is a Japanese manga artist

Mangaka

is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...

 born in Kamifukuoka

Kamifukuoka, Saitama

was the name of a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan.On October 1, 2005, Kamifukuoka merged with the town of Ōi in Iruma District to form the new city of Fujimino....

, Saitama Prefecture

Saitama Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History...

, Japan, though she grew up in Mibu

Mibu, Tochigi

is a town located in Shimotsuga District, Tochigi, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 39,911 and a density of 653.42 persons per km². The total area is 61.08 km².-External links:*...

, Shimotsuga

Shimotsuga District, Tochigi

is a district located in Tochigi, Japan.As of 2011, the district has an estimated population of 83,304 and a density of 603 persons per km². The total area is 138.07 km².-Merger:...

, Tochigi Prefecture

Tochigi Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the Kantō region on the island of Honshū, Japan. The capital is the city of Utsunomiya.Nikkō, whose ancient Shintō shrines and Buddhist temples UNESCO has recognized by naming them a World Heritage Site, is in this prefecture...

. Hiiragi currently resides in Hakodate

Hakodate, Hokkaido

is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture.Hakodate was Japan's first city whose port was opened to foreign trade in 1854 as a result of Convention of Kanagawa, and used to be the most important port in northern Japan...

, Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

.

Hiiragi made her manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 debut with Cobalt Blue no Hitoshizuku in the manga magazine Ribon Original

Ribon Original

Ribon Original was a shōjo manga magazine published by Shueisha. It was a sister magazine of Ribon, and was published from 1981 until 2006. New and up-and-coming Ribon manga artists often had their first short stories published in this magazine...

 in 1984. Many consider stories such as Hoshi no Hitomi no Silhouette and Gin'iro no Harmony to be her masterpieces. However, she is most well known for her Whisper of the Heart

Whisper of the Heart

Whisper of the Heart, known in Japan as is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Aoi Hiiragi. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's shōjo manga magazine Ribon between August and November 1989. A single bound volume was released in February 1990...

 manga, which was made into an anime film

Whisper of the Heart (film)

is a 1995 Japanese animated drama film based on the manga of the same name by Aoi Hiiragi. It was directed by Yoshifumi Kondō and written by Hayao Miyazaki. It was the first theatrical Studio Ghibli feature to be directed by someone other than Miyazaki or Takahata, and the only film to be directed...

 by Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli

is a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...

. Baron, Neko no Danshaku, was also animated by Studio Ghibli and released as The Cat Returns

The Cat Returns

is a Japanese animated fantasy film directed by Hiroyuki Morita, produced by Studio Ghibli and theatrically released in Japan in 2002 and in 2003 in the United States through Walt Disney Pictures....

. While a sequel of sorts, it is not a continuation of the story found in Whisper.

Series

• Gin'iro no Harmony (Ribon, 1990–1992)
• Hoshi no Hitomi no Silhouette (Ribon
  Ribon
  is a monthly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shueisha. First issued in August 1955, its rivals are Nakayoshi and Ciao. Its target audience is young girls roughly 9–13 years old. In 2009, the magazine's circulation was 274,167, down from the previous year's circulation numbers of 330,000...
  
  , 1985–1989)
• Hoshi no Hitomi no Silhouette Bangaihen
  • Oinari-san Dai Panic (Ribon, 1988)
  • Engage (Ribon Original, 1991)
  • Engage II
• Kono Machi de Kimi ni (Margaret, 2002)
• "Okaa-san" no Jikan
• Peppermint Graffiti (Ribon Original, 1994)
• Mimi wo Sumaseba
  Whisper of the Heart
  Whisper of the Heart, known in Japan as is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Aoi Hiiragi. The manga was serialized in Shueisha's shōjo manga magazine Ribon between August and November 1989. A single bound volume was released in February 1990...
  
   (Ribon, 1989)
• Mimi wo Sumaseba: Shiawase na Jikan (Ribon Original, 1995)
• Smile! (Margaret, 1998)
• Step (Ribon, 1993)
• Yuki no Sakura no Ki no Shita de... (Bouquet, 1997)
• Yume no Machi: Neko no Danshaku (Margaret, 2002)

One-shots

• Campus Sketch
• Cobalt Blue no Hitoshizuku (her debut work)
• Harukaze no Melody
• Hajimemashite
• Joshikō no Okite
• Kikyou no Saku Goro
• Kisetsu no Shiori
• Kono Machi de Anata ni
• Kono Machi de Issho ni
• Kono Machi de Kimi ni
• Mahō no Toketa Princess
• Naimono Nedari
• Naimono Nedari 2
• Otome Gokoro·Yume Gokoro
• Shōjo Shōkei
• Spring!
• Yuki no Sakura no Ki no Shita de...
• Yume no Kaori no Tea Time

Image album

• Hoshi no Hitomi no Silhouette Image album (Warner/Pioneer, 1987)