Tetsuya Saruwatari is a Japanese manga artist born on June 25, 1958, in Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture. After leaving high school, he began his career in the manga industry as an assistant to established creators Shinji Hiramatsu and Hiroshi Motomiya. He made his solo debut with Umi no Senshi in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump.

Saruwatari is known for creating a number of long-running and influential manga series, often within the action and martial arts genres. His most enduring work is Tough, a martial arts action comic that has been serialized in various forms over more than a decade. Another notable creation is Riki-Oh, a cult manga known for its graphic martial arts and violent content, which was adapted into a Hong Kong live-action film and a Japanese original video animation.

Among his many works is The Hard, a manga series that ran for 17 volumes from 1990 to 1996. This series served as the source material for the anime original video animation The Hard - Bounty Hunter, released in 1996, for which Saruwatari is credited as the original creator. His other significant manga credits include Dog Soldier, Abare Bun-ya, and Zig, the latter of which he illustrated based on a story by Takashi Nagasaki.

His artistic identity is strongly tied to graphic depictions of martial arts and realistic action, with a reputation for a vigorous work ethic. Saruwatari remains a recognized figure in the industry for his extensive contributions to the action and seinen manga genres over several decades.