Yōji Kuri
Japanese cartoonist and independent filmmaker (1928–2024)
title: "Yōji Kuri" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1928-births", "2024-deaths", "anime-character-designers", "japanese-character-designers", "anime-directors", "japanese-animators", "japanese-animated-film-directors", "japanese-surrealist-artists", "manga-artists", "japanese-black-comedy", "people-from-sabae,-fukui"] description: "Japanese cartoonist and independent filmmaker (1928–2024)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yōji_Kuri" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Japanese cartoonist and independent filmmaker (1928–2024) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| native_name | 久里洋二 |
| native_name_lang | ja |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Sabae, Japan |
| death_date | |
| education | Bunka Gakūin |
| :: |
| name = | native_name = 久里洋二 | native_name_lang= ja | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_date = | birth_place = Sabae, Japan | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = | known_for = | occupation = | education = Bunka Gakūin
Yōji Kuri was a Japanese cartoonist and independent filmmaker. An influential figure in Japanese independent animation, he was the unofficial leader and most prolific of the "Animation Association of Three" 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 of his films, with the typically naïve 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); this made them a favourite among the fervently counter-cultural audiences, which included such filmmakers as René Laloux, of the first few years of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, 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 features and Astro Boy 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 collection of which earned him the 1958 Bungeishunjū Manga Award. Though he was retired from filmmaking, he continued to illustrate and teach animation at Laputa Art Animation School. In 2012, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Festival of Animated Film, better known as Animafest Zagreb.
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 films between 1960 and 1981; some of the best known are:
- Fantasia of Stamps (1960)
- Clap Vocalism (1962)
- Here and There (1962)
- Locus (1963)
- Love (1963)
- The Button (1963)
- The Chair (1964)
- Man, Woman and Dog (1963)
- Aos (1964)
- The Man Next Door (1965)
- Samurai (1965)
- The Window (1965)
Permanent exhibitions
- Manabe Museum 1 Chome-9-20 Chosenjicho Sabae, Fukui. The museum is near Nishiyama-Kōen Station of Fukui Railway.
- 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.
References
References
- Ettinger, Benjamin. (6 September 2004). "The first wave of independent animators in Japan". AniPages Daily.
- (2009). "Kuri Yōji Sakuhinshū -New Animation Animation-". [[Geneon Universal Entertainment]].
- Bendazzi, Giannalberto. (1 April 1996). "Book Review: René Laloux". [[Animation World Network]].
- Stephenson, Ralph. (1967). "Animation in the Cinema". A. Zwemmer.
- "Āto Animēshon no Chiisana Gakkō -Laputa Art Animation School-".
- Tai, Anita. (2024-12-15). "Anime Director, Manga Creator Yōji Kuri Dies". Anime News Network.
- [https://nordot.app/1240995051597643931 漫画家の久里洋二さん死去 96歳、アニメ作家として評価] - 共同通信 2024年12月15日
- "クリ ヨウジ 公式Facebook".
- [https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/culture/20241215-OYT1T50129/ アートアニメの草分け、久里洋二さん死去...「24時間テレビ」ロゴや読売新聞夕刊で漫画連載 (読売新聞、2024年12月15日)]
- Munroe Hotes, Catherine. "''Clap Vocalism'' (''Ningen Dōbutsuen'', 1962)". Nishikata Film Review.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::