Sato Sanpei, the originator of the "Fuji Santaro" businessman manga, died of aspiration pneumonia at the age of 91.

Manga artist Sampei Sato passed away on July 31 from aspiration pneumonia at the age of 91. The funeral was held among his close relatives.

Born on September 11, 1929 in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, Sato grew up in Tennoji Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, from the age of two.
He was familiar with manga from an early age and showed his talent by winning a drawing competition himself.

After the war, he aspired to become a painter, but instead found work at Daimaru. After working on newspaper ad layouts and copywriting, he made his debut as a cartoonist in 1953 with "Osaka's Son," a four-panel cartoon that appeared in the Shin-Osaka Shimbun.

After moving to Tokyo, in 1965, he began a serialization of his four-panel comic "Fuji Santaro" in the evening edition of the Asahi Shimbun (later moved to the morning edition), which became a long-term serialization that ran for 26 years until 1991. This work gained popularity as a manga depicting the daily life of an ordinary businessman, and the life of ordinary people was depicted with humor.

In addition, he wrote many essays and was an energetic writer.

We pray for his soul rest in peace.