Nationality Japanese Role Manga artist Occupation Manga artist | Years active 1955–present Movies Golgo 13 Name Takao Saito | |
![]() | ||
Similar People Tetsuya Chiba, Osamu Dezaki, Shigeru Mizuki, Osamu Akimoto, Leiji Matsumoto |
¿Qué es el gekiga? - Takao Saito
¿What exactly gekiga is? - Takao Saito
Takao Saito (斎藤 隆夫, さいとう・たかを, Saitō Takao, born November 3, 1936 in Wakayama Prefecture) is a Japanese manga and gekiga artist. He is best known for Golgo 13, which has been serialized in Big Comic since 1968 making it the oldest manga still in publication.
Contents
- Qu es el gekiga Takao Saito
- What exactly gekiga is Takao Saito
- Early life and career
- Awards and accolades
- Selected works
- References

Early life and career
After graduation from Junior High School in Osaka, Saito decided to become a manga artist, influenced by movies like King Kong and War of the Worlds.

He debuted with his first manga Baron Air in 1955. In 1958 he moved to Tokyo, where he started a comic story atelier (劇画工房) together with seven other artists (Masahiko Matsumoto, Aki Masa Sato, Fumi Ishikawa Yasu, Masaru Sakurai, Susumu Mon, Tsu Motomi, Qi Mahi). Since April 1960, he has run Saito Production, a company with currently 19 employees. In 1971 he also started to give courses in drawing manga.
Awards and accolades

In 1976, he won the 21st Shogakukan Manga Award in the "general" category for Golgo 13.
In 2009, Saito was among the 158 manga artists invited to celebrate the 50th anniversary of both Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine and Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine at the Tokyo Imperial Hotel.
In 2010, the Japanese Government gave Saito the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette.
In 2013, over 300 people attended an event at the Tokyo Imperial Hotel to celebrate 45 years of Golgo 13, including Deputy Prime Minister of Japan Tarō Asō.