Okamoto Ippei

Okamoto Ippei (岡本一平) (June 11, 1886 – October 11, 1948) was a Japanese illustrator, cartoonist, and writer.

Biography

Okamoto Ippei was the second son of the Confucian scholar Katei Okamoto. He studied Western-style painting at Tokyo School of the Arts under the instruction of Japanese painter Fujishima Takeji.^[1] He started working as a scenery painter for Teikoku Theater in 1910. After getting married, he set up in Kyobashi with his family.^[2]

Okamoto traveled to Europe and the United States and brought to Japan several comics. In 1912, he started to draw manga for the newspaper Asahi Shinbun.^[1]

During the World War II, he moved to Hamamatsu and Gifu. He opened a school called Ippei Juku, where he was teacher of cartoonists Hidezo Kondo and Yukio Matsuura.^[2]

Style

Okamoto became popular as a manga artist in the Taisho era due to his style that combined manga with refined writing.^[2] He included features of film in his comics.^[3] Manga artist Osamu Tezuka mentioned Okamoto as one of his main influences.^[3]

Personal life

Okamoto Ippei met Kanoko Okamoto when she sent him a poem that fed his interest. They met in the fall of 1909.^[4] In 1910, he married Kanoko Okamoto. He used to train younger drawers and after retiring, he helped his wife in her work as a novelist.^[2]

References