Manga Creator Masako Watanabe Dies at 97
Watanabe, who won the 1971 Shogakukan Manga Award for Glass no Shiro, was the first female manga creator to receive the Order of the Rising Sun.
Manga creator Masako Watanabe died at the age of 97, according to Anime News Network. No date for her death was given.
Watanabe was born in Tokyo on May 16, 1929. She specialized in shojo and josei manga and debuted in 1952 with the story "Suama-chan."
In 1971 she won the 16th Shogakukan Manga Award for Glass no Shiro (Glass Castle). Her 1985 manga Hitori Matsuri inspired a live-action television drama.
Watanabe earned the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award at the 31st Japan Cartoonists Association Awards in 2002. She was the director of the Japan Cartoonists Association.
In 2006 she became the first female manga creator to receive the Order of the Rising Sun decoration. She launched the manga Himegoto in 2020, at the age of 91.
Quick answers
Who was Masako Watanabe?
Masako Watanabe was a manga creator born in Tokyo on May 16, 1929. She specialized in shojo and josei manga and debuted in 1952 with the story "Suama-chan."
What awards did Masako Watanabe win?
She won the 16th Shogakukan Manga Award in 1971 for Glass no Shiro, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award at the 31st Japan Cartoonists Association Awards in 2002, and in 2006 became the first female manga creator to receive the Order of the Rising Sun decoration.
What was Masako Watanabe's last manga?
She launched the manga Himegoto in 2020, at the age of 91.