The Noburō Ōfuji Award (大藤信郎賞) honours excellence and innovation in Japanese animation. It is awarded at the Mainichi Film Awards (毎日映画コンクール) – the Mainichi Shinbun’s annual film awards. The award was established following the death of animation pioneer Noburō Ōfuji (大藤 信郎) in 1961. Ōfuji was known for his innovations in silhouette and cutout animation, (ie The Village Festival / 村祭, 1930) often using traditional Japanese materials that gave his work a unique look compared to his international contemporaries.
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| Noburo Ofuji at work |
Osamu Tezuka was the first recipient of the award for his experimental animation Story of a Certain Street Corner. During the first two decades of its existence, the award was primarily used to honour independent short animation by the likes of Tadanari Okamoto, Kihachiro Kawamoto, Yoji Kuri, Makoto Wada, and Taku Furukawa. Ground-breaking feature films like The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon and The Castle of Cagliostro were also honoured during the early years.
In the 1980s, the rise of Studio Ghibli and other innovative animation studios meant that big budget feature films began to dominate the award and move it away from the kind of independent spirit the award was intended to honour. In response to this shift, the Mainichi Film Concours established the Animation Film Award (アニメーション映画賞) in 1989 to award the big budget films separately. Although feature films do still win the Noburō Ōfuji Award, they are usually low budget films, independent films, or films that the jury consider highly innovative. The wide range of animation styles considered in this category is apparent by just looking at recent winners: Koji Yamamura’s hand drawn A Country Doctor won for 2007, Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo for 2008, and in February 2010 Hideto Nakata’s puppet animation Elemi got the prize for 2009.
Non-Japanese directors have also been honoured when the animation has either been made in Japan (Michael Arias with Tekkon Kinkreet) or co-produced by Japanese partners (Aleksandr Petrov’s The Old Man and the Sea, Kihachiro Kawamoto et al.’s Winter Days).
I have pledged to see and review all of the Noburo Ofuji Award winning films. Here is the complete list of winners with links to completed reviews:
1962 TEZUKA Osamu
Story of a Certain Street Corner
ある街角の物語
Aru machikado no Monogatari
1963 Toei Doga
The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon
わんぱく王子の大蛇退治
Wanpaku Ōji no Daija taiji
1964 WADA Makoto
Satsujin – Murder
殺人 Murder
1965 KURI Yoji
1966 TEZUKA Osamu
Pictures at an Exhibition
展覧会の絵
Tenrankai no E
Tenrankai no E
1967 KURI Yoji
The Room
部屋
Heya
みにくいあひるのこ
Minikui Ahiru no Ko
Minikui Ahiru no Ko
The Kindly Lion
やさしいライオン
Yasashii Raion
Yasashii Raion
1970 OKAMOTO Tadanari
The Flower and the Mole
花ともぐら
Hana to Mogura
Home, My Home
ホーム・マイホーム
Homu mai homu
ホーム・マイホーム
Homu mai homu
1971 Video Tokyo
(KAWANO Akikazu and NAKAMURA Takeo)
Tenma no Torayan
てんまのとらやん
1972 KAWAMOTO Kihachiro
The Demon
鬼
Oni
1973 OKAMOTO Tadanari
Praise Be to Small Ills
南無一病息災
Nanmu Ichibyo Sokusai
Nanmu Ichibyo Sokusai
1974 KAWAMOTO Kihachiro
A Poet’s Life
詩人の生涯
Shijin no Shōgai
詩人の生涯
Shijin no Shōgai
1976 KAWAMOTO Kihachiro
Dojoji Temple
道成寺
Dōjōji
1977 OKAMOTO Tadanari
Towards the Rainbow
