Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, he is married to Mei Okuyama (奥山 芽以, Okuyama Mei), a jewelry artist and the niece of acclaimed anime director Hayao Miyazaki.
[1] He co-directed The Dam Keeper which was nominated for the Oscar for short animated film.
[4] The Dam Keeper has been developed volume graphic novel published by First Second Books:[5] In 2008, Dice (along with Ronnie del Carmen.
[9] This initiative also produced a corresponding art book reprinting the various pieces contributed and included the likes of James Jean, Charles Vess, Iain McCaig and William Joyce among others.
[10] He is also overseeing Sketchtravel (with Gerald Guerlais) which purpose is passing a real sketchbook "from one artist's hand to another like an Olympic torch in an artistic relay through 12 countries over 4 and half years", and the end result auctioned off to benefit the various chosen charities that the participating artists choose.