Chihiro_Iwasaki

Chihiro Iwasaki

(Japan), 1918-1974

Born in Fukui Prefecture, Japan, and grew up in Tokyo. She graduated from Tokyo Prefectural Sixth Girls’ High School (currently Tokyo Metropolitan Mita High School). She studied Japanese calligraphy in the Fujiwara Kozei School and painting under Saburosuke Okada, Tai Nakatani, and Toshi Maruki. In 1946, Chihiro joined the Japan Communist Party and in 1947 participated in the founding of the Avant-garde Art Group and became a member of Japan Art Group and Japan Association of Illustrations for Children. In 1949, she created illustration panels for a picture-story show called Okasan no Hanashi (The Story of a Mother), which won the Education Minister’s Award the following year. In 1950, she married Zenmei Matsumoto and gave birth to their only son, Takeshi, the following year. In 1956, she won the Shogakukan Juvenile Culture Award for her illustrations and other works published in illustrated magazines for young children. In the same year, she created her first picture book, Hitori de Dekiru yo (I Can Do it All by Myself). She won many prizes during her career, including the Sankei Juvenile Literature Publishing Culture Award for AIUEO no Hon (The Alphabet Book: A-I-U-E-O) in 1961 and the Graphic Prize at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair for Kotori no Kuru Hi (The Pretty Bird) in 1971. Chihiro died at the age of 55. Some of her most beloved picture books include Ofuro de Chapu Chapu (I Love Bathing, Doshinsha Publishing), Ame no Hi no Orusuban (Staying Home Alone on a Rainy Day, Shiko-sha), and Senka no Naka no Kodomotachi (Children in the Flames of War, Iwasaki Shoten).

From Hitori de Dekiru yo (I Can Do It All by Myself)

1956 / Watercolor, / 352 mm × 482 mm.

From Hitori de Dekiru yo (I Can Do It All by Myself)

1956 / Watercolor and pencil, / 355 mm × 480 mm.

From Minna de Shiyo yo (Let’s Do It Together)

1956 / Watercolor and pastel, / 357 mm × 487 mm.356 mm × 484 mm.

From Oyayubihime (Thumbelina)

1966 / Watercolor and pencil, / 356 mm × 484 mm.

From Ningyohime (The Little Mermaid)

1967 / Watercolor, pencil, and pastel, / 359 mm × 484 mm.

From Shirayukihime (Snow White)

1967 / Watercolor and pencil, / 356 mm × 483 mm.

From Ame no Hi no Orusuban (Staying Home Alone on a Rainy Day)

1968 / Watercolor, / 298 mm × 256 mm.

From Pochi no Kita Umi (What’s Fun without a Friend?)

1973 / Watercolor, / 385 mm × 544 mm.

From Pochi no Kita Umi (What’s Fun without a Friend?)

1973 / Watercolor, / 370 mm × 388 mm.

From Ofuro de Chapu Chapu (I Love Bathing)

1970 / Watercolor and pencil, / 269 mm × 484 mm.

From Ofuro de Chapu Chapu (I Love Bathing)

1970 / Watercolor, / 278 mm × 483 mm.

From Akai Rosoku to Ningyo (The Red Candles and the Mermaid)

1973 / Pencil and ink, / 360 mm × 460 mm.

From Takekurabe (Child’s Play)

1971 / Pencil and ink, / 243 mm × 205 mm.

From Watashi ga Chiisakatta Toki ni (When I was a Child)

1967 / Pencil and ink, / 242 mm × 180 mm.

From Watashi ga Chiisakatta Toki ni (When I was a Child)

1967 / Pencil and ink, / 242 mm × 166 mm.

From Senka no Naka no Kodomotachi (Children in the Flames of War)

1973 / Pencil and ink, / 359 mm × 484 mm.


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