Murasaki Yamada

Real name: Mitsuko Shiratori (née Yamada)

Birth place: Setagaya, Tokyo

Date of death: May 5, 2009

Murasaki Yamada, born as Mitsuko Shiratori, was a Japanese feminist essayist, manga artist, and poet. She was associated with Garo. Frederik L. Schodt regarded her work as particularly important because of the feminist message, rare in shōjo manga. Yamada also influenced Hinako Sugiura and Youko Kondou, her former assistants.1

She debuted in COM in 1969, and had formal art training prior to being a manga artist. Her works are described as being pictorial I Novels.1 She taught at Kyoto Seika University's Faculty of Manga.2

She once ran for a seat in Japan's House of Councillors as part of the Chikyuu Club political organization in 1989.

She died at Kyoto Hospital on May 5, 2009, aged 60, from undisclosed causes (thought to be a brain hemorrhage).

Was married to former Garo deputy editor, Shiratori Chinatsu. His blog can be found here.

(Source: Wikipedia)