Shio Satō

Chiyoko "Shio" Satō (佐藤 史生, Satō Shio) (6 December 1952^[1][a] – 4 April 2010) was a Japanese manga artist. Satō is often regarded as a member of the Post Year 24 Group,^[3] a group of female manga artists considered influential in the development of shōjo manga. She wrote under the pen name Shio Satō – as her surname Satō had the same pronunciation as satō (砂糖, sugar), she combined it with shio (塩, salt), with the kanji form modified as 史生. She made her professional debut in 1977 with the publication of Koi wa Ajinomono!? in Bessatsu Shōjo Comic. Her definitive works include Yumemiru Wakusei  [ja] (The Dreaming Planet) and One Zero  [ja].^[4]

Her stories were usually serious science fiction (SF) drawn in a "subdued" style.^[5] Satō regards her interest in science fiction from the patience and thorough answers of her father when she was young and asking "Why?" to everything.^[6] Her science fiction influences include Isaac Asimov, Cordwainer Smith and James Tiptree Jr. A major influence on her work Yumemiru Wakusei (1980–1984) was the film Lawrence of Arabia.^[1]

Her another focus was on Asian myths, animism, and traditional arts like masks and statues of gods. The first publication featuring these elements was Yume Kui (Dream Eater) in 1982.^[7] Satō further widen her perspective to integrate these elements into SF. In One Zero (1984–1986), she depicts future technologies such as artificial intelligence encountering the endless war between Buddhist and anti-Buddhist gods.^[8]: 119

In spite of the small number of publications and no adaptation to other media, Satō's manga works have a devoted fan base.^{[3][8]: 108–109} Her works mostly appeared on shōjo manga magazines such as Bessatsu Shōjo Comic, Petit Flower (Shogakukan), and Grape Fruit [ja] (Shinshokan).^[2] "The Changeling", an SF short story published on Petit Flower in 1989, is her only story translated in English to this day. In addition to being published in the English-language anthology Four Shōjo Stories, it was serialised in Animerica in 1995 (Vol.3 issues 5 and 6).^[9]

Biography

She wrote her first manga story when she was a second-grade student at a high school of Miyagi Prefecture, referring to Shotaro Ishinomori's introductory books published in 1965 and 1966.^[10] She later told about the direct influence from Hoshi no Tategoto by Hideko Mizuno, which had been her "starting point".^[10]

After graduating from high school, Satō moved to Tokyo and worked for a printing company.^[10] She became an assistant to Moto Hagio and Keiko Takemiya in 1972.^[1] In those days, these two new star manga artists were frequently visited by many people including young manga artists, both professional and amateur, from all over Japan. Satō improved techniques of writing manga and broaden her network there. Yasuko Sakata offered opportunities to include Satō's earliest SF manga stories in her offset-printing doujinshi circulation.^[11] An editor from Shogakukan saw Satō's unfinished SF story "Hoshi no Oka yori" (From the Star Hill) and encouraged her to finish it.^[10] It then won her the 11th newcomer award of Bessatsu Shōjo Comic competition in 1976.^[2] She made her debut in the magazine in the following year, with another comical non-SF daily story.^[12] Even after that, she continued to work as an assistant to Hagio and Takemiya until the demands of her own works prevented her from doing so.^[1]

The 1980s was her most productive period. In addition to the series of Yumemiru Wakusei and One Zero, she wrote many masterpieces. Amidst the busy situation, she started the collaborative work with Mei Tokunaga. Between 1985 and 1989, they jointly produced five stories including Seirei-Ō (The King of Spirits).^[13]

Her last publication was Majutsushi Sagashi (Wizard Hunt) on Petit Flower in 2000.^[2] In 2001, Satō was hospitalized due to breast cancer.^[2] Although once recovered, she created no new work then.^[13] Satō died from brain cancer in Kiyose, Tokyo, on 4 April 2010,^[2][14] aged 57.^[b]

Works

• Kinseiju (金星樹) (1979, Kisōtengaisha) (1992, reprint plus one new story, Shinchosha)^[16]
• Haru o Yumemishi (春を夢見し) (1980, Shinshokan)^[17]
• Yumemiru Wakusei (夢みる惑星) (1982–1984, serialized in Petit Flower, Shogakukan)^[18][19] (1996, bunkoban reprint, Shogakukan)^[20][21]
• Shiseru Ōjo no Tame no Pavane (死せる王女のための孔雀舞) (1983, Shinshokan)
• Ahōsen (阿呆船) (1984, Shinshokan)^[22] inspired by Ship of Fools by Sebastian Brant
• Ryū no Yume, Sonota no Yume (竜の夢 その他の夢) (1984, Shinshokan)^[23]
• Kono Mazushiki Chijō ni (この貧しき地上に) (1985, Shinshokan)^[24]
• One Zero (ワン・ゼロ) (1985–1986, Shogakukan)^[25][26] (1996, bunkoban reprint, Shogakukan)^[27][28]
• Datenraku (打天楽) (1987, Shogakukan)^[29]
• Kisshō Kajin (吉祥花人) (1987, Hakusensha)^[30]
• Raryō-Ō (羅陵王) (1988, Hakusensha)^[31]
• Changeling (チェンジリング) (1989, Shogakukan)^[32]
• Yadorigi (やどり木) (1988, Shinshokan)^[33]
• Seirei-Ō (精霊王) (1989, Shogakukan)^[34]
• Oni Ou mono (鬼追うもの) (1995, Shogakukan)^[35]
• Shinzō no Nai Kyojin (心臓のない巨人) (1999, serialized in Petit Flower, Shogakukan)^[36]
• Majutsushi Sagashi (魔術師さがし) (2000, Shogakukan)^[37]

Anthologies

These are anthology works in which one or more stories by Satō appeared:

• New Fantasy Comic World (ニュー・ファンタジー・コミックの世界) (1982, Sanrio)^[38]
• Alice Book I (アリス・ブックI) (1991, Shinchosha)^[39]
• Alice Book II (アリス・ブックII) (1991, Shinchosha)^[40]
• Four Shōjo Stories (1996, Viz Media)^[41]

Explanatory notes

1. A recent book edited by Anasawa et al. (2024)^[2] says that Satō was born in 6 December 1950. It also includes a detailed chronicle of Satō's life and works, in which the time schedule of her early life is different from the conventional understandings that she was born in 1952.
2. Newspapers^[14] reported Satō had died at age 59, which is consistent with the argument that she was born in December 1950.^[2] Nevertheless, even if we assume Satō's birth was in 1952,^[1] the two-year discrepancy could be understood as derived from the traditional Japanese system of age reckoning. ^[15]