Machiko Hasegawa was one of the first female manga artists. She started her own comic strip, Sazae-san, in 1946. It reached national circulation via the Asahi Shimbun in 1949, and ran daily until Hasegawa decided to retire in February 1974. Her comic strip was turned into a dramatic radio series in 1955 and a weekly animated series in 1969, which is still running as of 2021. She received People's Honor Award in 1992. She died of heart failure at the age of 72 on May 27, 1992.
She has been awarded with a post mortem award on the Special Prize category of the 24th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize awards.
