Japanese Manga Legend Chiba Tetsuya Passes Away at 87

The Chosun Ilbo · Yoo Sok-jae · 2026-11-05 21:00 UTC

Japanese Manga Legend Chiba Tetsuya Passes Away at 87 His iconic works influenced 1970s–80s Korean comics, with artists A and B emulating his style before developing unique approaches

Japanese manga legend Chiba Tetsuya (千葉徹彌) passed away on October 22 at the age of 87. Chiba was the first Japanese manga artist to receive the government’s Cultural Medal in 2024. And yet—

First, take a close look at the illustration below, which gathers Chiba’s iconic characters. Those familiar with Korean comics from the 1970s–80s will notice faces that feel eerily familiar.

His magnum opus was the boxing manga *Tomorrow’s Joe* (1968–1973). Famous for its closing line, “I burned white,” the series defined Japanese manga in the 1960s–70s, became a manifesto for the Zengakuren student movement, and even inspired the Yodogo hijackers to declare, “We are Tomorrow’s Joe.” It also gained massive popularity across the sea in South Korea.

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