was born in Paris in 1929 and went to art school to study painting. After some time working in advertising, he got a job in ...
, of the first few years of the
Annecy International Animated Film Festival
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring ever ...
, and in a 1967 publication he was considered to be "the most significant" and "the only Japanese animator whose work is known in the West" (which is to disregard the
Toei Animation
is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch'', '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'', '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...
features and ''
Astro Boy
''Astro Boy'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 volumes by Akita Shoten. Da ...
'' series that were first seen in the West around the same time that Kuri's first several films were and mentioned in passing in the same publication,
though these were not known as works of an individual and characteristic filmmaker and often had their Japanese origin played down). He is also known in Japan for his
comics
a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...
, a collection of which earned him the 1958
Bungeishunjū Manga Award
The was an annual award established in 1955 and given out by Bungeishunjū in Japan for gag, , one-panel, and satirical manga. The award was also given out for works considered the magnum opus of manga creators.
Past winners of the award inclu ...
. Though he was retired from filmmaking, he continued to
illustrate and teach animation at . In 2012, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Festival of Animated Film, better known as
Animafest Zagreb
World Festival of Animated Film Zagreb (), best known as Animafest Zagreb, is a film festival entirely dedicated to Animation, animated film held annually in Zagreb, Croatia. Initiated by the International Animated Film Association (ASIFA), the e ...
.
Kuri died on November 24, 2024, at the age of 96. His death was announced in the following month, on December 15.
Selected filmography
Kuri made over 40
short film
A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
s between 1960 and 1981;
some of the best known are:
* (1960)
* (1962)
* (1962)
* (1963)
* (1963)
*''The Button'' (1963)
* (1964)
* (1963)
* (1964)
* (1965)
* (1965)
* (1965)
Permanent exhibitions
* Manabe Museum 1 Chome-9-20 Chosenjicho
Sabae,
Fukui. The museum is near
Nishiyama-Kōen Station
is a Fukui Railway Fukubu Line railway station located in the city of Sabae, Fukui Prefecture, Japan.
Lines
Nishiyama-Kōen Station is served by the Fukui Railway Fukubu Line, and is located 6.0 kilometers from the terminus of the line at .
...
of
Fukui Railway
is a bus and railway company located in Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. It owns and operates the Fukubu Line between Tawaramachi Station in Fukui and Takefu-shin Station in Echizen.
Overview
Although Fukui Railway's name refers to its fou ...
.
* Tannan Regional Medical Center 1 Chome-2-31 Sanrokucho Sabae, Fukui. The medical center is near
Shinmei Station of Fukui Railway.
* Gallery K Yoji Kuri No Sekai (The World of Yoji Kuri) 16-18 Tadasucho, Sabae, Fukui. The gallery is an approximately 20-minute walk from Shinmei Station of Fukui Railway.
See also
*
Cinema of Japan
The , also known domestically as , has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2022, it was the Film industry#Statistics, fourth largest by number of feature films p ...
*
History of anime
References
Further reading
* Douglass, Jason Cody
"In Search of a 'New Wind': Experimental, Labor Intensive, and Intermedial Animation in 1950s and 60s Japan."Animation Studies Online Journal, 2019.
External links
at New Animation Animation
an
at
Cartoon Brew
Cartoon Brew is an animation news website created by Amid Amidi and animation historian Jerry Beck that was launched on 15 March 2004.
Cartoon Dump
It also created '' Cartoon Dump'', a weekly podcast showing poorly made TV cartoons featuring ' ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuri, Yoji
1928 births
2024 deaths
Anime character designers
Anime directors
Japanese animators
Japanese animated film directors
Japanese surrealist artists
Manga artists
Black comedy
People from Sabae, Fukui