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Astro Boy, Howl's Moving Castle Lyricist Shuntarō Tanigawa Dies at 92
posted on by Anita Tai
Kyodo News reported on Tuesday that prolific writer Shuntarō Tanigawa has died of old age at 92. The writer died on the November 13, and his close relatives held a private funeral led by his oldest son Kensaku as the chief mourner.
Tanigawa was born in Tokyo, and his father was Japanese philosopher Tetsuzō Tanikawa. Shuntarō Tanigawa began writing poems in his teens, and published his first poetry collection, Nijū Oku Kōnen no Kodoku (Two Billion Light-Years of Solitude), when he was 20 in 1952.
Tanigawa provided the lyrics for the theme songs of three Osamu Tezuka anime classics — Tetsuwan Atom (Mighty Atom or Astro Boy), Big X, and Phoenix — as well as Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle film. He was also behind the screenplay for The Phoenix: Chapter of Dawn film.
The writer was well-known for his poems, translations, and essays. His poetry book Floating the River in Melancholy won the American Book Award in 1989. He has written over 60 poetry books and is also known for his translations of Charles Schulz's Peanuts comic and Mother Goose nursery rhymes into Japanese.
His numerous accolades include awards at The 75th NHK Broadcasting Culture Awards, the Zhongkun International Poetry Award, and the Noma Children's Literature Prize.
Source: Kyodo News via Hachima Kikō
