Keiichi Tanaami. © NANZUKA all rights reserved.
AWN recently received the sad news of the death of Japanese visual artist and animator Keiichi Tanaami (1936-2024). Besides graphic designer and visual artist, Tanaami was an important independent filmmaker and played a significant role in the development of autonomous and experimental animation film in Japan.
NANZUKA gallery, which displayed art by Keiichi Tanaami, published the following letter on its website announcing the artist’s passing:
“I am sincerely grateful for your exceptional kindness and continued support.
I am deeply saddened to inform you that gallery artist Keiichi Tanaami passed away on August 9, 2024.
Tanaami was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome in late June 2024 and had since been receiving medical treatment. Later at the end of July, however, he suffered a sudden subarachnoid hemorrhage, from which he was sadly unable to recover.
It was Tanaami’s dream to hold his current retrospective at The National Art Center, Tokyo. He was more excited that anyone about this exhibition, which is truly the culmination of his career, and had engaged in treatment and rehabilitation with the aim of returning to work as soon as possible. However, despite his efforts his condition had suddenly worsened, and it is with great regret that I must announce his passing.
Born in Tokyo before WWII, Tanaami lived through Japan’s turbulent postwar period as a true creative, and on many occasions found himself on the verge of life and death, not only through his childhood experiences of war, but also through his battles with illnesses such as colitis, tuberculosis, and cancer. Tanaami had remarkably sublimated even these painful life experiences into works of art, continuing to actively pursue his artistic practice until his final moments. In the latter part of his life, he devoted himself not only to his own creative endeavors, but also to nurturing younger generations of artists.
Tanaami never doubted his own recovery until the very end. While battling his illness, he had joked and laughed stating, ‘the last scene of my television documentary that’s currently in production might just turn out to be my funeral.’ I myself deeply respected and had learned a great deal from his attitude of always keeping a sense of humor, yet never compromising. Tanaami was indeed the blood, flesh, and bones of NANZUKA. During his lifetime, Tanaami had described his recent animations and painting works as “the world in which [he] will live in after death.” I am sure that Tanaami’s soul will continue to live forever in this paradise that he himself has built, enjoying his time with his wife, friends, and all the strange yet marvelous creatures and monsters that inhabit it.
I sincerely hope that the works of art that Tanaami had poured both his life and soul into will continue to live on in the history of art and in the hearts of all who see them.
In accordance with Tanaami’s wishes, his funeral was held solely in attendance of his close relatives and associates. A separate farewell ceremony is planned for a later date, with further details to be announced.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest and most sincere gratitude to all of his fans and to all those who have continued to provide their kind and on-going support.
Shinji Nanzuka
Chief Director, NANZUKA”
