Masako Watanabe: key obituary facts
Is Masako Watanabe dead? Yes. Masako Watanabe died on October 3, 2026, at age 97.
Cause of death: Masako Watanabe's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Masako Watanabe known for?
She was a Manga artist.
More about Masako Watanabe
Born: 16 May 1929.
Place of birth: Tokyo.
Gender: female.
Occupation: mangaka, artist.
Nationality: Japan.
Employer: University of Creation; Art, Music & Social Work.
Notable work: Glass no Shiro.
Awards: Order of the Rising Sun.
Masako Watanabe, a Japanese manga artist, died October 3, 2026, aged 97.
Born in Tokyo, she began her professional career in 1949 as an illustrator of books. After reading works by Osamu Tezuka, she turned to manga, making her debut in 1952 with Namida no Sanbika.
She quickly became the most popular female manga artist of her time. During the 1960s, Watanabe distinguished her work with pastel colors, in contrast to the bright primary colors then common in manga. She helped establish new territory within shōjo manga, stories written for teenage girls, with Blue Foxfire, a pioneering shōjo horror story, and Glass no Shiro, or Glass Castle, a pioneering shōjo mystery. In 1971, she received the Shogakukan Manga Award for Glass no Shiro and Sei Rosalindo. In the 1980s, she moved from shōjo toward redisu-josei manga, a sexually explicit form aimed at adult women. Glass no Shiro was among her notable works. Watanabe was also recognized with the Order of the Rising Sun.