Shosuke Kurakane was the pen name of Torao Kurakane, a Japanese manga artist born on February 13, 1914. He died on August 25, 1973. Kurakane is recognized as a manga creator who was active from the pre-war period through the 1950s, and he is noted for being a pupil of the influential manga artist Tagawa Suiho, who was famous for the series Norakuro.

Kurakane is best known as the original creator of the manga series Anmitsu Hime. The story follows Anmitsu, a tomboy princess who lives in Amakara Castle and frequently escapes her royal duties to have adventures, learning about the world beyond her home while causing trouble for the castle's inhabitants. The original Anmitsu Hime manga was serialized in Kobunsha's Shōjo magazine from May 1949 to April 1955. The series was highly successful, helping to boost the magazine's circulation to 700,000 copies, and it was considered one of the most popular manga of the early 1950s. The manga was later collected into four volumes.

The Anmitsu Hime franchise generated numerous adaptations across different media, making it one of Kurakane's most significant and enduring works. The property was adapted into three live-action films, with the first two released in November 1954 and a third released in December 1960. Multiple live-action television dramas were also produced. The first TV drama series ran for 100 episodes from December 1958 to October 1960, while a second series aired in 1983 and 1984. Two later television specials starring Mao Inoue were broadcast in 2008 and 2009.

An anime television adaptation of Anmitsu Hime, titled in English as Sugar Princess, was produced by Studio Pierrot and aired on Fuji TV from October 5, 1986, to September 27, 1987, running for a total of 51 episodes. This anime series was directed by Masami Annō and featured character designs by Kōji Nanke. The series' theme songs were performed by the popular idol group Onyanko Club. The franchise also inspired a video game for the Sega Master System. This game was later localized for Western markets as Alex Kidd in High-Tech World, with the main character and several story elements altered for the international release.

Beyond Anmitsu Hime, Kurakane is also known for another major work titled Tentenmusume. This manga was adapted into a film in 1956 starring Mariko Miyagi, and later into a television drama in 1984 with Mayumi Hara in the lead role. In the context of manga history, Kurakane is recognized as a contemporary of other notable artists from his generation, including Hasegawa Machiko, the creator of Sazae-san, and Sugiura Shigeru, a fellow pupil of Tagawa Suiho. His work as a creator of popular children's manga in the post-war period, particularly his creation of the enduring character Princess Anmitsu, marks his significance in the industry.