Famous Japanese manga artist Fujiko A. Fujio passed away

Japanese television and some local media reported that Mr. Fujiko A. Fujio, whose real name is Motoo Abiko, passed away at his home in Kawasaki, near Tokyo on April 7, at the age of 88.

Other artists and many in the publishing industry have sent tributes to Mr. Abiko on social media.

Painter Abiko is the son of a monk at a temple in central Toyama, Japan. His father passed away when Abiko was in 5th grade. He once shared: “The death of my father changed my life the most. If that hadn’t happened, I think I would have become a monk.”

Mr. Abiko once collaborated with his childhood friend, the late artist Hiroshi Fujimoto – the author of the famous Doraemon series. The two artists worked under the common pseudonym “Fujiko Fujio” from 1954-1987, and succeeded with the work “Obake no Q-taro” about a mischievous ghost. After parting ways to pursue his own career, Mr. Abiko took the name Fujiko A. Fujio and Mr. Fujimoto took the name Fujiko F. Fujio.

Abiko also has other works such as “Ninja Hattori”, “Kaibutsu-kun”.

The work “happy salesman”, which has now been turned into a movie on the streaming service Netflix, is considered one of his most successful stories. The story is about a mysterious salesman who wants to “fill the emptiness in people’s souls”.

In 2008, Mr. Fujiko A. Fujio was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun of Japan for his contributions to his career.