Yōko Sano


Yōko Sano was a Japanese writer and illustrator of children's books.

Life

Yōko Sano was born in Beijing, China, on 28 June 1938. A writer of many talents, she produced numerous children’s books. She is particularly well known for her book, and movie, The Cat Who Lived One Million Times. She traveled to Europe in 1967 and studied lithography in Berlin. In 1973 she published her first picture book, Sū-chan to neko. She went on to produce various styles of picture books, including Ojisan no kasa, Watashi no bōshi, and Nē tōsan. She also produced illustrations for others’ works and translated picture books into Japanese. Her script Jitensha buta ga yatte kita was used in stage performances for children by the Maru theater company. She died on 5 November 2010.
She was married to the poet Shuntarō Tanikawa, and illustrated a volume of his poems: Onna Ni, translated by William I. Elliott and Kazuo Kawamura.

Awards