Masatoshi Kawahara is a Japanese manga artist and the original creator behind the anime and manga series Shura no Toki: Age of Chaos. Born on August 17, 1960, in Mihara City, Hiroshima Prefecture, he is a graduate of the Hiroshima Merchant Marine College, where he studied in the Department of Navigation. His professional career began in 1984 when his work was selected as a finalist for Kodansha's Newcomer Manga Award. In the same year, he made his formal debut by serializing the manga Paradise Gakuen in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine.

Kawahara is best known for creating the expansive Shura franchise. His major breakthrough came with the manga Shura no Mon (The Gate of Asura), which was serialized from 1987 to 1996. This work introduced the fictional martial art known as Mutsu Enmei Ryu, a bare-handed combat style passed down through generations of the Mutsu family. Following the success of Shura no Mon, Kawahara wrote and illustrated its historical spin-off, Mutsu Enmei Ryu Gaiden: Shura no Toki, which began serialization in 1989. It is this manga that served as the source material for the anime television series Shura no Toki: Age of Chaos, produced by Studio Comet and broadcast on TV Tokyo in 2004. In all twenty-six episodes of the anime, Kawahara is officially credited as the original creator.

The central artistic identity of Kawahara's work lies in the fusion of historical drama and martial arts. His narratives often explore the legend of the Mutsu Enmei Ryu, pitting its practitioners against famous real-life figures from Japanese history, such as Miyamoto Musashi and Yagyu Munenori. Beyond the Shura series, his body of work includes the ocean-adventure manga Kaio Ki (The Chronicle of the Sea King) and the boxing manga My Champion. In recognition of his contributions to the industry, Kawahara received the 14th Kodansha Manga Award in the shonen category for Shura no Mon in 1990.