Kiyohiko Azuma is a Japanese manga artist born on May 27, 1968, in Takasago, Hyogo Prefecture. After graduating from Kobe Design University with a degree in art and engineering, he began his creative career drawing dojinshi, or fan-made parody manga, based on popular series like Sailor Moon. Before achieving mainstream success, he occasionally worked under a different pen name for adult-oriented publications.

Azuma first gained widespread recognition for the manga series Azumanga Daioh, which was serialized from 1999 to 2002 in the monthly magazine Dengeki Daioh. The series is a four-panel comic strip, known as yonkoma, that chronicles the humorous everyday lives of a group of high school girls and their eccentric teachers. The title itself is a portmanteau combining part of the author's name with the word manga. The series was adapted into an anime television production by the studio J.C.Staff, which aired in 2002, and its popularity helped establish Azuma as a skilled writer of comedic timing and character-driven slice-of-life stories.

In 2003, Azuma began his ongoing series Yotsuba&!, also serialized in Dengeki Daioh. The story follows the daily adventures of a lively and curious five-year-old girl named Yotsuba as she moves to a new city with her adoptive father and discovers the world around her. Unlike his previous work, Yotsuba&! is drawn in a full-page manga format, which allows for more expansive artistic expression. The series is noted for its deliberate artistic contrast, where the cartoonish and expressive character of Yotsuba is placed against incredibly detailed and realistic urban backgrounds. Azuma has stated this technique is meant to portray an unusual character within a realistic world.

Despite the significant success of Yotsuba&! and the previous anime adaptation of Azumanga Daioh, the Yotsuba&! manga has not been adapted into an anime. Azuma has stated that he believes the story and artistic style of the series are not well-suited for animation. As an original creator, he is credited for the anime Nyanbo!, which is based on his original work. His authorship extends beyond manga, having also provided character designs for the original net anime Magical Play in the early 2000s. Through works like Azumanga Daioh and Yotsuba&!, Azuma is recognized for refining the slice-of-life comedy genre, and he has been acclaimed as a master of the four-panel comic form.