is 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 ...

of , 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 ...

and photographer. Noted for her works in the ladies' manga genre that feature ''

ecchi is a slang term in the Japanese language for playfully sexual actions. As an adjective, it is used with the meaning of "sexy", "dirty" or "naughty"; as a verb, means "to have sex", and as a noun, it is used to describe someone of lasciviou ...

'' themes and subject material, Morizono has been called the "Queen of Ladies' Manga" and noted by

Rachel Matt Thorn Rachel Thorn (formerly Matt Thorn; born May 12, 1965) is a Cultural anthropology, cultural anthropologist and a faculty member at the Kyoto Seika University's Faculty of Global Culture (in the Japanese Culture Course) in Japan. She is best kn ...

as "the most popular and respected creator of erotic manga for women".

Biography

Morizono was born Hiroko Mizoguchi on December 25, 1957, in Tokuyama (now

Shūnan file:Tokuyama district Shunan city Aerial photograph.2008.jpg, 270px, Shūnan city center is a Cities of Japan, city in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 137,019 in 6828 households and a population density o ...

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). ...

, where she drew

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 ...

as a child. In 1977, she married and began work as an

office lady An office lady (), often abbreviated OL (, ), is a female office worker in Japan who performs generally pink-collar tasks such as secretarial or clerical work. Office ladies are usually full-time permanent staff, although the jobs they perform ...

, but departed the job after a year. In 1981, she divorced her husband and made her professional debut as a

with ''Crazy Love Hisshouhou'' published in the manga magazine ''

Shōjo Comic , formerly published under its full name until December 2007, is a ''shōjo'' manga magazine published semimonthly in Japan by Shogakukan since 1968. The magazine has gained a reputation for being a "love bible for maidens in love" or a "romance ...

''. She won a

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major 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 ...

for new artists that same year. From 1981 to 1986, Morizono primarily created ''shōjo'' manga (girls' comics) and

gag cartoon A gag cartoon (also panel cartoon, single-panel cartoon, or gag panel) is most often a single-Panel (comics), panel cartoon, usually including a caption beneath the drawing. In some cases, dialogue may appear in speech balloons, following the com ...

s for ''seinen'' manga (young men's comics) magazines. As ladies' manga began to incorporate more mature elements such as

erotica Erotica is art, literature or photography that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erot ...

and S&M in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Morizono began to create manga for the genre exclusively. During this period, she began publishing under the name "Milk" as a pen name that was "catchy and feminine". Between 1986 and 1995, Morizono published over 35

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...

s and earned the nickname of "the Queen of Ladies' Manga". In 1991, Morizono published the erotic manga series ''Peacemaker'' in ''Midori'', a ''shōjo'' manga magazine published by

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 ...

. The series received complaints from the police,

parent–teacher association A parent–teacher association/organization (PTA/PTO), parent–teacher–friend association (PTFA), is a formal organization comprising parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a school. A parent–te ...

s, housewife groups, and politicians, and prompted Kodansha to pressure the editors of ''Midori'' to cease publishing works deemed "harmful". Kodansha refused to publish ''

tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...

'' volumes of Morizono's manga unless ''Peacemaker'' was revised, which Morizono refused; ultimately, neither Morizono nor Kodansha earned royalties from ''Peacemaker'', and the series was not renewed despite its popularity. As a result, Morizono began primarily publishing works through

Shodensha is a Japanese publisher of mostly non-fiction magazines and books, though it has recently begun publishing light novels and manga, including magazines which contain both. Shodensha publishes magazines such as '' Feel Young'' (a josei all-manga ...

, a smaller company that published a ''tankōbon'' of ''Peacemaker'' in its uncensored form. Morizono was married to manga artist until his murder in 2010. She published an autobiographical manga on Murasaki's death, , in the digital manga magazine ' in 2017. In addition to her manga work, Morizono also works as a photographer.

Style

Morizono is known for her "glamorous and media-friendly" public persona and describes her art as '' etchi'', a term broadly used to describe works that are erotic but not explicitly

pornographic Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolved from cave paintings ...

. Though sex figures heavily into her manga, her works do not render genitalia or pubic hair, and typically feature significant plot and character development in addition to

sex scene Sexual content has been found in films since the early days of the industry, and the presentation of aspects of sexuality in film, especially human sexuality, has been controversial since the development of the medium. Films which display or sugges ...

s. Recurring elements in her work include "wealthy,

jet-set The jet set is a social group of wealthy and fashionable people who travel the world to participate in social activities unavailable to ordinary people. The term was introduced in 1949 and replaced "café society"; it reflected a style of life i ...

young women" who find themselves in a variety of sexual scenarios, foreign settings, and

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

characters. Unlike many manga artists who both write and illustrate their manga, Morizono frequently does not write her material, opting to instead work with new and unestablished writers with whom she shares 30 percent of the series' royalties.

Works

The following works have been published by Morizono:

Notes

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morizono, Milk 1957 births Japanese female comics artists Japanese erotic artists Living people Manga artists Women manga artists