Tetsuya Chiba, Legendary Creator of ‘Ashita no Joe’, Dies at 87

Tetsuya Chiba, the legendary Japanese manga artist best known for ‘Ashita no Joe’, has passed away at the age of 87.

Shogakukan announced today (October 27) through its manga portal Big Comic BROS.NET that Tetsuya Chiba passed away on October 22 at a hospital in Tokyo. It was stated that the funeral was held privately for family, with his wife Yukiko Chiba serving as chief mourner, and that condolences and monetary gifts are respectfully declined.

Expressing condolences, Shogakukan stated, “Tetsuya Chiba walked at the forefront of manga for 70 years, bringing numerous masterpieces into the world. He supported the development of postwar Japanese manga and was deeply loved by many readers for embedding a warm perspective on humanity and a desire for peace into his works.” The publisher added that it is considering holding a farewell service to honor the deceased in the future.

The late Tetsuya Chiba was born in Tokyo on January 11, 1939. After making his professional debut in 1956 with a rental manga volume, he remained active as a manga artist for 70 years until 2026. He began serializing in magazines in 1958 with ‘Mama no Violin’ and debuted in a weekly shonen magazine in 1961 with ‘Chikai no Magyu’, before establishing himself as one of Japan’s representative manga artists through numerous hit works such as ‘Ashita no Joe’, ‘Ore wa Teppei’, and ‘Ashita Tenki ni Naare’.

In 1980, Kodansha established the ‘Tetsuya Chiba Award’—a newcomer award for seinen manga named in honor of his achievements—where Chiba personally participated in the final judging, reviewing and encouraging emerging creators. Over the next 46 years, the award produced numerous established and emerging manga artists, including Nobuyuki Fukumoto of ‘Gambling Apocalypse: Kaiji’, and became recognized as a major stepping stone in the Japanese seinen manga industry.

In 2001, he received the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award and was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon, presented by the Japanese government to individuals who have made outstanding achievements in science, technology, academia, sports, and arts. In 2024, he became the first manga artist to be awarded Japan’s Order of Culture.