It was announced that Studio Ghibli art director Nizo Yamamoto had passed away at the age of 70 due to stomach cancer. Yamamoto was born on June 27, 1953 in Goto, Nagasaki Prefecture. He studied architecture at Gifu Prefectural High School. While studying at an art school in Tokyo, he started drawing backgrounds for anime.
He first worked as an art director on the television series Future Boy Conan with Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, two directors who later co-founded Studio Ghibli. Yamamoto later served in the same role as art director on many Ghibli films, including Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986), Grave of the Fireflies (1988) and Princess Mononoke (1997). More recently, he has been involved in other productions such as The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2016) and Weathering With You (2019).
Yamamoto’s signature style was grandiose cloudscapes that were both realistic yet whimsical, earning him the nickname “Niso-gumo” by fans. literally translated as “Good Clouds”. A traveling exhibition of his work at a museum across the country attracted over 900,000 visitors. In his hometown, in 2018, the “Clouds over Goto: Nizo Yamamoto Art Museum” museum was opened in his honor.
rest in peace
***
NANI?, a video blog in which we will discuss the central issues of the Asian audiovisual entertainment agenda, mainly from the Japanese industry. Don’t miss out on our channel YouTube.
