Manga Artist Tetsuya Chiba, Creator of Ashita no Joe, Dies at 87
Chiba drew Ashita no Joe in Weekly Shounen Magazine from 1967 to 1973 and continued serializing Hinemosu Notari Nikki into 2025.
Tetsuya Chiba, the manga artist best known for Ashita no Joe, died on October 27 at the age of 87, according to myanimelist.net.
Chiba drew Ashita no Joe, written by Ikki Kajiwara, in Weekly Shounen Magazine from January 1967 until May 1973. Kodansha published the 20th and final volume in June 1973, and the series sold a cumulative 25 million copies.
Chiba made his professional debut in 1956 with Fukushuu no Semushi. He went on to write and illustrate Ore wa Teppei in Weekly Shounen Magazine from August 1973 to April 1980, and serialized the sumo manga Notari Matsutarou in Big Comic from July 1973 to April 1999. He also drew the golf manga Ashita Tenki ni Naare in Weekly Shounen Magazine from October 1980 to May 1991.
His honors included the Kodansha Culture Award in 1976 and the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1978. In 2018 he received the Special Prize at the 22nd Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for Hinemosu Notari Nikki.
Chiba's serialization Hinemosu Notari Nikki began in Big Comic in December 2015, and Shogakukan published its seventh volume in November 2025.
Quick answers
Who wrote Ashita no Joe?
Ikki Kajiwara wrote Ashita no Joe, and Tetsuya Chiba drew it.
How old was Tetsuya Chiba when he died?
He was 87.
What was Tetsuya Chiba's latest serialization?
Hinemosu Notari Nikki, which began in Big Comic in December 2015.