Masako Watanabe

She is one of the masters of shoujo manga in 60s, who has been active since the early days of Japanese shoujo manga and still continues to write even now.
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.