Tetsuya Chiba | |
|---|---|
 Chiba in November 2023 | |
| Born | 千葉徹弥 (1939-01-11)January 11, 1939 (age 86) |
| Known for | Manga |
| Notable work | Ashita no Joe Notari Matsutarō |
| Relatives | Akio Chiba (brother) |
| Awards |
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Tetsuya Chiba (千葉 徹彌 or ちばてつや,Chiba Tetsuya; born January 11, 1939) is a Japanesemanga artist. Considered a major figure in the history ofmanga,[1][2] many of his early titles are still in print due to continued popularity.
He is most famous for his sports stories, having been described as "the biggest contributor to the rise of sports manga",[3] in particular for works such asAshita no Joe, his best known work, andNotari Matsutarō.
He was born inChuo,Tokyo, Japan, but lived most of his early childhood inShenyang,Liaoning whennortheast China was colonized by Japan during theSecond Sino-Japanese War.[4] His father was working in a paper factory when they lived in China.
At the end of the Sino-Japanese War, Chiba's family lived in the attic of a work-acquaintance of his father until they could find a way to get back to Japan.[4] Two of his younger brothers are manga artists:Akio Chiba, and Shigeyuki Chiba who is almost completely unknown outside Japan, despite writing many popular sports manga in Japan. Shigeyuki Chiba works under the pen name Taro Nami. He also had another brother name Ken.
In 1950, while in elementary school, he made a manga club with his friends. He created his first official manga,Fukushu no Semushi, (The Hunchback Avenger), in 1956.[5] In 1958, he made his professional debut inShōjo Book [jp] withButōkai no Shōjo. In the 1960s, he wroteshōnen andshōjo manga at the same time. In 1965 he married his wife, Yukiko. He is personally friends withMoto Hagio andLeiji Matsumoto.
He has received several awards for his manga, including the Kodansha Children's Manga Award for1, 2, 3, & 4, 5, 6, Kodansha Culture Award forOre wa Teppei, and the Japanese Cartoonist Association Award and Shogakukan Manga Award forNotari Matsutaro. In 2001 he was awarded the Award fromMinistry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) for his work on youth sports manga. In 2002, he was awarded thePurple Ribbon medal by the Japanese government.[6] In July 2012 he was appointed as the chairman of theJapan Cartoonists Association afterTakashi Yanase stepped down due to age and health reasons.[7] In Fall 2012 he was awarded with theOrder of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, by the Japanese government.[8]
Chiba's seriesHarris no Kaze,Ashita no Joe,Akane-chan,Ore wa Teppei,Ashita Tenki ni Naare andNotari Masutaro have all received anime adaptations.Yuki no Taiyou received a short pilot film in 1972, which wasHayao Miyazaki's solo directorial debut, and an animated film forKaze no Yo ni premiered in June 2016.[9]
In 2015, he left retirement in order to work on the seriesHinemosu no Tari Nikki forBig Comic magazine. The manga is an autobiographical manga about his childhood, experiences from the war and his career as a manga artist.[10][11]Naoki Urasawa's TV showUrasawa Naoki no Manben featured Chiba's drawing process on the series in 2020.[12]
He lives inNerima, Tokyo. In January 2022, he successfully underwent heart surgery at the age of 82 and then continued working on his current series.[13]
In 2022, he became the first manga artist ever to be nominated as a member to theJapan Art Academy (alongsideYoshiharu Tsuge).[14]
In 2024, he was awarded theOrder of Culture, becoming the first manga artist to receive this honor.[15]
Listed chronologically.
In 2001 he received an award from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture Sport, Science and Technology for the works that captured the spirit and vitality of youth. In 2002, awarded the Purple Ribbon medal by the Japanese government.
