Shiro Yadama
Description
Shiro Yadama was a Japanese author and illustrator, known primarily as the creator of the children's picture book series Hare Tokidoki Buta, which served as the source material for the anime works Fair, then Partly Piggy and the television series Tokyo Pig.
Born on February 3, 1944, in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, Yadama graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at Chiba University, where he studied industrial design. Following his graduation, he initially worked as a manga artist, contributing nonsense manga to weekly magazines before transitioning to writing children's literature. He passed away on July 14, 2024.
Yadama's most significant and enduring work is the Hare Tokidoki Buta series, which began with the first picture book published on September 5, 1980, by Iwasaki Shoten. The series centers on a young boy named Noriyasu Hatakeyama who discovers that anything he writes in his journal becomes reality, often leading to whimsical and chaotic situations involving pigs. The original book series grew to include ten volumes, with the final installment released on July 11, 2013. Several of these books were translated into English, including the first three volumes under the titles Fair, then Partly Piggy, Tomorrow is Pig Day! and Pig Time!, and Sometimes I'm a Pig.
The series was adapted into animation on two occasions. The first was a 30-minute anime film released on August 23, 1988, produced by Oh! Production. The second, and more widely known, adaptation was a 61-episode anime television series that originally aired on TV Tokyo from July 3, 1997, to September 29, 1998. This series was produced by Group TAC and SPE Visual Works. For its international release, particularly in the United States where it aired on ABC Family from September 2002, the anime was retitled Tokyo Pig. In this version, the story was localized with new character names and an original musical score. Yadama is credited as the original author for both anime adaptations.
Yadama's work is characterized as nonsense literature, created with the goal of stimulating the imagination of young readers. To make his stories more accessible, he often employed a mixed writing style that used easier-to-read kana characters in place of more complex kanji. His background as a manga artist is evident in the illustrative style of his picture books. Beyond his signature pig series, Yadama authored other children's books, including Oshiire no Naka no Mikotan and Neko no Te mo Karinto. His career represents a successful transition from creating manga for weekly magazines to becoming a established and influential figure in Japanese children's literature.
Born on February 3, 1944, in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, Yadama graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at Chiba University, where he studied industrial design. Following his graduation, he initially worked as a manga artist, contributing nonsense manga to weekly magazines before transitioning to writing children's literature. He passed away on July 14, 2024.
Yadama's most significant and enduring work is the Hare Tokidoki Buta series, which began with the first picture book published on September 5, 1980, by Iwasaki Shoten. The series centers on a young boy named Noriyasu Hatakeyama who discovers that anything he writes in his journal becomes reality, often leading to whimsical and chaotic situations involving pigs. The original book series grew to include ten volumes, with the final installment released on July 11, 2013. Several of these books were translated into English, including the first three volumes under the titles Fair, then Partly Piggy, Tomorrow is Pig Day! and Pig Time!, and Sometimes I'm a Pig.
The series was adapted into animation on two occasions. The first was a 30-minute anime film released on August 23, 1988, produced by Oh! Production. The second, and more widely known, adaptation was a 61-episode anime television series that originally aired on TV Tokyo from July 3, 1997, to September 29, 1998. This series was produced by Group TAC and SPE Visual Works. For its international release, particularly in the United States where it aired on ABC Family from September 2002, the anime was retitled Tokyo Pig. In this version, the story was localized with new character names and an original musical score. Yadama is credited as the original author for both anime adaptations.
Yadama's work is characterized as nonsense literature, created with the goal of stimulating the imagination of young readers. To make his stories more accessible, he often employed a mixed writing style that used easier-to-read kana characters in place of more complex kanji. His background as a manga artist is evident in the illustrative style of his picture books. Beyond his signature pig series, Yadama authored other children's books, including Oshiire no Naka no Mikotan and Neko no Te mo Karinto. His career represents a successful transition from creating manga for weekly magazines to becoming a established and influential figure in Japanese children's literature.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview
- Topics: Anime overview