, better known by the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Suihō Tagawa (田河水泡, ''Tagawa Suihō''), 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 ...

Biography

Born in

Sumida, Tokyo is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Sumida City. As of 1 April 2025, the ward has an estimated population of 287,766 and a population dens ...

, Nakatarō Takamizawa grew up an

orphan An orphan is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew language, Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages ...

: his mother died upon his birth, his father and his uncle (who served as one of his stepparents) both died several years afterwards. He graduated from Fukagawa's municipal ''Rinkai Jinjō'' elementary school in 1911. In 1919, he was conscripted into the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

, serving in Korea and Manchuria, and left in 1922. In 1925, he graduated from ''Nihon Bijutsu Gakkō'' ("Japan School of Art"); during his time at the school, he participated in the radical avant-garde movement Mavo, under the pen name Takamizawa Michinao . In 1926, he became a ''

rakugo is a form of Japanese verbal comedy, traditionally performed in '' yose'' theatres. (Bibliographyvolume 38(1)article
T ...

'' author. He began producing

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

in 1927. He gained a regular assignment selling manga stories and adopted the pen name , which was later corrupted into : literally means "water bubble". In 1928 he married (younger sister of Hideo Kobayashi) in a church ceremony. In 1931, he began the long-running series '' Norakuro'' in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

's anthology magazine '' Shōnen Kurabu'', about an

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

black and white dog in an army of dogs. Although at first intended to have only a brief lifespan, its immense popularity urged Tagawa to continue producing the strip until 1941''.'' Tagawa has won numerous awards and is recognized as one of the pioneers of the Japanese manga industry. He mentored Machiko Hasegawa, who would become the creator of the popular comic series

Sazae-san is a Japanese ''yonkoma'' manga series written and illustrated by Machiko Hasegawa. It was first published in Hasegawa's local paper, the , on April 22, 1946. When the ''Asahi Shimbun'' wished to have Hasegawa draw the four-panel comic for ...

, and he was an influence to

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu'', – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Considered to be among the greatest and most influential cartoonists of all time, his prolific output, pioneering techniques an ...

, the "God of Manga". Some other comics by Tagawa are ''Tako no Yacchan'' and ''Gasorin Oyoshi.'' After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he became a ''bona fide''

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

; he credited the faith in helping him overcome

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

after several failed attempts. In 1988, he produced the autobiographical ''Watashi no Rirekisho'' ("My

Résumé A résumé or resume (or alternatively resumé), is a document created and used by a person to present their background, skills, and accomplishments. Résumés can be used for a variety of reasons, but most often are used to secure new jobs, wh ...

") for the Japanese ''

Sankei Shimbun The , name short for , is a daily national newspaper in Japan published by the Sankei Shimbun Co., Ltd, ranking amongst the top five most circulated newspapers in Japan. Together with its English-language paper ''Japan Forward'', the ''Sankei ...

'' newspaper. He died in 1989 at the age of 90.

References

External links

Biography of Suihō Tagawa

(in English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tagawa, Suiho 1899 births 1989 deaths People from Sumida Manga artists from Tokyo Japanese Christians Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class Imperial Japanese Army personnel