is the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, 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 na ...

of , a Japanese

manga artist A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist be ...

and photographer. Noted for her works in the ladies' manga genre that feature '' ecchi'' themes and subject material, Morizono has been called the "Queen of Ladies' Manga" and noted by Rachel Matt Thorn 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 is a city located in east central Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. As of October 1, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 143,959 and a population density of 220 persons per km2. The total area is 656.13 km2. The modern city of Shūna ...

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a 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 km2 (2,359 sq mi). Yamaguchi Prefecture borders Shimane Prefecture to ...

, where she drew

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) 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 prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...

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

office lady An office lady ( ja, オフィスレディー, Ofisuredī), 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 perma ...

, 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 manga featured in ''Sho-Comi'' are later compiled and published in book form (''tankōbon ...

''. She won a

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) 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 prehistory in earlier J ...

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 cartoon, usually including a caption beneath the drawing. A pantomime cartoon carries no caption. In some cases, dialogue may appear in speech ba ...

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

erotica Erotica is literature or art 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. Erotic art may use a ...

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, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, le ...

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. The series received complaints from the police,

parent–teacher association A parent–teacher association/organization (PTA/PTO), parent-teacher-friend association (PTFA), or parent–teacher–student association (PTSA) is a formal organization composed of parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parent ...

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 is the Japanese term for a book that is not part of an anthology or corpus. In modern Japanese, the term is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a manga series: most series first appear as individual chapters in a weekly or m ...

'' 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, 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 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 lascivious ...

'', a term broadly used to describe works that are erotic but not explicitly

pornographic Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

. 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 Sex in film, the presentation of aspects of sexuality in film, specially human sexuality, has been controversial since the development of the medium. Films which display or suggest sexual behavior have been criticized by religious groups or ha ...

s. Recurring elements in her work include "wealthy, jet-set young women" who find themselves in a variety of sexual scenarios, foreign settings, and gay 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