was a Japanese

manga artist A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist, comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the indus ...

from Yamagata prefecture. Satō created the manga ''Bachi Bachi,'' a

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

series that ran in

Weekly Shōnen Champion is a Japanese Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine published by Akita Shoten. History ''Shōnen Champion'' was first published on July 15, 1969. It has had numerous popular series by manga artists such as Osamu Tezuka, Go Nagai, Shinji Miz ...

from 2009 to 2012''. Bachi Bachi'' went on to spawn two sequel series, ''Bachi Bachi BURST'' and ''Samejima, Saigo no Jūgonichi''. Satō suffered a sudden death on 3 July 2018 at the age of 41 due to

acute coronary syndrome Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a syndrome due to decreased blood flow in the coronary arteries such that part of the heart muscle is unable to function properly or dies. The most common symptom is centrally located pressure-like chest pain, ...

. ''Samejima, Saigo no Jūgonichi'' was still running at the time of his death, and the last issue was published in July 2018. The final chapters were compiled into the 20th volume, which went on to be published posthumously in October of the same year. Sumo magazine ''Great Sumo Journal'' honored Satō with a special issue following his death, which featured the main character of ''Bachi Bachi.'' In November 2023, ''

makuuchi , or , is the top division of Professional sumo divisions, the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous ...

''-ranked wrestler Kitanowaka also paid tribute to Satō by performing his ring-entering ceremony with a ''

keshō-mawashi In sumo, a is the loincloth that (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a as part of the ring entry ceremony or . ''Mawashi'' ''Sekitori'' During competition For top ranked professi ...

'' made in the image of Samejima, the main character in ''Bachi Bachi''.

Bibliography

* Ippon (いっぽん!),

, 2004–2006, 14 volumes * Bachi Bachi (バチバチ), Weekly Shōnen Champion, 2009–2012, 16 volumes ** Bachi Bachi Burst (バチバチ BURST), Weekly Shōnen Champion, 2012–2014, 12 volumes ** Samejima, Saigo no Jūgonichi (鮫島、最後の十五日), Weekly Shōnen Champion, 2014–2018, 20 volumes

References

1977 births 2018 deaths Manga artists Manga writers 20th-century Japanese artists 21st-century Japanese artists Japanese cartoonists People from Yamagata Prefecture {{manga-artist-stub