Isao Takahata

Takahata was born in Mie Prefecture, although he spent most of his childhood and adolescence in Okayama Prefecture. He grew up in an environment where he had the opportunity to approach literature and music from an early age, and one of his first interests was the history of art, which he would undertake as a course of study. After completing his high school studies, he matriculated at the prestigious University of Tokyo, enrolling in the French literature course and earning a degree in 1954. A great admirer of Prévert’s poetry, which he discovered during his university period, so much so that he later translated his works from French to Japanese. A collection of these works was published in late 2004. While at university he developed an interest in film history and joined the film studies club and wrote articles on film in a student magazine.