Hikari Hayakawa is a Japanese creator born in 1961 in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. His professional roles include manga original story writer, film director, screenwriter, essayist, and commentator. Hayakawa began his career in the film industry, directing his first theatrical film, Agi Kami no Ikari, in 1984. In 1985, he published a book on sushi titled Sushi Edomae o Taberu. His early work in film included the 1989 short film Yomigaeru Yami, which was based on an original story by manga artist Go Nagai.

Hayakawa is best known as the original creator of the manga series Edomae Sushi Shokunin Kirara no Shigoto. The story follows a young woman named Kirara who aspires to become a master chef of Edomae-style sushi. The manga was serialized in Shueisha’s Super Jump magazine from 2002 to 2007 and was compiled into sixteen volumes. The artwork for the series was provided by illustrator Kozou Hashimoto. In 2005, the manga was adapted into a live-action television special. Hayakawa is credited with the original story for this adaptation.

Beyond this notable work, Hayakawa has created several other manga series focused on Japanese culinary arts and traditions. In 2009, he began writing Dashimaster, a manga centered on the art of making Japanese soup stock. In 2011, he launched Watashi wa Rikyū, a series about the tea ceremony, in the inaugural issue of the magazine Jump X. The following year, in 2012, he started the manga Entremetier, which focuses on the world of pâtisserie.

Hayakawa’s career is marked by a consistent focus on gourmet and traditional Japanese craftsmanship. His work often explores the dedication and skill required in specialized culinary professions, such as sushi, dashi, pastry arts, and tea ceremony. While his manga have been adapted into a live-action drama, there is no widely documented anime adaptation of his work. Hayakawa continues to be recognized as a specialist in food-themed narratives within the seinen manga demographic.