This database archives and brings visibility to the contributions of women in Japanese animation culture. By accumulating interviews and biographies, we introduce these creators, producers, and staff widely in both Japanese and English. Our goal is to provide valuable information not only for researchers studying Japanese animation, but also for industry professionals and students aspiring to work in the field.
This database is operated through a collaboration between the WIJA (Women in Japanese Animation) project and DoCK Visual Media Research Center at Tokyo University of the Arts.
What is the WIJA Project?
The WIJA (Women in Japanese Animation) Project has launched in April 2024, pursuing two research objectives with the support of a 2023 grant from the Hoso Bunka Foundation. One objective of the project is to investigate gender representation in Japanese animation works in relation to women’s decision-making positions. The other is to create a database of female creators, producers, and staff whose contributions to Japanese animation we wish to introduce to future generations, and to publish it on our website in both Japanese and English. While the world of animation is often discussed in terms of major male directors, we strongly believe in making visible and archiving the contributions and achievements of the women who have supported Japanese animation culture up to the present day.
WIJA Project Members
Akiko Sugawa-Shimada (Professor, Yokohama National University)
Minori Ishida (Professor, Niigata University)
Miyuki Yonemura (Professor, Senshu University)
Yuko Miyamoto (Associate Professor, Meiji Gakuin University)
WIJA Project Research Collaborators
Jinko Gotoh (Vice President, WIA (Women in Animation))
Hideyuki Otsubo (Secretary General, Japan Animators and Creators Association)
Magnus Pfeffer (Professor, Stuttgart Media University)
Zoltan Kacsuk (JVMG Project Researcher, Stuttgart Media University)
The WIJA Project has received the following grants to date:
JST CRONOS (JPMJCS25K1), ” Foundational Techniques for Malleable Tools for a Reciprocal Anime Co-creation Environment (Animāre)” (FY2026, Principal Investigator: Jun Kato)
Hoso Bunka Foundation Grant, Humanities and Social Sciences Division (FY2024, FY2025, FY2026)
What is the DoCK Visual Media Research Center?
The DoCK Visual Media Research Center at Tokyo University of the Arts is a practice-based research hub for comprehensive talent development, centered on training creators and producers capable of producing outstanding visual expression that resonates internationally, while also extending to the development of researchers and educators. Building on deep expertise in animation, film, and related fields, DoCK drives the Development of Co-Creative Knowledge (DoCK)—knowledge born from new, cross-disciplinary connections that transcend existing frameworks and the boundaries between academia, industry, and government—and shares its outcomes widely with the worlds of education, industry, and public administration. This database was developed as part of “Program 09: Pedagogical Innovation & Media Tools,” one of DoCK’s ten programs.
DoCK Visual Media Research Center Database Development Members
Taruto Fuyama (Professor, Graduate School of Film and New Media, Tokyo University of the Arts)
Yukari Sakata (Project Lecturer, DoCK Visual Media Research Center, Tokyo University of the Arts)
Through the Fund to Strengthen the Foundation of Cultural and Artistic Activities (commonly known as the Japan Creator Support Fund)—established with subsidies from the Agency for Cultural Affairs and administered by the Japan Arts Council—the “Creator Support Project (Development and Implementation of Training Programs)” is being carried out to nurture globally active talent among students and working professionals. Since fiscal year 2025, the DoCK Visual Media Research Center has received support from this Japan Creator Support Fund and is working to develop practical training programs and curricula.
Terms of Use
Reproduction or republication of any documents published in this database, without proper attribution of the source, is strictly prohibited.
©WIJA Project + The DoCK Visual Media Research Center, All Rights Reserved