Eiko Mizuno



Eiko Mizuno is the only notable female artist to have spent time at Tokiwa. Born in Yamaguchi prefecture in 1939, she debuted in Shojo Club with "Red-Maned Pony" at age 13. In 1958, at age 17, she traveled to Tokyo to work in Tokiwa Manor for 4 months as part of a 3-person team project called U-MIA, along with Ishinomori and Akatsuka, funded by Kodansha. The group's name came from the initials of the three members, plus "U" (you). She went on to create manga including "Hoshi no Tategoto" (Star Harp) and "Fire". I reviewed one volume of her "Konnichiwa Sensei" series.

In her 8-page Tokiwa-Sou Monogatari chapter, Eiko writes about arriving at the manor and being introduced by her editor, Akira Maruyama, to Akatsuka and Ishinomori. They're surprised to find that this tomboy is actually female. She also meets Ishinomori's beautiful sister and Akatsuka's mother. They work on a few titles, and eventually Eiko is introduced to a nasty side of the manor - bedbugs, cockroaches and beetles (Akatsuka is disappointed that none of them scare her). At the beginning of the summer, Ishinomori's sister becomes sick and suddenly dies, which halts manga production for a while. Later, Eiko hears some Paul Anka music coming out of one of the rooms, and this starts her off on a record buying spree. She finally returns to Yamaguchi prefecture after only 4 months, but she remembers her time at the manor for the rest of her life.

Tokiwa Story

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Sample Manga Page



Red-Maned Pony