By Kenichi Sato / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff WriterWaki Yamato is celebrating the 50th anniversary of her debut as a manga artist. Yamato is known for creating comics with historical subjects for girls.

Now 68, Yamato said she was very fortunate to have been able to work continuously. “I’m proud of myself for working hard.” she said.

Yamato has depicted a number of liberated heroines in her stories, often adding elements of romantic comedy.

One of her most popular works is “Haikara-san ga Toru” (Here comes a modern girl), which she worked on from 1975 to 1977. The heroine, Benio, becomes a magazine reporter during the Taisho era (1912-1926), when democracy was beginning to flourish in Japanese society. Benio fulfills her dream as well as finding romance.

Yamato’s latest work, “Ishutaru no Musume : Ono Otsu Den” (The Daughter of Ishtar), currently running in a women’s comic magazine, depicts a woman who lives on her own in the turbulent years following the Sengoku warring states period (1493-1573).

Yamato attributes her choice of characters to having had many working women around her since childhood. “I’ve always thought it was natural and important for women to be independent,” she said.

The Sapporo-born artist wouldn’t have begun her career without the influence of her elder brother. Yamato was captivated by monumental works of manga, such as “Tetsuwan Atom” (Astro Boy) and “Tetsujin Nijuhachigo” (Gigantor) — stories her elder brother would read in monthly comic magazines for boys.

Yamato went to the city’s famous snow festival during her high school days to meet legendary manga artist Osamu Tezuka, together with her friend Ryoko Yamagishi, who also later became a renowned manga artist.

Yamato made her debut in 1966. It was during those years, from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, that manga authors from her generation — such as Moto Hagio and Keiko Takemiya — revolutionized girls’ comics.

“Many of them were blessed with their specialties,” Yamato recalled. “There were times when I became restless trying to find out what mine was,” she said.

After struggling for seven to eight years, she finally came to understand that she should be offering light entertainment. “I concluded there should be comics that only I could draw,” she said.

“Yamato Waki Gagyo Gojusshunen Kinen Gashu: Irodori” (Art book commemorating the 50th anniversary of Waki Yamato’s art career: Colors), published by Kodansha Co., contains several full-color works for her stories, which were printed in color when they were featured in comic magazines but were in black and white when they were later published in book form.

The most eye-catching works among them are pictures from “Asaki Yume Mishi,” Yamato’s manga adaptation of “The Tale of Genji.” The works present the beautiful court culture of Japan around the 10th century.

Yamato worked on “Asaki” during her 30s to her early 40s, when she “was able to work most efficiently.” She says it was quite challenging to visualize physical details for the setting of the epic novel since the reference materials she found were insufficient.

Yamato perceives the original novel as “a monster who’s lived for a more than a thousand years.”

Although she kept the outline of the story, she avoided the novel’s focus on dark pathos. “I tried to make it into something I wanted to read. I think it turned out to be a pleasant, beautiful piece of work.”

While Yamato has created comics in various genres, it is her works on historical subjects that have proved most popular.

“Works set in contemporary times will look old eventually. On the other hand, period works will never become outdated. That’s the merit of historical works,” she said.

An exhibition featuring Yamato’s art works will be held from June 30 to July 12 at Tobu department store in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. The exhibition will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (until 5 p.m. on July 12). Please visit comic-sp.kodansha.co.jp/yamatowaki50th/ for details. Speech