Kyoko Mizuki
Kyoko Mizuki is one of the pen names of Keiko Nagita, a Japanese writer who is best known for being the author of the manga and anime series Candy Candy.
Kyoko Mizuki won the Kodansha Manga Award for Best Shōjo Manga for Candy Candy in 1977 with Yumiko Igarashi.
Keiko Nagita won the Japan Juvenile Writers Association Prize for Rainette, Kin Iro no Ringo in 2007.
Her short story Akai Mi Haziketa is printed in Japanese Primary School Textbook for 6th grade.
Her picture book Shampoo Ōji series was adapted into an anime television series in October 2007.
Biography
When she was 12 years old, her father died. Then she created "imaginary family Andrews" to relieve her loneliness and wrote their stories on a notebook.Mizuki said: "I feel Andrews family have watched me affectionately. They are the origin of my story writing".
She spent a few years as an actress of Shiki Theatre Company in her late teens, and some of her works reflect this.
In eleventh-grade, she won a prize short story contest for young girls' magazine Jogakusei no Tomo. After selling her short story Yomigaeri, Soshite Natsu wa to the magazine when she was 19 years old, she decided to become a full-time writer.
In those days she was a frequent contributor of poems to Koukou Bungei magazine, famous poet Katsumi Sugawara appreciated her talent and she joined his poetry club. When she was 20, she published a collection of poems Kaeru privately. Five years later, her poetical works Omoide wa Utawanai was published by Sanrio Company, Ltd.
She wrote short stories and love stories for young girls' magazines, and Kodansha commissioned her to write stories for their shōjo manga magazine Shōjo Friend. In the 1970s, she wrote many shōjo manga stories as Ayako Kazu, Akane Kouda, Kyoko Mizuki and Keiko Nagita.
In 1975, she wrote the story of freckled hearty girl, Candy Candy for monthly Nakayoshi.
In her twenties, she wrote the first story for a manga at the request of Mr. Higashiura, then the chief editor of Bessatsu Shōjo Friend. She wrote many shōjo manga stories for mainly Friend and Nakayoshi in 1970s. Then, Mr. Higashiura who took up the post of the chief editor of Monthly Nakayoshi drew up a project that a shōjo manga like a famous stories retold for children as Heidi.
She said: .
The manga was adapted into anime television series in 1976 by Toei Animation. Since then Candy Candy has made her one of the more successful female manga writers.
The last episode of Candy Candy was written at Domaine De Beauvois, a chateau-hotel in France. Mizuki said: "I wanted to say good-bye to Candice in beautiful place. If possible, I wanted to go to the United Kingdom When I was into the room, tears welled up in my eyes because a picture of fox hunting was hung on the wall. Fox hunting--it took Anthony's life. When I remember Candice, autumn days at the beautiful hotel came to my mind. The hotel was like the villa of Ardray family".
Since 1980, she is mainly writing juveniles and love stories for young girls as Keiko Nagita. Her Fūko to Yūrei series is especially popular. Music for Fūko to Yūrei series was composed by Toru Okada who is a member of Japanese famous rock group Moonriders, the album called Siriau Maekara Zutto Suki 知りあう前からずっと好き was released in 1995.
In 2001, she returned to publishing with the concluding part of Fūko to Yūrei.
She won the Japan Juvenile Writers Association Prize 2007 for Rainette, Kin Iro no Ringo, a love story of a Japanese girl and a Belarusian boy who was exposed to radiation of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
In May 2008, she wrote a story for Shōjo manga after an interval of 18 years. The manga Loreley was drawn by Kaya Tachibana.
She has a husband and a daughter, they enjoy vacation at their cottage in Prince Edward Island every summer. Terry Kamikawa, a student of Anne of Green Gables and hostess of Blue Winds Tea Room in P.E.I, is her best friend.
She has a collection of heart shaped objects. Part of her collection is shown on the Aoitori Bunko official site.
Selected bibliography
Manga
Sanremo ni Kanpai, 1970Brandenburg no Asa, 1970Le Grand Anne Gou wa Yuku, 1970Greenhill Monogatari, 1970–1971Lorient no Aoi Sora, 1974–1975Candy Candy, 1975–1979Etruria no Ken, 1975Miriam Blue no Mizuumi, 1975Hoshi eno Kaidan, 1975Byakuya no Nightingale, 1976–1977Bara no Ki, 1978Premier Muguet, 1979–1981Kirara Boshi no Daiyogen, 1980–1981Sunday's Child, 1980–1981Tim Tim Circus, 1981–1982Loreley, 2008Novels
As Keiko NagitaCandy Candy, 1978Umi ni Otiru Yuki, 1980Night Game, 1985Moonlight Express, 1986Fūko to Yūrei series, 1988–2002Umizikan no Marin, 1992Akai Mi Haziketa, 1999Hoshi no Kakera, 2000–2001Tenshi no Hashigo, 2002–2003Koppu no Naka no Yuuzora, 2004–2005air, 2003Rainette, Kin Iro no Ringo, 2006Ballerina Jikenbo series, 2006–2008Birthday Club series, 2006-Poems
As Keiko NagitaKaeru, 1969Omoide wa Utawanai, 1974Otanjoubi ni, 1975Fifty, 2004Essays
As Keiko NagitaMouitido Utatte, 1978Nagita Keiko Hitoritabi, 1980Anne no Shima, Kazedayori, 1993, collaboration with Terry KamikawaIslander Monogatari, Anne no Sima no Hitobito, 1997Picture books
As Keiko Nagitakodansha Ohimesama Ehon4 Ningyohime, 1971Nemutai Kirin, 1979Monmonku wa Yasasii, 1979Shampoo Ōji no Bouken, 2004Shampoo Ōji to Kitanai Kotoba, 2005Shampoo Ōji to Daiakutou, 2006Lyrics
As Keiko NagitaCandy Candy Ashita ga Suki Futari kiri no Lullaby Tazunebito futagoza Ame no Suizokukan Shabondama Love Shiriau Maekara Zutto Suki Shizuku wa Anata no Sign Uwasa Shitteruwa Shampoo Ōji no Bouken- ''Shampoo Ōji no Komoriuta''