The Legacy of the Artists of Shōjo Manga’s Early Phase: Analysis of the “Shōjo Manga Roundtable”

This chapter explores the cultural context from which manga artists like Watanabe Masako, Hanamura Eiko, Maki Miyako, and Mizuno Hideko emerged and forged new paths as female manga artists during the early stages of manga culture. These artists faced various challenges since manga at the time was lightly regarded and even considered a negative influence on children. The artists and their editors worked hard to overcome these challenges, but records of their efforts during the Early Phase of the shōjo manga industry are not well preserved today. Manga artist Mizuno Hideko perceives the treatment of early shōjo manga history as a serious problem. This chapter features highlights from the “Shōjo Manga Roundtable” (Shōjo manga o kataru kai), which was organized in response to Mizuno’s call for preserving the historical record of shōjo manga culture of the 1950s and the 1960s.