Tetsuya Chiba (千葉 徹彌 or ちばてつや, Chiba Tetsuya, born January 11, 1939) is a Japanese manga artist. Considered a major figure in the history of manga,[1][2] many of his early titles are still in print due to continued popularity.
He is most famous for his sports stories, having been described as "the biggest contributor to the rise of sports manga",[3] in particular for works such as Ashita no Joe, his best known work, and Notari Matsutarō.
At the end of the Sino-Japanese War, Chiba's family lived in the attic of a work-acquaintance of his father until they could find a way to get back to Japan.[4] Two of his younger brothers are manga artists: Akio Chiba, and Shigeyuki Chiba who is almost completely unknown outside Japan, despite writing many popular sports manga in Japan. Shigeyuki Chiba works under the pen name Taro Nami. He also had another brother name Ken.
In 1950, while in elementary school, he made a manga club with his friends. He created his first official manga, Fukushu no Semushi, (The Hunchback Avenger), in 1956.[5] In 1958, he made his professional debut in Shōjo Book [jp] with Butōkai no Shōjo. In the 1960s, he wrote shōnen and shōjo manga at the same time. In 1965 he married his wife, Yukiko. He is personally friends with Moto Hagio and Leiji Matsumoto.
He has received several awards for his manga, including the Kodansha Children's Manga Award for 1, 2, 3, & 4, 5, 6, Kodansha Culture Award for Ore wa Teppei, and the Japanese Cartoonist Association Award and Shogakukan Manga Award for Notari Matsutaro. In 2001 he was awarded the Award from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) for his work on youth sports manga. In 2002, he was awarded the Purple Ribbon medal by the Japanese government.[6] In July 2012 he was appointed as the chairman of the Japan Cartoonists Association after Takashi Yanase stepped down due to age and health reasons.[7] In Fall 2012 he was awarded with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, by the Japanese government.[8]
Chiba's series Harris no Kaze, Ashita no Joe, Akane-chan, Ore wa Teppei, Ashita Tenki ni Naare and Notari Masutaro have all received anime adaptations. Yuki no Taiyou received a short pilot film in 1972, which was Hayao Miyazaki's solo directorial debut, and an animated film for Kaze no Yo ni premiered in June 2016.[9]
In 2015, he left retirement in order to work on the series Hinemosu no Tari Nikki for Big Comic magazine. The manga is an autobiographical manga about his childhood, experiences from the war and his career as a manga artist.[10][11]Naoki Urasawa's TV show Urasawa Naoki no Manben featured Chiba's drawing process on the series in 2020.[12]
He lives in Nerima, Tokyo. In January 2022, he successfully underwent heart surgery at the age of 82 and then continued working on his current series.[13]
^"Chiba Tetsuya 千葉徹弥". British Museum. Retrieved October 26, 2024. In 2001 he received an award from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture Sport, Science and Technology for the works that captured the spirit and vitality of youth. In 2002, awarded the Purple Ribbon medal by the Japanese government.