虹に向かって
Niji ni mukatte
1978 ----- no award ----
1979 MIYAZAKI Hayao
Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro
ルパン三世 カリオストロの城
Rupan sansei: Kariosutoro no shiro
Rupan sansei: Kariosutoro no shiro
1980 FURUKAWA Taku
Speed
スピード
1981 TAKAHATA Isao
Gauche the Cellist
セロ弾きのゴーシュ
Sero Hiki no Gōshu
Sero Hiki no Gōshu
1982 OKAMOTO Tadanari
The Magic Ballad
おこんじょうるり
Okonjōruri
Okonjōruri
1983 MASAKI Mori
(Gen Productions and Madhouse)
Barefoot Gen
はだしのゲン
Hadashi no Gen
Hadashi no Gen
1984 MIYAZAKI Hayao
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
風の谷のナウシカ
Kaze no Tani no Naushika
Kaze no Tani no Naushika
1985 SUGII Gisaburō
Night on the Galactic Railroad
銀河鉄道の夜
Ginga Tetsudō no Yoru
Ginga Tetsudō no Yoru
1986 MIYAZAKI Hayao
Laputa: Castle in the Sky
天空の城ラピュタ
Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta
Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta
1987 TEZUKA Osamu
Legend of the Forest
森の伝説
Mori no Densetsu
1988 MIYAZAKI Hayao
My Neighbour Totoro
となりのトトロ
Tonari no Totoro
Tonari no Totoro
1989 ----- no award ----
1990 KAWAMOTO Kihachiro
Briar Rose or the Sleeping Beauty
いばら姫、またはねむり姫
Ibara-hime, Mata ha Nemuri-hime
Ibara-hime, Mata ha Nemuri-hime
1991 OKAMOTO Tadanari
+ KAWAMOTO Kihachiro
(Sakura Eiga-sha and Echo)The Restaurant of Many Orders
注文の多い料理店
Chūmon no Ōi Ryōriten
Chūmon no Ōi Ryōriten
1992 ----- no award ----
1993 TAMURA Shigeru
URSA minor BLUE
銀河の魚
Ginga no Sakana
Ginga no Sakana
1994 ----- no award ----
1995 ŌTOMO Katsuhiro
Memories
メモリーズ
Memoriizu
1996 N+G Production
Home Alone
るすばん
Rusuban
1996 N+G Production
Home Alone
るすばん
Rusuban
1997 ----- no award ----
Water Spirit
水の精
Mizu no sei
Kappa Hyakuzu (河童百図)
1999 Aleksandr PETROV and his technical staff
The Old Man and the Sea
老人と海
Roujin to Umi
2000 KITAKUBO Hiroyuki
Blood – The Last Vampire
ブラッド ザ ラスト ヴァンパイア
2001 MIYAZAKI Hayao
The Whale Hunt
くじらとり
Kujira Tori
2002 KON Satoshi
Millennium Actress
千年女優
Sennen Joyū
2003 KAWAMOTO Kihachiro, et al.
Winter Days
冬の日
Fuyu no hi
2004 YUASA Masaaki
Mind Game
マインド・ゲーム
2005 KISHIMOTO Shintaro
Tough Guy!
2006 Michael ARIAS
Tekkon Kinkreet
鉄コン筋クリート
2007 YAMAMURA Koji
Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor
カフカ 田舎医者
Kafuka Inaka Isha
Kafuka Inaka Isha
2008 MIYAZAKI Hayao Miyazaki
Ponyo
崖の上のポニョ
Gake no Ue no Ponyo
Gake no Ue no Ponyo
2009 NAKATA Hideto
Elemi
2012 ŌTOMO Katsuhiro
Combustible
火要鎮
Hinoyōjin
Hinoyōjin
2013 ODA Akira
The Moon that Fell into the Sea
海に落ちた月の話
Umi ni Ochita Tsuki no Hanashi
Umi ni Ochita Tsuki no Hanashi
2014 Onohana
Crazy Little Thing
澱みの騒ぎ
澱みの騒ぎ
Yodomi no Sakagi
2015 ORIKASA Ryo
Datum Point
水準原点
Suijun Genten
2016 KATABUCHI Sunao
In This Corner of the World
この世界の片隅に
Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni
2017 YUASA Masaaki
Lu Over the Wall
夜明け告げるルーのうた
Yoake tsugeru ru no uta
2018 YAMADA Naoko
Liz and the Blue Bird
リズと青い鳥
Rizu to Aoi Tori
2019 KAWAJIRI Masanao
A Japanese Boy Who Draws
ある日本の絵描き少年
Aru Nihon no Egaki Shonen
2017 YUASA Masaaki
Lu Over the Wall
夜明け告げるルーのうた
Yoake tsugeru ru no uta
2018 YAMADA Naoko
Liz and the Blue Bird
リズと青い鳥
Rizu to Aoi Tori
2019 KAWAJIRI Masanao
A Japanese Boy Who Draws
ある日本の絵描き少年
Aru Nihon no Egaki Shonen
2020 IWAISAKI Kenji
On-Gaku - Our Sound
音楽
Ongaku
2021 YASHIRO Takeshi
Pukkulapottas and Hours in the Forest
プックラポッタと森の時間
Pukkurapotta to mori no jikan
