Tatsuo Shimamura

Tatsuo Shimamura graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts in 1958. He joined Toei Animation the same year as part of the first group of new recruits to work on Hakujaden the first Japanese animated feature film in full color. He went on to work at Gakken and Tokyo Commercial before going independent in 1973 and establishing Shimamura Planning Office. One year later he established the renowned animation studio Shirogumi of which he remains chairman and representative director. Shimamura is an animator commercial director filmmaker special effects director and producer who has worked on about 1200 projects. He directed multiple animated short films and won the Second Prize in Category B at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival 1985 and the Oofuji Noburou Award at the Mainichi Film Awards 1998. Furthermore he is a professor at Kyoto University of Art and Design a board member of VFXJAPAN and honorary member of the Japanese Animation Association.