Tetsuya Chiba dies at 87 Manga artist ``Ashita no Joe''

Tetsuya Chiba (real name Tetsuya Chiba), known for his masterpiece ``Ashita no Joe'' and the first manga artist to receive the Order of Culture, passed away at 6 pm on the 22nd at a hospital in Tokyo due to myelodysplastic syndrome. He was 87 years old. The funeral was attended by close relatives. The chief mourner was his wife, Yukiko.

Born in Tokyo in 1939. Immediately after birth, he moved to the Korean Peninsula, and at the age of 2, he moved to the former Manchuria (northeast China). The war ended there, and he was brought back to Japan in 1946. Around that time, he became interested in manga and joined the doujinshi ``Manga Club.'' He made his debut as a manga artist at the age of 17.

In 1962, he won the Kodansha Children's Manga Award for ``1, 2, 3 and 4, 5, Roku.'' After that, he produced a series of hit works such as ``Shiden Kai no Taka'' and ``Harris' Wind.''

In 1968, he teamed up with graphic novelist Asao Takamori (Ikki Kajiwara) to publish ``Ashita no Joe,'' in which the main character, Takeshi Yabuki, puts his life on the line for boxing. It was made into a TV anime and became a huge hit, and when his rival Toru Chikaraishi died in the series, it became a social phenomenon, with a funeral ceremony held at Kodansha and attended by fans.

He has also created many popular sports manga, including sumo wrestling in ``Notari Matsutaro'', golf in ``Ashita Weather ni Are'', and kendo in ``Ore wa Tetsuhei''.

In addition to serving as the president of the Japan Manga Artists Association, he also worked to foster the next generation as president of Bunsei University of Arts (Utsunomiya City). In recent years, he has serialized the autobiographical essay manga ``Hinemos Notari Diary''.

He received the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2002 and the Order of the Rising Sun with Small Ribbon in 2012. He became the first manga artist to become a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in 2022, and was awarded the Order of Culture in 2004.

The late manga artist Akio Chiba, known for works such as ``Captain,'' is his younger brother.