Machiko Hasegawa
Machiko Hasegawa ( 長 谷 川 町 子 , Hasegawa
Machiko, January 30, 1920 – May 27, 1992) was a Machiko Hasegawa
Japanese manga artist and one of the first female
manga artists.[1] She started her own comic strip,
Sazae-san, in 1946. It reached national circulation via
the Asahi Shimbun in 1949,[2] and ran daily until
Hasegawa decided to retire in February 1974. All of
her comics were printed in Japan in digest comics; by
the mid-1990s, Hasegawa's estate had sold over 60
million copies in Japan alone.
Life and career
Machiko Hasegawa was born January 30, 1920, in
Taku, Saga Prefecture. When she was 15, her father
died and the family moved to Tokyo, where she took
Hasegawa in 1955
up drawing cartoons.[3] She successfully published
several in magazines and newspapers, such as Sazae- Born January 30, 1920
san (サザエさん, 1946–1974),[4] Ijiwaru Bā-san (い Taku, Saga Prefecture, Empire of
じわるばあさん, "Granny Mischief", 1966–1971),[5] Japan
Epuron Oba-san (エプロンおばさん, "Aunt Apron", Died May 27, 1992 (aged 72)
1957–1965),[6] and a few that only ran for a short Tokyo, Japan
while. Her comics were the first to follow a consistent Nationality Japanese
four-panel layout, which later became the standard.
Occupation Manga artist
Hasegawa never married, instead living with her older Known for Sazae-san
sister Mariko. Both were art collectors, and their Awards See below
collection is housed in the Hasegawa Machiko Art
Museum.[7] The two started the Shimaisha Publishing Company, through which 20 million paperback
copies of her comics have been published. Hasegawa died of heart failure on May 27, 1992, at the age of
72. Towards the end of her life she stopped appearing in public and on television, and her death was kept
a secret for 35 days after her private funeral as requested in her will.[3]
Sazae-san
Sazae-san was a popular postwar comic strip depicting the life of Sazae-san, a fictional Japanese
housewife.[8]
The comic strip was turned into a dramatic radio series in 1955 and a weekly animated series in 1969,
which is still running as of 2024.
Hasegawa was involved in a court case with a bus company's unapproved use of Sazae-san and its
characters in promotional images, as well as the name of the business, "Sazae-san Tours". As a result of
this case, new copyright laws were established that extended protection for fictional characters as
individual identities, not just within their series of origin.[9]
Selected comics were translated into English, under the title The Wonderful World of Sazae-san.
Awards
Hasegawa won the 8th Bungeishunjū Manga Award for Sazae-san in 1962.[10] She was the first female
manga artist to receive Japan's Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon in 1982.[10][11] She also received the
4th Tokyo Cultural Award in 1988;[10] the Order of the Precious Crown, Fourth Class in 1990;[10] the
Minister of Education Award for Sazae-san at the 20th Japan Cartoonists Association Awards in
1991;[4][12] the 10th People's Honor Award in 1992;[13][14] and the Special Prize at the 24th Tezuka
Osamu Cultural Prizes in 2020.[15]
See also
Hasegawa Machiko Art Museum
References
1. Schodt, Frederik L. (1985). "Reading the Comics". The Wilson Quarterly. 9 (3): 64.
JSTOR 40256891 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/40256891).
2. 沿革：朝日新聞社インフォメーション (https://web.archive.org/web/20100528163429/http://
www.asahi.com/shimbun/history.html) (in Japanese). The Asahi Shimbun Company.
Archived from the original (http://www.asahi.com/shimbun/history.html) on May 28, 2010.
Retrieved January 26, 2010.
3. Kirkup, James (July 13, 1992). "Obituary: Hasegawa Machiko" (https://www.independent.co.
uk/news/people/obituary-hasegawa-machiko-1533204.html). The Independent. Retrieved
March 25, 2018.
4. サザエさん (https://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%82%B5%E3%82%B6%E3%82%A8%E3%81%9
5%E3%82%93-191309). Digital Daijisen Plus (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved
April 19, 2021 – via Kotobank.
5. いじわるばあさん (https://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%81%84%E3%81%98%E3%82%8F%E
3%82%8B%E3%81%B0%E3%81%82%E3%81%95%E3%82%93-694433). Digital Daijisen
Plus (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved April 19, 2021 – via Kotobank.
6. エプロンおばさん (https://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%82%A8%E3%83%97%E3%83%AD%E
3%83%B3%E3%81%8A%E3%81%B0%E3%81%95%E3%82%93-697920). Digital Daijisen
Plus (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved April 19, 2021 – via Kotobank.
7. Wada, Yuhei (December 27, 2010). "The World of Red and White" (https://web.archive.org/
web/20120603163851/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fa20101224b1.html). The Japan
Times. Archived from the original (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fa20101224b1.html) on
June 3, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
8. Garon, Sheldon (2000). "Luxury is the Enemy: Mobilizing Savings and Popularizing Thrift in
Wartime Japan". Journal of Japanese Studies. 26 (1): 71. doi:10.2307/133391 (https://doi.or
g/10.2307%2F133391). JSTOR 133391 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/133391).
9. Port, Kenneth L. (1988). "Copyright Protection of Fictional Characters in Japan" (http://open.
mitchellhamline.edu/facsch/141). Wisconsin International Law Journal. 205: 214–219 – via
Mitchell Hamline School of Law.
10. 第24回受賞作品：特別賞 長谷川町子 (https://www.asahi.com/corporate/award/tezuka/13367
842#menu04) (in Japanese). The Asahi Shimbun Company. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
11. Ransom, Ko (April 27, 2012). "Hagio Is 1st Shōjo Manga Creator to Win Japan's Purple
Ribbon (Updated)" (https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-04-27/hagio-is-1st-fem
ale-manga-creator-to-win-japan-purple-ribbon). Anime News Network. Retrieved April 19,
2021. "Machiko Hasegawa was the first female manga creator to receive the medal."
12. Hahn, Joel. "Japanese Cartoonists' Association Award" (http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/a
wards/japancartoonist.php). Comic Book Awards Almanac. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
13. "People's Honor Award" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150923200439/http://www.cao.go.j
p/others/jinji/kokumineiyosho/index.html) (in Japanese). Cabinet Office. Archived from the
original (http://www.cao.go.jp/others/jinji/kokumineiyosho/index.html) on September 23,
2015. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
14. "People's Honor Award Recipients" (https://www.nippon.com/en/features/h00027/).
Nippon.com. The Nippon Communications Foundation. June 22, 2017. Retrieved April 19,
2021.
15. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (April 27, 2020). "Nyx no Lantern, Sazae-san 's Machiko Hasegawa
Win Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prizes" (https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2020-04-27/
nyx-no-lantern-sazae-san-machiko-hasegawa-win-tezuka-osamu-cultural-prizes/.159053).
Anime News Network. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
External links
Japan portal
Anime and manga
portal
Timeline of her life (https://www.hasegawamachiko.jp/#biography) at the Hasegawa Machiko
Art Museum (in Japanese)
Machiko Hasegawa (https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=133
25) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Machiko_Hasegawa&oldid=1256616287"
