Machiko Hasegawa was a Japanese manga artist born on January 30, 1920, in Taku, Saga Prefecture. She is widely recognized as one of the first female manga artists to achieve significant commercial and critical success. Following the death of her father when she was fifteen, her family moved to Tokyo, where she began drawing cartoons. She became an apprentice to Suiho Tagawa, the creator of the popular "Norakuro" series, and made her professional debut at the age of fifteen with a cartoon titled "Tanuki no Omen".

Hasegawa is best known as the original creator of the comic strip "Sazae-san," which she launched in a local Fukuoka newspaper in April 1946. The strip later moved to the national circulation of the Asahi Shimbun in 1949 and was serialized daily until Hasegawa retired in February 1974. The series follows the daily life of Sazae-san, a fictional Japanese housewife, and her extended family, offering a gentle and humorous depiction of post-war Japanese society. The characters’ names are derived from elements of the sea, reflecting the creator’s inspiration from a walk along the shore.

The popularity of "Sazae-san" led to its adaptation into other media. It was turned into a dramatic radio series in 1955. The most significant adaptation, however, is the weekly anime television series that began broadcasting in 1969. This animated version continues to air regularly, becoming one of the longest-running animated series in the world and a beloved national institution in Japan.

Beyond "Sazae-san," Hasegawa created several other notable manga works that were also adapted for television. These include "Epuron Oba-san" (Aunt Apron), serialized from 1957 to 1965, which was adapted into television dramas, and "Ijiwaru Bā-san" (Granny Mischief), serialized from 1966 to 1971, which was adapted into both television dramas and anime series. An autobiographical essay by Hasegawa was also adapted into an NHK morning drama titled "Ma-Ne Chan" in 1979.

Hasegawa’s artistic identity is strongly tied to the four-panel comic strip format, or yonkoma, which her work helped popularize as a standard. Her storytelling consistently focused on slice-of-life narratives, family dynamics, and social satire, all presented with a light-hearted and humanistic tone. Her work is noted for pioneering elements of feminist thought in mainstream manga, often featuring spirited and independent female protagonists. Her significance to the manga industry is profound. She was a pioneer for women in a field once dominated by men, and her success opened doors for future generations of female manga artists. Hasegawa also demonstrated a strong sense of professional integrity; she famously refused commercial sponsorship from a sake company for the "Sazae-san" anime, ensuring it aired on the non-commercial NHK network. Furthermore, she was involved in a landmark copyright case against a bus company for unauthorized use of her characters, which led to the establishment of new laws extending legal protection to fictional characters as individual intellectual property.

Throughout her career, Hasegawa received numerous accolades. She won the 8th Bungeishunjū Manga Award for "Sazae-san" in 1962. In 1982, she became the first female manga artist to receive Japan's Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon. In 1990, she was awarded the Order of the Precious Crown, Fourth Class. Following her death from heart failure on May 27, 1992, she was posthumously awarded the People's Honor Award, a rare distinction for a manga artist. Hasegawa never married and lived with her older sister Mariko, with whom she founded the Shimaisha Publishing Company to publish her works. She lived a reclusive life in her final years, and in accordance with her will, news of her death was not announced until 35 days after her private funeral. Her legacy is preserved at the Hasegawa Machiko Art Museum in Tokyo, which houses her collection of art and original drawings.