Rieko Nakagawa

Nakagawa wrote the lyrics for the opening theme song for the 1988 Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro as well as to another song used in the film. She wrote the lyrics for over 20 other songs, including "Yūki" sung by Mana Ashida for the 81st NHK All Japan School Singing Competition.

• Name — Rieko Nakagawa • Native Name — 中川李枝子 • Birth Name — 大村李枝子 (Rieko Ōmura) • Born — 29 September 1935 • Birthplace — Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan • Died — 14 October 2024 • Occupation — Writer • Language — Japanese • Education — Tokyo Metropolitan High School Nursery School Academy • Period — 1962–2024 • Genre — Children's literature, essays • Notable Works — * Guri and Gura • Sora Iro no Tane

Rieko Ōmura was born on September 29, 1935, in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. When she was four years old, her family moved in with her grandfather in Tokyo, where she lived until she was in the third year of grade school. Her family then moved back to Sapporo for a short time before being evacuated at the end of World War II. Her father was transferred to Fukushima, where she lived until moving back to Tokyo during her second year of high school. She graduated from the Tokyo Metropolitan High School Nursery School Academy. Nakagawa died on October 14, 2024, at the age of 89.

While working as a nursery school worker, she wrote No-No Academy. In 1962, this book won the Minister of Health and Welfare Award, the Sankei Juvenile Publications Culture Award, the Noma Juvenile Cultural Arts Recommended Work Prize and the NHK Juvenile Literature Honorable Mention. Her 1980 book, Rock the Puppy Is Here was awarded the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award. The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature awarded the Kikuchi Kan Prize jointly with her younger sister Yuriko Yamawaki for their children's book series Guri and Gura. Nakagawa and Yamawaki have collaborated on many projects since that time, including on additional volumes in the Guri and Gura series, as well as works like Sora Iro no Tane and The Peach-Colored Giraffe. Nakagawa wrote a number of essays. She also wrote lyrics for multiple songs for the 1988 Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro, including Sanpo and Maigo. She wrote the lyrics for the song lit. "Courage" sung by Mana Ashida, which was released as a single with "Fight!!" in 2014. "Yūki" was the theme song for the 81st NHK All Japan School Singing Competition in the elementary school group.

This series has been published since 1967 by Fukuinkan Shoten. All of the books are illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki, though the first book is credited to Yuriko Ōmura (her maiden name). Several of these titles have been released in English, Korean, and other languages. • Guri and Gura (1967) • Guri and Gura's Surprise Visitor (1967) • Guri and Gura's Seaside Adventure (1977, serialized in Kodomo no Tomo) • Guri and Gura's Picnic Adventure (1983, serialized in Kodomo no Tomo) • Guri and Gura's Magical Friend (1992, serialized in Kodomo no Tomo) • Guri and Gura's Playtime Book of Seasons (1997) • Guri and Gura's A-I-U-E-O (2002) • Guri and Gura's Spring Cleaning (2002) • Guri and Gura's Songs of the Seasons (2003) • Guri and Gura's Special Gift (2003, serialized in Kodomo no Tomo) • Guri and Gura's 1-2-3 (2004) • Guri and Gura's Good Luck Charm (2009)

