Tetsuya Chiba, creator of 'Ashita no Joe,' dies; a manga life burned to pure white

【Financial News, Tokyo—Correspondent Seo Hyejin】Tetsuya Chiba, a giant of Japanese manga who drew the boxing manga 'Ashita no Joe,' has died at the age of 87.
Kyodo News and NHK reported on the 27th that Chiba died on the 22nd at a hospital in Tokyo from myelodysplastic syndrome.
' Ashita no Joe,' his best-known work, ran from 1968 to 1973 and made its mark on Japanese sports manga. It is also famous for the line, “I burned it... I burned it all... until I was pure white...” The series was so beloved by readers that an actual funeral was held in 1970 when Joe's rival Toru Rikiishi died in the story.
The late artist also left behind many works familiar to Korean readers, including 'Fervor! Unbeaten in Kendo,' 'Matsutaro the Rake' and 'Conqueror of the Green.'
Born in Tokyo in 1939, he spent his childhood in Manchuria. After the end of the Pacific War, he returned to Japan with his family. He began drawing manga in earnest while in high school and made his debut in 1956, at the age of 17.
The difficult repatriation he experienced as a child led him to activities emphasizing peace. Through manga and lectures, he consistently conveyed the horrors of war and the importance of peace.
He became chair of the board of the Japan Cartoonists Association in 2012 and its president in 2018. He received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, in 2012, followed by the Order of Culture in 2024. He remained active in his later years, serializing 'A Leisurely Diary All Day Long,' but also disclosed in 2021 that he had been hospitalized for treatment after his health deteriorated.

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