Masako Watanabe - 1929-2026.

The official X page of manga author Masako Watanabe announced that she passed away peacefully at the age of 97 on Saturday, October 3rd.

In a statement, Watanabe shared a serene and graceful final farewell message offering heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported them throughout their life and asking loved ones to remember them peacefully in a place of beauty.

Watanabe was born in Tokyo on May 16th, 1929. She was a Japanese manga artist who began her professional career as a book illustrator in 1949. She switched to creating manga after reading Osamu Tezuka's works, debuting in 1952 with "Namida no Sanbika" or "Hymn of Tears". 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 shojo horror stories with "Blue Foxfire" and shojo mystery stories with "Glass Castle".

She received achievements including the Shogakukan Manga Award for Best General Manga in 1971, the Japan Cartoonists Association Award in 2002, and became the first female manga artist to receive the Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese government in 2006.

Watanabe shaped the foundation of shojo and josei manga over a career spanning more than seven decades. She produced over 100 published volumes and continued drawing and serializing work well into her 90s. She expanded the medium for adult women readers, publishing long-running and provocative series.

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Source:

- Masako Watanabe X page - https://x.com/masako_wtnb/status/2109792608163950717

 

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