• Iyaiyaen (1962, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Ōmura) • Kaeru no Eruta (1964, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Ōmura) • Sora Iro no Tane (1964, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Ōmura) • Momo Iro no Kirin (1965, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Sōya Nakagawa) • Raion Midori no Nichiyoubi (1969, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) • Hajimete no Yuki (1970, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Sōya Nakagawa) • Obaa-san Guma to (1970, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Sōya Nakagawa) • Kaburi-chan (1971, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Sōya Nakagawa) • Kujiragumo (1971, Mitsumura Tosho Shuppan, Japanese language manual for 1st year elementary students) • Tanta no Tanken (1971, Gakken, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) • Kodanuki 6-piki (1972, Iwanami Shoten, illustrated by Sōya Nakagawa) • Kogitsune Konchi to Okaa-san (1971, Kodansha) • Tanta no Tantei (1975, Gakken, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) • Ohisama ha Harappa (1977, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) • Mori Obake (1978, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) • Koinu no Roku ga Yattekita (1979, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Sōya Nakagawa) • Torata to Maruta (1982, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Sōya Nakagawa) • Wanwan-mura no Ohanashi (1986, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) • Mitsuko no Kobuta (1986, Nora Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) • Ohayō (1986, Guranmamasha, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) • Oyasumi (1986, Guranmamasha, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) • Kenta - Usagi (1986, Nora Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) • Nazonazo Ehon (1988, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) • Ohisama Onegai Chichinpui (1991, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) • Takataka-yama no Taka-chan (1992, Nora Shoten, illustrated by Kakuta Nakagawa) • Torata to Ōyuki (1993, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Sōya Nakagawa) • Takara Sagashi (1994, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Ōmura) • Kuma-san Kuma-san (1995, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) • Torata to Yotto (1995, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Sōya Nakagawa) • Hanehane Hane-chan (1998, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) • Otegami (1998, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Sōya Nakagawa) • Kobuta Hoikuen (2001, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) • Kuma no Kokumakichi (2001, Child Honsha, illustrated by Kōzō Kakimoto) • Chiisai Michiko-chan (2006, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki, a selection of Kodomo no Tomo) • Nekotora-kun (2006, Fukuinkan Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki, a best selection of Kodomo no Tomo) • Neko no Ongaeshi (2007, Nora Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) • Itazura Kitsune (2008, Nora Shoten, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) Sources:

• Hon - Kodomo - Ehon (1982, Daiwa Shobō, illustrated by Yuriko Yamawaki) • Subarashiki Monogatari-tachi - Omoiyari no Aru Ko wo Sodateru Tame ni (1985, Froebel-kan, a conversation with Shirō Nakagawa) • Ehon to Watashi (1996, Fukuinkan Shoten)

• "Itazura Koneko" (composed by Hiroshi Hara) • "Ichinensei no Uta" (composed by Neko Saito) • "Kanagawa Kenritsu Hoiku Senmon Kaguin Inka" (composed by Kōsuke Ōide) • "Castella no Uta" (composed by Hisako Furuichi) • "Kirin no Kirika" (composed by Yasuko Kurihara) • "Kujiratori" (composed by Yuji Nomi) • "Zō to Raionmaru" (composed by Rieko Nakamura) • "Kuma-san no Odekake" (composed by Masamichi Takahashi and Mieko Okumura) • "Guri to Gura no Uta" (composed by Kikuko Kobayashi and Hoick) • "Gokigen Wani-san" (composed by Akihiro Komori, arranged by Akiko Yano, sung by Akiko Yano) • "Komazawa Olympic Kōen" (composed by Nobuyoshi Koshibe) • "Te wo Tsunagō" (composed by Makoto Moroi and Michio Mado) • My Neighbor Totoro (soundtrack and image albums): • "Sanpo" (composed and arranged by Joe Hisaishi) • "Maigo" (composed and arranged by Joe Hisaishi) • "Susuwatari" (composed and arranged by Joe Hisaishi) • "Okaa-san" (composed and arranged by Joe Hisaishi) • "Neko Basu" (composed and arranged by Joe Hisaishi) • "Fushigi Shiritori Uta" (composed and arranged by Joe Hisaishi) • "Tobidase Tankentai" (composed by Hiroshi Aoshima) • "Tonton Taisō" (with Michio Mado, composed by Joji Yuasa) • "Haru" (composed by Neko Saito) • "Boroichi Kazoeuta" (composed by Nobuyoshi Koshibe) • "Mado" (composed by Haruna Miyake) • "Mari-chan no Komoriuta" (composed by Masabumi Kikuchi) • "Yūki" (composed by Takatsugu Muramatsu)