Chapter Commentaries 1

Akira Uno was born in Nagoya in 1934. His father was an interior decorator who got his son started drawing pictures. As a primary school student, he won poster contests, and so on, demonstrating his artistic talent at a young age. In junior high, he took art lessons and made rough sketches of nude models. He studied under artist Haru Miyawaki (1902-1985), who resided in the same city, and set his sights on becoming an artist. In 1949, Uno was accepted into the Design Course of Nagoya City Seiryo High School (present-day Nagoya City Industrial Arts High School), where he became interested in puppet theater.

He made and edited a book on pictures and impressions on the performances he saw. He also organized a puppet theater troupe and did everything from making puppets to directing. The troupe performed for children and Uno delighted in creating these staged productions. The experience became the foundation for his work in theater, which came later. As a high school sophomore, Uno was praised in a newspaper article titled "Murals to sculpture, this 16-year-old boy excels at all arts." In the years that followed, Uno won design contests sponsored by The Mainichi Newspaper, and his interest turned towards design.

At the age of 19, he was given a prize in a competition of the Japan Advertising Artists Club (JAAC or NISSEMBI), considered the gateway to a career in graphic design. One of the judges, Ayao Yamana, considered Uno an up-and-coming designer. He was later quoted as saying, "[Even then,] his brushwork technique was wonderful." [1]

In 1955, Uno left Nagoya for Tokyo, where his brilliant career as a graphic designer took off.

[1] Ayao Yamana, "About Akira Uno," Shunkan Design No. 20, Sakuma Shobo Design Document Dept., April 1959, p. 20.