Masako Watanabe
Encyclopedia
born 16 May 1929, in Tokyo
, Japan
is a Japanese
manga artist
. She began her professional career as an illustrator of books in 1949. She switched to creating manga
after reading Osamu Tezuka
's works, debuting in 1952 with Namida no Sanbika. She quickly became the most popular female manga artist of her time.
She was noted in the 1960s for using pastel colors instead of the bright primary colors common at the time, and for pioneering both shōjo
(written for teenage girls) horror stories with Blue Foxfire and shōjo mystery stories with Glass no Shiro ("Glass Castle"). In 1971, she received the Shogakukan Manga Award
for Glass no Shiro and Santa Rosalindo. In the 1980s, she turned from shōjo to sexually explicit redisu-josei (written for adult women), with such series as Kinpeibai, which is based on a 19th century Chinese erotic novel.
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
is a Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
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...
. She began her professional career as an illustrator of books in 1949. She switched to creating 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...
after reading Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka
was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...
's works, debuting in 1952 with Namida no Sanbika. She quickly became the most popular female manga artist of her time.
She was noted in the 1960s for using pastel colors instead of the bright primary colors common at the time, and for pioneering both shōjo
Shojo
The term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...
(written for teenage girls) horror stories with Blue Foxfire and shōjo mystery stories with Glass no Shiro ("Glass Castle"). In 1971, she received the Shogakukan Manga Award
Shogakukan Manga Award
The is one of Japan's major manga awards, sponsored by Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga since 1955 and features candidates from a number of publishers.The current award categories are:...
for Glass no Shiro and Santa Rosalindo. In the 1980s, she turned from shōjo to sexually explicit redisu-josei (written for adult women), with such series as Kinpeibai, which is based on a 19th century Chinese erotic novel.
External links
- Profile at The Ultimate Manga Guide