Japanese Manga Artist Takao Yaguchi Dies at 81

Tokyo, Nov. 25 (Jiji Press)--Japanese manga artist Takao Yaguchi, known as the author of the "Tsurikichi Sanpei" (Fisherman Sanpei) series, died of pancreatic cancer at a Tokyo hospital on Friday, it was learned Wednesday. He was 81.

Yaguchi, whose real name was Takao Takahashi, was born in Akita Prefecture, northeastern Japan.

After working as a banker for 12 years, Yaguchi made his debut as a professional manga artist with the "Ayu" one-off story in 1970.

In 1973, his "Maboroshi no Kaija Bachihebi" was a hit, leading many people in Japan to look for "tsuchinoko," a legendary snakelike creature.

In the same year, Yaguchi started the Tsurikichi Sanpei series, featuring a boy who goes fishing in nature in and outside Japan. It was made into a television anime series and a movie.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]