Photo: 内閣官房内閣広報室 / CC BY 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Machiko Satonaka, born on January 24, 1948 in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, is a mangaka and cartoonist. Machiko Satonaka is 78 years old as of 2026. Credited works include Ariesu no otometachi, Tenjō no niji : Jitō tennō monogatari and Kariudo no seiza.
My Take
Machiko Satonaka debuted while she was still in her second year of high school, in 1964, and has gone on to draw close to five hundred manga. That number alone should make anyone stop and stare. What impresses me more is the range. "Ariesu no Otometachi" is teenage romance; "Tenjo no Niji," her decades-long saga centered on Empress Jito, is serious historical fiction that asks readers to sit with ancient politics and grief. Most artists find one register and stay there, because the audience rewards consistency. She kept crossing between them. Born in Osaka in 1948, she is one of those figures whose personal timeline and the timeline of Japanese shojo manga are basically the same line drawn twice. When people outside Japan talk about manga as a serious literary form, careers like hers are the evidence, even if her name travels less than the medium she helped build.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Machiko Satonaka
- Name (Japanese)
- 里中満智子
- Reading
- さとなか まちこ
- Born
- January 24, 1948 (age 78)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Rat
- Origin
- Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
- Occupation
- mangaka / cartoonist
2. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Ariesu no otometachi | — | |
| Notable work | Tenjō no niji : Jitō tennō monogatari | — | |
| Notable work | Kariudo no seiza | — |
3. Links
- Official sitehttps://satonakamachiko.blog.fc2.com/
- Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machiko%20Satonaka
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%87%8C%E4%B8%AD%E6%BA%80%E6%99%BA%E5%AD%90
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3776935
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-08-07
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Machiko Satonaka born?
Born January 24, 1948 (age 78).
Where is Machiko Satonaka from?
Machiko Satonaka is from Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.
What does Machiko Satonaka do?
Machiko Satonaka works as mangaka, cartoonist.
What is Machiko Satonaka known for?
Notable works include Ariesu no otometachi, Tenjō no niji : Jitō tennō monogatari, Kariudo no seiza.
Mangaka — see all → · Cartoonist — see all → · More people from Japan →