Watanabe, Masako

When she got married in 1949, her husband was a student. She drew illustrations in books to support him. One day she read Tezuka's manga. She was enchanted by manga and decided to become a mangaka.
After she gave birth to a son in 1952, she visited many publishers to show her works until Wakagi-shobou gave her a job. Wakagi-shobou published tankoubon called "Akahon". "Suama-chan" was the first of her works.
In the sixties, she wrote a lot of mother-and-daughter stories, twin-sisters stories and horrors.
In the late seventies, she started writing ladies' comics. She is writing "Kinpeibai", which is based on a Chinese classic, in Mistery Jour.

Received the 16th Shogakukan Manga Award with GARASU NO SHIRO in 1971; the Japan Cartoonist Award in 2002; the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award; the 4th Class, Order of the Rising Sun in 2006. Currently, professor of the Art Department of University of Creation, Art, Music & Social Work.

She has also worked in costume design, including for the high-camp crime drama The Black Lizard.