The mangaka is known for her masterpiece works such as Glass Castle and Saint Rosalind
Legendary mangaka Masako Watanabe unfortunately passed away on 3 October, 2026 at the age of 97. The announcement was made on her official X (formerly Twitter) account. She was known for her masterpiece works such as Glass Castle and Saint Rosalind.
Who was Masako Watanabe?
In the world of manga, especially shōjo manga, Masako Watanabe was a bright sun who paved the way for many generations of artists to come. Born on 16 May, 1929, Watanabe began her career as a book illustrator. After being inspired by the legendary Osamu Tezuka, she started her manga career in 1952 with Namida no Sanbika.
She quickly rose to fame and became the most prolific female mangaka of her time. She went on to create timeless masterpieces such as Glass Castle, Saint Rosalind, Heidi, Mona Lisa no Heya, and many more. Later, she switched from shōjo to redisu-josei, which are more explicit works for adult women. Kinpeibei is one such manga, which was inspired from a 19th-century Chinese erotic novel.
Watanabe received many awards during her long career, including 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.
The post on Masako Watanabe’s X (formerly Twitter) account bids the mangaka a wonderful goodbye. It also includes a message from Watanabe herself, which reads (machine translated):
To Everyone,
It feels strangely surreal for me to convey this in such a way, but to all the many people who have been involved with me until now, to the fans who supported me, to those I worked with professionally, to those who cared for my daily needs, to the kind staff at Ilieze, to nurses F-san and S-san, to my younger siblings and all my family, truly, thank you very much.
I'm deeply grateful for all the love that surrounded me.
Life flew by in a flash with "Living with Manga," but in my heart, countless memories shine like treasures, radiating light.
I'll be taking my leave a step ahead, but over there, many important people are waiting, and I believe I'll be able to reunite with my husband after so long.
The photo of Paris I visited before has always been on my desk.
When you feel lonely, please think of me as being in Paris. See you again—.
The operating staff of her account let fans know that they will continue to share drawings and other unpublished works left behind by the artist.
Many other manga creators have paid their respects to the legend, including Chihayafuru creator Yuki Suetsugu and Red River creator Chie Shinohara.
The manga industry deeply mourns the passing of this legend and pioneer of the shōjo genre we know and love today.