Masako Watanabe(わたなべまさこWatanabe Masako) born 16 May 1929, in Tokyo, Japan is a Japanese manga artist. She began her professional career as an illustrator of books in 1949. She switched to creating manga after reading Osamu Tezuka's works, debuting in 1952 with Namida no Sanbika. She quickly became the most popular female manga artist of her time.