Moto Hagio was born in 1949 and lives in Japan. She is widely considered the most beloved shojo manga artist of all time. She is the winner of the 2006 Japanese equivalent of the Nebula Award.
Hagio's sea of accomplishments span four decades, and feature such common themes as friendship, siblings, death, the woods, the future, and love. Most come across as either quite poignant, deliciously odd, or frickin' creepy. Identifiable and, hence, often uncomfortable to confront.