Japanese Name: 辰巳ヨシヒロ

Place of Birth: Osaka

Gender: Male

Information for Authors: Tatsumi Yoshihiro, a significant figure in the history of postwar manga, is now also a name increasingly known in Europe and North America. Over the past few years, collections of his work from the late 60s and early 70s have been published in Spain, France, and Poland, and by Montreal's Drawn & Quarterly. AS his work of that period suggests, Tatsumi belongs to a generation of Japanese authors who cut their teeth in the hardscrabble 50s and whose vision of Japan remained, even well into the golden 60s, one of poverty and impotence. Tatsumi is credited with coining the term gekiga (dramatic pictures) in 1957. Under that name, he helped nurture a genre of noir-ish manga that -- with its commitment to greater psychological depth and the plight of the underclass -- was pitted against the perceived frivoloties of mainstream children's publications. He formed Gekiga Kobo (Gekiga Factory) along with SAITO Takao, K. Motomitsu, SATO Masaaki, ISHIKAWA Fumiyasu, YAMAMORI Susumu, his brother SAKURAI Shouichi and his friend/rival MATSUMOTO Masahiko. In 2008, Tatsumi published an autobiography in manga form, titled A Drifting Life (Gekiga Hyouryuu). It received the 2009 Tezuka Manga Award, one of the most prestigious prizes in the field. Passed away on March 7th, 2015 at the age of 79. He worked as assistant to MIZUKI Shigeru.