Hisashi Sakaguchi was a Japanese manga artist and animator born on May 5, 1946, in Saitama Prefecture, who later passed away on December 22, 1995, at the age of 49. His career began at age seventeen when he joined the renowned animation studio Mushi Production, founded by Osamu Tezuka. While there, he worked as an animator, original artist, and director on foundational television series such as Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atom), Kimba the White Lion (Jungle大帝), and Princess Knight (Ribbon no Kishi).

After leaving Mushi Production in 1968, Sakaguchi worked as a freelancer on commercials and various animation projects before making his manga debut in 1969 with the short story Osaraba Shiro! in the magazine COM. Throughout the 1970s, he balanced his work in animation with creating manga, contributing to the new wave movement that revitalized the medium alongside contemporaries like Katsuhiro Otomo. In animation, his directorial and design work was featured in specials for the 24-hour television program, including 100万年地球の旅 バンダーブック (Bander Book) in 1978 and フウムーン (Fumoon) in 1980, both of which were entrusted to him by Osamu Tezuka.

Sakaguchi is most celebrated for a trilogy of major manga works he created in his later years. He first published the short story collection 12色物語 (12 Iro Monogatari) from 1980 to 1982. His first epic, 石の花 (Ishi no Hana or Stone Flower), a historical drama about anti-Nazi guerrilla fighters in Yugoslavia, ran from 1983 to 1986. This was followed by the science fiction series VERSION from 1989 to 1991. His final work was あっかんべェ一休 (Akkanbe Ikkyū), a biographical manga about the eccentric 15th-century Zen monk Ikkyū, which was serialized from 1993 until his death in 1995.

Sakaguchi’s contributions have been recognized with several prestigious honors. His final work, Akkanbe Ikkyū, received the Japan Cartoonists Association Award for Excellence in 1996, following his death. Decades later, his landmark series Ishi no Hana was awarded the Prix du Patrimoine at the 50th Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2023. His influence is widely acknowledged by subsequent generations of manga creators; Naoki Urasawa, author of Monster and 20th Century Boys, has cited Sakaguchi as a primary influence, and Makoto Yukimura, creator of Planetes and Vinland Saga, has also expressed profound admiration for his work. Known for a poetic and cinematic style, Sakaguchi worked without assistants, focusing on detailed landscapes and a distinct artistic vision that is seen as bridging the eras of Osamu Tezuka and later artists like Katsuhiro Otomo.