The World's Weakest Hero

July 21, 1996 was an unforgettable day for Kahokucho, Kochi Prefecture. It was the grand opening of the Yanase Takashi Memorial Anpanman Museum. Outside the museum, cars were in a line over 2 kilometers, waiting for their entry into the museum.

The turnout was a huge deal for Kahokucho, a small country town with a population of 5,000. Nobody had expected such a large number of visitors on opening day. The museum reached its annual goal of 100,000 visitors in just forty-nine days. The people of Kochi Prefecture were happily surprised at the reminder that Anpanman is a cultural icon in Japan.

Takashi Yanase - Manga Artist from Kochi Prefecture
Takashi Yanase is the author and creator of Anpanman. He was born in 1919. Yanase was a manga artist and a picture book author. He was also a poet, designer and editor. Yanase created many works in various fields until he passed away at age ninety-four.

Yanase was raised in Kahokucho, a town in Kami City, Kochi Prefecture. The Monobe river runs through this quiet country town surrounded by mountains. It is where the Anpanman Museum is located. Yanase looked up to Ryuichi Yokoyama, a manga artist also from Kochi Prefecture. With high hopes he moved to Tokyo to become a manga artist. However in Tokyo, Yanase struggled to get recognition for his manga. He kept drawing manga but also worked as a designer, writer for TV and radio, artistic director for theater and as an interviewer to make a living.

At the time, Yanase’s style of manga incorporated Ryuichi Yokoyama’s style of nonsensical comedic cartoons. However, other artists such as Osamu Tezuka were creating manga with a thorough story structure and these were gaining popularity. Yanase’s manga were pushed into a less popular genre. Yanase was struggling to be recognized as a manga artist but he did not give up. A memorable comic drawn by Yanase from that time is Mr. Bou. A comic strip that features a faceless main character. In Japanese, bou is a Chinese character used to represent anonymity or to unspecify a certain person. The comic strip feels ironic reflecting Yanase’s life as an unrecognized artist.

How Anpanman became a national hero

Anpanman is Yanase’s most well-known work. The origins of Anpanman can be traced back to a children’s story that Yanase wrote and illustrated in 1969. The story depicted an unsung hero, an ordinary man who gave anpan (bread filled with sweet bean paste) to hungry children who lived in poverty. This story was developed into a picture book. The Anpanman we know of today was created in this book. The book gained popularity in many kindergartens. In 1988, Anpanman was developed into a TV animation series. As soon as broadcast began, it became an instant hit all over Japan. Yanase, sixty-nine years old, finally got his major career break as a professional manga artist.

The World’s Weakest Hero

A theme throughout Yanase’s work is to always stand up for the weak. The foundation of this theme reflects Yanase’s own experience of not having major career success until his sixties and his harrowing experience during the Second World War. Miyuki Semba, Director of Yanase Takashi Memorial Anpanman Museum Promotion Foundation, tells us the details.

Yanase lost his younger brother to the Second World War. He was also conscripted and sent to China. On the front he faced unimaginable starvation. Yanase said, during the war the Japanese were taught the war was a fight for justice, but when it ended the facts were opposite of what we had been taught. When Japan lost the war, Yanase felt that justice as he had known it was overturned. This led him to question the true meaning of justice. The answer he he came up with; “Giving a piece of bread to a hungry man even if it means to sacrifice yourself.” He felt that was the kind of unwavering justice that every man could be responsible for.

Yanase described Anpanman as the “world’s weakest hero”, and true to this definition, Anpanman is full of weaknesses. His powers can’t be used if he gets wet and when he uses his power by giving away a piece of his face, he becomes weaker. Anpanman’s weaknesses was Yanase’s way of showing that “Real justice is not almighty, it gets hurt.” Anpanman’s story is not the tale of a chosen hero, but a tale of sacrifice to save a hungry person with love and courage. It was a new and unique definition of heroism.

The World of Yanase Takashi by the Mountains

Some visitors may expect a colorful and cute world awaiting them at the Anpanman Museum. However, those expectations are overturned upon arrival. The museum’s concrete and glass structure emits a quiet and calm feeling. Yanase envisioned “Because nature surrounds the building, the atmosphere should be simple and tasteful.” As a designer, he was acutely aware of the relationship between architecture and environment.

Humorous and poetic words dot the hallways, characters peek out here and there on the floors and walls. There is no set route through the museum. The design allows visitors to explore the world of Anpanman and enjoy it at their own pace.

From Low Blow to Highbrow

Poetry and Marchen (Fairytales) is a publication that Yanase is recognized for along with Anpanman. This was a magazine that featured poetry and illustration contributed mainly by readers. Since the launch of the magazine, Yanase illustrated the cover and edited every single issue for thirty years. The magazine ended in 2003, but its high quality and lyrical world still captivates many fans today.

The Poetry and Marchen Hall, an art museum dedicated to Yanase’s picture books and illustrations, is located behind the Anpanman Museum. The art museum gives children who entered the Anpanman Museum, an opportunity to interact more deeply with drawings and fine-art. In an interview with Yanase conducted right after the museum opened, he spoke about his hopes for the Poetry and Marchen Hall.

“The Anpanman Museum is made mainly for children. I think some of those children will like the drawings and become interested in fine-art. The entrance is wide, as you go further it connects to a deeper high-brow world.”

Characters Brighten up Kochi

The characters of Anpanman can be seen all around Kochi Prefecture outside of the Anpanman Museum. Takashi Yanase’s characters continue to be loved by the people of Kochi.

The Anpanman Train

A train decorated with various Anpanman illustrations. The train began running in 2000 as an express train connecting Okayama Prefecture and Kochi Prefecture. It currently runs in various areas of Shikoku Island.

Local Characters of Kochi Prefecture

Yanase contributed many image character designs to Kochi Prefecture. Yanase designed original characters for all twenty train stations of the Tosa Kuroshio Railway that runs through the eastern area of Kochi. He designed over fifty original characters just within Kochi. Some highlights are the thirteen characters representing Kami City based on motifs of local produce such as peaches and gingko nuts and Kochi’s disaster prevention promotional character. Yanase designed most of these public works free of charge for Kochi. The Head Manager of the Yanase Takashi Memorial Anpanman Museum Promotion Foundation Miyuki Semba speaks about Yanase’s strong ties to his hometown.

“Yanase lost his father when he was five years old. After his mother remarried, he was raised by his uncle and aunt. Yanase didn’t have any children of his own and he yearned for the unconditional love between parent and child. Yanase began to work more frequently in Kochi as he grew older. I think he felt deeply that Kochi was his home where he could return to and wanted to give back to the people of Kochi.”

The Yanase Takashi Magnolia Park is built on the site of Yanase’s father’s former home where Yanase spent his childhood. Yanase’s words are carved in the gravestone where his ashes are buried.

I want to be a magnolia tree
In the season
Bashful and shy
White flowers will bloom
I want to sway with the breeze

During his lifetime Yanase wrote, designed and created countless stories and characters. Anpanman grew to become a nationally adored character, loved by so many children in Japan. His creations drew breath from his hometown of Kochi and continue to bring joy to many people.