, better known by 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 ...

, was 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 ...

born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan. His

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

came about due to a publisher's error when printing his name, and he continued using the pseudonym after that. His oldest son is classical guitarist Shiki Nagashima.

History

From the time he was in junior high school, Nagashima aspired to become a manga artist. After dropping out of school during junior high, he worked as a paperboy and a

tofu or bean curd is a food prepared by Coagulation (milk), coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', and ''extra (or super) firm''. It originated in Chin ...

salesman. He made his professional debut as a manga artist in 1952 with his story . After becoming acquainted with

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu'', – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Considered to be among the greatest and most influential cartoonists of all time, his prolific output, pioneering techniques an ...

due to occasionally living at Tokiwa-sō, he became Tezuka's assistant. While there, he formed the group Musashi Production with artists including Atsushi Sugimura (who was working under the pseudonym Kontarō), Kyūta Ishikawa and Kuni Fukai (who was working under the pseudonym Hirō Fukai). He soon became friends with several members of the Gekiga Kōbō, including Yoshihiro Tatsumi and Takao Saito, while living in a provincial temple. After the breakup of Gekiga Kōbō, Nagashima began working for Saitō Production and his work began to reflect a more cinematic and dramatic feel. During this time, he began a somewhat wandering lifestyle living in Shinjuku. In 1961, Nagashima published , a story which showed the "other side" of the manga industry and which brought Nagashima to the forefront of that industry. He continued publishing new works in a variety of magazines such as '' COM'' and '' Garo'', and due to his unusual style began to be called the "father of seinen manga". From 1964 to 1966, he worked at

Mushi Production or Mushi Pro for short, is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Fujimidai, Nerima, Tokyo, Japan. It previously had a headquarters elsewhere in Nerima. The studio was headed by manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka started it as a rivalry wi ...

working on

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series such as '' Jungle Taitei'', and later again worked for Mushi as a character designer on '' Wansa-kun'' (1973). Nagashima won the Shogakukan Manga Award for his in 1972. Two years later, he won the Japan Cartoonists Association Award for . Beginning in the 1980s, he began releasing fewer series, and went into semi-retirement. He was diagnosed with diabetes, which subsequently caused him to begin having dialysis treatments in 2000. Nagashima died of heart failure on June 10, 2005, at a

hospital.

Works

* (1956, ''Shōjo'') * (1961–1964, ''Keiji'') * (1962, ''Akahata'') * (1964, ''Atom Club'') * (1967, '' Shōnen King'') * (1967–1970, '' COM'', '' Garo'', '' Play Comic'') * (1967, written by Ikki Kajiwara, ''Shōnen King'', was later adapted into a

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

starring Ken'ichi Sakuragi) * (1968–1969, ''Wakamono'') * (1970) * (1971, ''Perfect Liberty'') * (1971–1973, high school course books) * (1971, ''

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, making it ...

'') * (1972, ''Shinfujin'') * (1972, ''Shōnen King'') * (1972–1973) * (1973–1974) * (1996, based on the novel by Kenji Miyazawa, NHK Publishing) * (2006, Chikuma Shūpansha)

Essays

* (1981, Daiwa Shobō) * (1983, Kizukisha Bijutsu Shuppan) * (1984, Obunsha)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nagashima, Shinji 1937 births 2005 deaths Manga artists from Tokyo