Macoto Takahashi

Not to be confused with Makoto Takahashi.

Macoto Takahashi
高橋真琴
Born(1934-08-27)27 August 1934
Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Empire of Japan
Died17 November 2024(2024-11-17) (aged 90)
NationalityJapanese
StyleShōjo manga

Macoto Takahashi (高橋真琴, Takahashi Makoto, 27 August 1934 – 17 November 2024) was a Japanese painter, illustrator, and manga artist. His works of shōjo manga are noted for significantly influencing the aesthetic styles of that genre.

Biography

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Macoto Takahashi was born on 27 August 1934 in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, as the eldest son in a family of three boys.[1] While pursuing art in high school, he was torn between the painting styles of nihonga (traditional Japanese-style painting) and yōga (Western-style painting). He decided to pursue jojōga 叙情画 (lyrical painting) after discovering the works of jojōga artist Jun'ichi Nakahara in the magazine Himawari.[2] He began his career in 1953 illustrating books aimed at the loan market (kashi-hon).[2] He began to create manga in 1956 with the shōjo manga (girls' manga) series Paris-Tokyo.[2] That same year, he contributed to the nascent gekiga scene by adapting Sherlock Holmes stories for the kashi-hon manga magazine Kage.[3] In 1957, he released several short shōjo manga stories, including "The Seaside of Sorrow", "The Swan of Tokyo", "The Swan of the Rose", and "Norowareta Kopperia" (English: Cursed Coppéllia).[4]

In 1958, he established what would become his signature style of art influenced by both manga and jojōga with his manga series Arashi o koete (あらしをこえて, lit. "Beyond the Storm"), published in the magazine Shojo.[5] This style was distinguished chiefly by its depiction of characters with traits typical of models in jojōga illustrations: thin bodies and large, sparkling eyes, with Takahashi having been referred to as "the king of eye sparkles".[5][6][7] Other distinguishing traits include the superposition of panels, full-length portraits that fill the entirety of the page, backgrounds that arouse strong emotion, and non-narrative imagery. This style significantly influenced shōjo manga, and quickly became the standard visual conventions of that genre.[5][6] Takahashi also made the theme of ballet popular in shōjo manga with Norowareta Kopperia (Cursed Coppelia).[8]

During the 1960s, Takahashi stopped creating shōjo manga, because he considered himself incapable of adopting the point of view of a girl.[9] He shifted to illustration, creating album cover artwork, stationery, and covers of shōjo manga magazines,[10][2] and became particularly popular with the Gothic Lolita subculture.[11] Beginning in 1992, Takahashi mounted an annual exhibition of his work at his home in Sakura.[12] In 2018, artwork by Takahashi was featured in designs created by the fashion house Comme des Garçons.[13] In the 2020s, Takahashi created a series of paintings based on different countries, incorporating influences such as the French revolutionary calendar, national and seasonal flowers, and local architecture.[14]

On 16 December 2024, it was announced through Takahashi's official Twitter account that he died from gastroesophageal junction cancer on 17 November 2024. He was 90 years old.[15] His funeral was held on 25 November.[16]

Works

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  • Sakura Namiki [The Rows of Cherry Trees]. 1957.[17]
  • Akogare – Takahashi Macoto gashū (あこがれ―高橋真琴画集), 1995, Seibidō Shuppan. Reprinted 2006, BOOK-ING, ISBN 978-4-8354-4265-5[18]
  • Shōjo romance – Takahashi Macoto no sekai (少女ロマンス―高橋真琴の世界), 1999, Parco Shuppan, ISBN 978-4-89194-599-2[19]
  • Macoto no ohime-sama (MACOTOのおひめさま), 2001, Parco Shuppan, ISBN 978-4-89194-624-1[20]
  • Paris-Tokyo + Sakura namiki (パリー東京, さくら並木), 2006 (reprint), Shogakukan, ISBN 978-4-7780-3023-0[21]
  • Takahashi Macoto no shōjo nurie, Nihon no ohime-sama (高橋真琴の少女ぬりえ 日本のおひめさま), 2006, Kodansha, ISBN 978-4-06-213677-8[22]
  • Yumemiru shōjotachi (夢見る少女たち), 2013, PIE International, ISBN 978-4-7562-4380-5[23]
  • Macoto no bigaku (真琴の美学), 2015 (reprint), Fukkan dot-com, ISBN 978-4-8354-5196-1[24]
  • Takahashi Macoto Coloring Book (高橋真琴 ぬりえブック), 2016, Genkōsha, ISBN 978-4-7683-0730-4[25]
  • Romantic Otome Style (ロマンティック 乙女スタイル), 2017, PIE International, ISBN 978-4-7562-4964-7[26]

