Takao Saito
| Takao Saito | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 3, 1936 Wakayama Prefecture, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Manga artist |
| Years active | 1955–present |
| Known for | Golgo 13 |
| Awards | Shogakukan Manga Award (1976) |
Takao Saito (斎藤 隆夫, さいとう・たかを Saitō Takao?, born November 3, 1936 in Wakayama Prefecture) is a Japanese manga and gekiga artist. He is best known for Golgo 13, which has been serialized in Big Comic since 1968 making it the oldest manga still in publication.
After graduation from Junior High School in Osaka, Saito decided to become a manga artist, influenced by movies like King Kong and War of the Worlds.
He debuted with his first manga Baron Air in 1955. In 1958 he moved to Tokyo, where he started a comic story atelier (劇画工房) together with seven other artists (Masahiko Matsumoto, Aki Masa Sato, Fumi Ishikawa Yasu, Masaru Sakurai, Susumu Mon, Tsu Motomi, Qi Mahi). Since April 1960, he has run Saito Production, a company with currently 19 employees. In 1971 he also started to give courses in drawing manga.
In 1976, he won the 21st Shogakukan Manga Award in the "general" category for Golgo 13.
In 2009, Saito was among the 158 manga artists invited to celebrate the 50th anniversary of both Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine and Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine at the Tokyo Imperial Hotel.
In 2010, the Japanese Government gave Saito the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette.
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