Cartoonist Ryuichi Yokoyama died early Thursday of a stroke at a hospital in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, his family said. He was 92.
The nation's oldest cartoonist collapsed Tuesday at his home in Kamakura. He was rushed to a hospital, where he had remained unconscious, the family said.
After taking part in the creation of a new comic group in 1932, he produced many satirical comics.
His work culminated in the creation of Fuku-chan, a child character wearing a mortarboard that was serialized in the Mainichi Shimbun from 1956 to 1971, during which more than 5,500 strips ran.
His work was also made into a motion picture and is said to have had a profound effect on many others who followed in his footsteps, including the late cartoonist Ozamu Tezuka.
Yokoyama received a Persons of Cultural Merits award in 1994, marking the first time a cartoonist received the honor.