References

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  1. ^ "高橋真琴について｜高橋真琴 公式ウェブサイト 高橋真琴". www.macoto-garou.net. Archived from the original (by web.archive.org, the Wayback Machine) on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Shamoon 2012, p. 90.
  3. ^ "Comics A Global History: Introduction, part 1 – 1950s gekiga". Dan Mazur's Comics. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  4. ^ Srivastava, Tulisha (16 December 2024). "Macoto Takahashi, Shojo Manga Artist & Trailblazer, Dies at 90". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Fujimoto 2012, p. 24.
  6. ^ a b Shamoon 2012, p. 93.
  7. ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (24 July 2018). "Manga Giants Riyoko Ikeda, Suzue Miuchi, Macoto Takahashi Appear on TV Program". Anime News Network. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  8. ^ Monden 2014, p. 268.
  9. ^ Fusami Ogi (2019). "How Women's Manga Has Performed the Image of ASIAs, Globally and Locally". Women's Manga in Asia and Beyond. Palgrave Studies in Comics and Graphic Novels. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 100. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-97229-9_7. ISBN 978-3-319-97228-2. S2CID 159401888.
  10. ^ Fujimoto 2012, p. 25.
  11. ^ Emerald L King; Lucy Fraser (2017). "Girls in Lace Dresses: The Intersections of Gothic in Japanese Youth Fiction and Fashion". New Directions in Children's Gothic: Debatable Lands. Routledge. p. 109. ISBN 978-1-31569-587-7.
  12. ^ Akcasu, Audrey (29 December 2015). "Father of shojo manga hosts yearly one-man exhibit with new and classic artwork【Images】". SoraNews24. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  13. ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (3 October 2017). "Artist Macoto Takahashi Featured in Comme des Garcons Fashion Show". Anime News Network. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  14. ^ Bochew, Emmanuel (17 December 2024). "The Pioneer of Shojo Style, Macoto Takahashi". Anime News Network. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  15. ^ "少女画家の高橋真琴さん死去 90歳 少女の瞳に星描くスタイル確立…近年は＜アナスイ＞など絵柄が起用され話題". Yahoo News Japan (in Japanese). 16 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  16. ^ "Shōjo Manga Pioneer Macoto Takahashi Dies at 90". Anime News Network. 17 December 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  17. ^ Tabachnick, Stephen E. (3 July 2017). The Cambridge Companion to the Graphic Novel. Cambridge University Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-108-23908-0.
  18. ^ あこがれ―高橋真琴画集. ASIN 4835442652.
  19. ^ 少女ロマンス―高橋真琴の世界. ASIN 4891945990.
  20. ^ MACOTOのおひめさま. ASIN 4891946245.
  21. ^ 完全復刻版 「パリー東京」「さくら並木」. ASIN 4778030230.
  22. ^ 高橋真琴の少女ぬりえ 日本のおひめさま. ASIN 4062136775.
  23. ^ 夢見る少女たち. ASIN 4756243800.
  24. ^ 真琴の美学. ASIN 4835451961.
  25. ^ Takahashi Shikoto Coloring Book. ASIN 4768307302.
  26. ^ ロマンティック 乙女スタイル. ASIN 4756249647.

Bibliography

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