Macoto Takahashi

For other people named Makoto Takahashi, see Makoto Takahashi (disambiguation).

Macoto Takahashi (高橋真琴, Takahashi Makoto; 27 August 1934 – 17 November 2024) was a Japanese painter, illustrator, and manga artist. His works of shōjo manga are noted for significantly influencing the aesthetic styles of that demographics.

Macoto Takahashi
高橋真琴
Born	(1934-08-27)27 August 1934 Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Empire of Japan
Died	17 November 2024(2024-11-17) (aged 90)
Nationality	Japanese
Style	Shōjo manga

Biography

Macoto Takahashi was born on 27 August 1934 in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, as the eldest son in a family of three boys.^[1] While pursuing art in high school, he was torn between the painting styles of nihonga (traditional Japanese-style painting) and yōga (Western-style painting). He decided to pursue jojōga 叙情画 (lyrical painting) after discovering the works of jojōga artist Jun'ichi Nakahara in the magazine Himawari.^[2] He began his career in 1953 illustrating books aimed at the loan market (kashi-hon).^[2] He began to create manga in 1956 with the shōjo manga (girls' manga) series Paris-Tokyo.^[2] That same year, he contributed to the nascent gekiga scene by adapting Sherlock Holmes stories for the kashi-hon manga magazine Kage.^[3] In 1957, he released several short shōjo manga stories, including "The Seaside of Sorrow", "The Swan of Tokyo", "The Swan of the Rose", and "Norowareta Kopperia" (English: Cursed Coppéllia).^[4]

In 1958, he established what would become his signature style of art influenced by both manga and jojōga with his manga series Arashi o koete (あらしをこえて; lit. "Beyond the Storm"), published in the magazine Shojo.^[5] This style was distinguished chiefly by its depiction of characters with traits typical of models in jojōga illustrations: thin bodies and large, sparkling eyes, with Takahashi having been referred to as "the king of eye sparkles".^[5][6][7] Other distinguishing traits include the superposition of panels, full-length portraits that fill the entirety of the page, backgrounds that arouse strong emotion, and non-narrative imagery. This style significantly influenced shōjo manga, and quickly became the standard visual conventions of that demographics.^[5][6] Takahashi also made the theme of ballet popular in shōjo manga with Norowareta Kopperia (Cursed Coppelia).^[8]

During the 1960s, Takahashi stopped creating shōjo manga, because he considered himself incapable of adopting the point of view of a girl.^[9] He shifted to illustration, creating album cover artwork, stationery, and covers of shōjo manga magazines,^[10][2] and became particularly popular with the Gothic Lolita subculture.^[11] Beginning in 1992, Takahashi mounted an annual exhibition of his work at his home in Sakura.^[12] In 2018, artwork by Takahashi was featured in designs created by the fashion house Comme des Garçons.^[13] In the 2020s, Takahashi created a series of paintings based on different countries, incorporating influences such as the French revolutionary calendar, national and seasonal flowers, and local architecture.^[14]

On 16 December 2024, it was announced through Takahashi's official Twitter account that he died from gastroesophageal junction cancer on 17 November 2024. He was 90 years old.^[15] His funeral was held on 25 November.^[16]

Works

• Sakura Namiki [The Rows of Cherry Trees]. 1957.^[17]
• Akogare – Takahashi Macoto gashū (あこがれ―高橋真琴画集), 1995, Seibidō Shuppan. Reprinted 2006, BOOK-ING, ISBN 978-4-8354-4265-5^[18]
• Shōjo romance – Takahashi Macoto no sekai (少女ロマンス―高橋真琴の世界), 1999, Parco Shuppan, ISBN 978-4-89194-599-2^[19]
• Macoto no ohime-sama (MACOTOのおひめさま), 2001, Parco Shuppan, ISBN 978-4-89194-624-1^[20]
• Paris-Tokyo + Sakura namiki (パリー東京, さくら並木), 2006 (reprint), Shogakukan, ISBN 978-4-7780-3023-0^[21]
• Takahashi Macoto no shōjo nurie, Nihon no ohime-sama (高橋真琴の少女ぬりえ 日本のおひめさま), 2006, Kodansha, ISBN 978-4-06-213677-8^[22]
• Yumemiru shōjotachi (夢見る少女たち), 2013, PIE International, ISBN 978-4-7562-4380-5^[23]
• Macoto no bigaku (真琴の美学), 2015 (reprint), Fukkan dot-com, ISBN 978-4-8354-5196-1^[24]
• Takahashi Macoto Coloring Book (高橋真琴 ぬりえブック), 2016, Genkōsha, ISBN 978-4-7683-0730-4^[25]
• Romantic Otome Style (ロマンティック 乙女スタイル), 2017, PIE International, ISBN 978-4-7562-4964-7^[26]