Béatrice Tanaka
Béatrice Tanaka (March 1, 1932 – April 21, 2016) was a Romanian Brazilian theater designer, writer, and illustrator.
Early life and family
In 1932, Béatrice Tanaka was born Béatrice Lauder in Cernăuți, in what was then Romania, now Ukraine.[1][2][3][4]
Her family was Jewish, and they fled Europe for Palestine as the Nazis seized power, eventually settling in Brazil in 1947.[1][2][3][4]
In the 1950s, she met the Japanese Brazilian artist Flavio-Shiró, whom she married, taking his surname, Tanaka.[1][2] The couple had two children and lived between Paris and Rio de Janeiro until her 2016 death in Paris.[1][3]
Career
After moving to Brazil, Tanaka studied education, language, and design in Belo Horizonte.[1] She later studied theater at the Sorbonne and other institutions in Paris.[3][4]
Beginning in 1955, she worked as a scenographer and designer for the theater, largely focusing on plays for young audiences.[1][4][5] In 1961, she was honored as best costume designer at the São Paulo Art Biennial.[2]
Tanaka began writing for magazines in 1961.[4] She went on to write and illustrate of more than 40 books for children and adults.[2][3] She was inspired to writer her first book, Le Trésor de l'Homme : contes et images du Viet Nam, in 1971, in response to the Vietnam War.[4][5]
She had a particular interest in folk tales and popular culture.[4] Among her books are several in French on Brazilian culture: La Légende de Chico Rei, Contes et Mythes des Indiens du Brésil, and Contes Afro-Brésiliens.[1][2]
In 2010, she published Sous d’étranges étoiles, a memoir of her youth.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Moribe, Patricia (2016-05-01). "Morre em Paris Béatrice Tanaka, especialista em cultura popular brasileira". RFI (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Rendez-vous cultural - Tradição popular do Brasil é destaque em livros na França". RFI (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2015-02-23. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Catinchi, Philippe-Jean (2016-05-04). "La mort de Béatrice Tanaka, « passeuse de contes »". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Clauss, Elizabeth (2022). How Are Children's Books Used to Teach France's Core Republican Value of Equality in Middle School? (Thesis). Retrieved 2026-06-29.
- 1 2 Waflart, Amandine (2005-04-11). "Béatrice Tanaka". Ricochet-Jeunes (in French). Archived from the original on 2010-02-02.