Tetsuya Chiba is a Japanese manga artist famous for his sports stories. He was born in Chuo, Tokyo, Japan, but lived most of his early childhood in Shenyang, Liaoning when northeast China was colonized by Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War. His father was working in a paper factory when they lived in China. Two of his younger brothers are manga artists: Akio Chiba, and Shigeyuki Chiba who is almost completely unknown outside Japan, despite writing many popular sports manga in Japan. Shigeyuki Chiba works under the pen name Taro Nami. Chiba's works include Ashita no Joe, his best known work, and Notari Matsutarō. Many of his early titles are still in print due to continued popularity. He lives in Nerima, Tokyo.
History
At the end of the Sino-Japanese War, Chiba's family lived in the attic of a work-acquaintance of his father until they could find a way to get back to Japan. In 1950, while in elementary school, he made a manga club with his friends. He created his first official manga, Fukushu no Semushi,, in 1956. In 1958, he made his professional debut in Shōjo Book with Butōkai no Shōjo. In the 1960s, he wrote shōnen and shōjo manga at the same time. In 1965 he married his wife, Yukiko. He is personally friends with Moto Hagio and Leiji Matsumoto. He has received several awards for his manga, including the KodanshaChildren's Manga Award for 1, 2, 3, & 4, 5, 6, Kodansha Culture Award for Ore wa Teppei, and the Japanese Cartoonist Association Award and Shogakukan Manga Award for Notari Matsutaro. In 2001 he was awarded the Award from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for his work on youth sports manga. In July 2012 he was appointed as the chairman of the Japan Cartoonists Association after Takashi Yanase stepped down due to age and health reasons. In Fall 2012 he was awarded with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, by the Japanese government. Chiba's series Harris no Kaze, Ashita no Joe, Akane-chan, Ore wa Teppei, Ashita Tenki ni Naare and Notari Masutaro have all received anime adaptations. Yuki no Taiyou received a short pilot film in 1972, which was Hayao Miyazaki's solo directorial debut, and an animated film for Kaze no Yo ni premiered in June 2016.
