Rakuten Kitazawa

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Rakuten Kitazawa (北澤楽天, Kitazawa Rakuten^?, 20 July 1876 in Ōmiya, Saitama, Japan - 25 August 1955) was the pen name of Kitazawa Yasuji (北澤保次, Kitazawa Yasuji^?), who was a mangaka and Nihonga artist. He drew many editorial cartoons and comic strips during the late Meiji Era to early the Showa Era. He is considered "the founding father of modern manga" because he promoted many younger mangaka and animators. He also was the first professional cartoonist in Japan.

Rakuten is the first user of term "manga" as its modern usage.

1 Biography
2 Notable works
3 External links
4 References
- 4.1 Footnotes

[edit] Biography

In 1876, Yasuji Kitazawa was born in Ōmiya, Kita Adachi Gun, Saitama as the 13th generation of the Kitazawa clan which was successive Kishū Tokugawa clan's Gokenin.

Rakuten learnt the western-style painting from Ōno Yukihiko, and learnt Nihonga from Inoue Shunzui. Then he joined the American magazine Box of Curious in 1895, and started training cartoon drawing under Frank A. Nankivell, an American artist from Austria.

In 1899, Rakuten collaborated with Jiji Shimpo after being introduced to him by Yukichi Fukuzawa. At first, his Shina no Awa-mochi (支那の粟餅,, Shina no Awa-mochi^? Millet-cakes of China) was published on the paper. He came to handle Jiji Manga, which was Sunday strips for Jiji Shimpo, in January, 1902.

During Jiji Manga period, his nortable comic strips series include

Tagosaku to Mokubē no Tōkyō-Kenbutsu (田吾作と杢兵衛の東京見物,^? "Tagosaku and Mokube's Sightseeing in Tokyo"),
Haikara Kidorō no Sippai (灰殻木戸郎の失敗,, Haikara Kidorō no Sippai^? "The Failures of Kidoro Haikara"), and
Chame to Dekobō (茶目と凸坊,, Chame to Dekobō^? "Chame and Dekobo").

They were inspired by American comic strips like Katzenjammer Kids, Yellow Kid and Opper's works.

Rakuten started a full-color satire magazine called Tokyo puck in 1905. Its name originates in American Puck. It was translated into English and Chinese, and sold in not only Japan but also in the Korean peninsula, Mainland China, and Taiwan. In the same year, Rakuten married Ino Suzuki.

Rakuten educated many younger mangaka and animators, such as Hekoten Shimokawa who made The Story of the Concierge Mukuzo Imokawa, a first professional Japanese animation film.

In 1929, he held his private exhibition in Paris by recommendation of the France's ambassador, and was awarded with the Légion d'honneur. During World War II, he was the chairman of Nihon Manga Hōkō Kai (Japanese patriotic cartoonists society).

Also Rakuten's works influenced Osamu Tezuka in his childhood as well as Ippei Okamoto's works^[1].

[edit] Notable works

Tagosaku to Mokubē no Tōkyō-Kenbutsu (1902)

Many editorial cartoons on Jiji Shimpō and Tokyo puck - Rakuten's early style was critical of Japanese Government at that time, however, after High Treason Incident it became conservative like opposing socialism or the women's liberation movement.
Many comic strips on Jiji Manga
- Tagosaku to Mokubē no Tōkyō-Kenbutsu (田吾作と杢兵衛の東京見物,^? "Tagosaku and Mokube's Sightseeing in Tokyo") - started 1902. The stories of two countrymen who have come out in sightseeing in Tokyo. Because knowing nothing about modern culture, they makes many foolish behaviors (for example, they ate separately lumps of sugar with coffee).
- Haikara Kidorō no Sippai (灰殻木戸郎の失敗,, Haikara Kidorō no Sippai^? "The Failures of Kidoro Haikara") - started 1902. The stories of young man who always boasts of the imperfect knowledge of the West, and disgraces himself finally. His name can be read "Mr. European style affected man".
- Chame to Dekobō (茶目と凸坊,, Chame to Dekobō^? "Chame and Dekobo") - Two brisk boys' stories, these were counterpart of Katzenjammer Kids in Japan. Chame and Dekobo's characters are earliest example of merchandising in Japan.
- Teino Nukesaku (丁野抜作,, Teino Nukesaku^? "Nukesaku Teino") - started 1915. The stories of an wooden-head man, Nukesaku Teino, his name can be read "Mr. Foolish Wooden-head". He was one of the popular characters during Taisho era in Japan.
- Tonda Haneko Jō (とんだはね子嬢,, Tonda Haneko Jō^? "Miss Haneko Tonda") - started 1928. The stories of a tomboyish girl, Haneko Tonda, her name can be read "Hopping-jumping girl". Heneko was a first protagonist girl in manga, and influenced earliest shojo manga like Machiko Hasegawa's Nakayoshi Techō.