Manga Division
Excellence Award
Kurosawa
SONOMURA Masahiro / NAKAMURA Mariko
© Masahiro SONOMURA 2001
© Mariko NAKAMURA 2001
© KUROSAWA PRODUCTION 2001
Profile
SONOMURA Masahiro
1937 Born in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. 1959 Graduated from the Faculty of Education at Kumamoto University.
Works Hane wo Motta Shonen (The Boy Who Had Wings) Kumamoto Nihongi Nakanocho Kaiwai: Sport to iu Onna ("Life in Nihongi in Nakano-cho, Kumamoto: A Woman Named Sport") Tokimeki Eiga Club ("The Exciting Movie Club") Nihon Eiga Kantoku Retsuden 1: Ozu Yasujiro no Nazo ("The Lives of Japanese Movie Directors 1: The Enigma of Yasujiro Ozu")
NAKAMURA Mariko
1959 Born in Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture.for Shogakukan's Big Comic Spirits Tenshiha Ryo ("Ryo, on the Angel's Team"; ten volumes; story by Caribu Marley) Guilty (three volumes, story by Caribu Marley) Nihon Eiga Kantoku Retsuden 1: Ozu Yasujiro no Nazo ("The Lives of Japanese Movie Directors 1: The Enigma of Yasujiro Ozu"; story by Masahiro Sonomura) for Kodansha's BE LOVE Gal Boy! (33 volumes) Shin Gal Boy! ("New Gal Boy!", ten volumes) and so on.
Award Reason
Sonomura and Nakamura portray a unique portrait of the famous Japanese film director. This is just one among many representations of Akira Kurosawa, but many readers say it enabled them to identify with the hardships and worries experienced by Kurosawa as a creative artist. This courageous experiment has turned out to be a resounding success and is sure to generate many more Kurosawa fans.