Toyoharu Yoshida (Japanese: 吉田豊治, Hepburn: Yoshida Toyoharu, January 1, 1940 – July 1, 2023), better known as Ippei Kuri (九里一平, Kuri Ippei), was a Japanese manga artist and the third president of animation production company Tatsunoko Production.
As a child, he read comics such as Superman that were discarded by American troops stationed in Japan during the Allied occupation following World War II.
[2] He attended Kyoto Municipal Rakuyō High School (now Kyoto Municipal Rakuyō Technical High School), but left in 1958 before graduating to join his older brother Kenji in Tokyo to work as a manga artist.
[3] Kuri worked as an assistant for his older brother Tatsuo, who was already a successful illustrator and manga artist.
When Tatsunoko Production became a subsidiary of the major toy manufacturer Takara on July 1, 2005, Kuri stepped down as president.