Abstract

Ryohei Yanagihara is known as the creator of Uncle Torys, the Torys Whisky advertising character that first appeared in the 1950s and is still beloved today. As an illustrator and graphic designer, he worked on various advertisements, magazine illustrations, book covers, picture books, and was also active in manga, animation, and writing. He was also known as a big fan of ships, and as a "ship painter" he produced many papercuts, watercolors, and oil paintings, holding exhibitions all over the country. This book is a collection of Yanagihara's works that provides a comprehensive view of his diverse creative activities, 10 years after his death.

Author’s Information

Painter/illustrator/graphic designer Born in 1931. After graduating from Kyoto City University of Arts, he joined Kotobukiya (now Suntory Holdings) in 1954. He worked on many of the company's advertisements, and is known as the creator of Torys Whisky's character "Uncle Torys". He also participated in the establishment of the advertising production company Sun-Ad. After going independent, he was active in many areas, including book design and illustrations, manga, picture book production, and essay writing. Known as a huge fan of ships, he created many original works with ships as a motif, and actively exhibited them. He passed away in 2015 at the age of 84 on August 17th, his birthday. A large-scale retrospective will be held in 2025, 10 years after his death.