Yoshiko Nishitani 西谷祥子 was a pioneering shōjo manga artist who released her works in Shōjo Club and Margaret

Margaret (magazine)

is a biweekly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shueisha, primarily for girls from 11 to 15 years old, although some stories are read by adult women. It was first released as a weekly magazine in 1963. In 2009, the circulation was 154,584...

. According to Matt Thorn

Matt Thorn

Matt Thorn is a cultural anthropologist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Manga Production at Kyoto Seika University's Faculty of Manga in Japan. He is most well known in North America for his work dealing with shōjo manga. He has appeared at multiple anime conventions, including...

, Nishitani "more or less single-handedly invented the school campus romance that remains the mainstay of shôjo manga today", and Robert Petersen regards her innovation as giving her characters personality. She gave her readers characters that were like them, "teenaged Japanese girls dealing with friendships, family, school, and, yes, falling in love." Her success inspired an influx of female manga artists

Mangaka

is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...

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Works

• Haruko no Mita Yume
• Mary Lou マリイ　ルウ
  • Weekly Margaret, 1965. This story opened up the idea of shoujo manga telling stories about ordinary teenagers.
• Shirobara Monogatari
• Lemon to Sakuranbo (Lemon and Cherry) レモンとサクランボ
• Kouenji atari
• Gakuseitachi no Michi
• Shoujo no Koi
• Nanako no Seishun
• Hanabira Nikki
• Jessica no Sekai (Jessica's World) ジェシカの世界
• Konnichiwa Suzanu (Hello Suzanne, 1971)
• Ringo no namikimichi (Apple Avenue) 1967
• Francoise's time
• The Class Ring's in Love

Further reading

• Yoshihiro Yonezawa
  Yoshihiro Yonezawa
  was a Japanese manga critic and author. He is also known for being Comiket's co-founder and president. He died of lung cancer at 53...
  
  , 1991. Kodomo no Shōwa-shi: Shōjo manga no sekai II, Shōwa 38 nen - 64 nen (子供の昭和史──少女マンガの世界 II 昭和38年〜64年 "A Children's History of Showa-Era Japan: The World of Shōjo Manga II, 1963-1989") Bessatsu Taiyō series. Tokyo: Heibonsha.

External links

• list of her works at publisher