is a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 manga artist

Mangaka

is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...

. He is most noted for Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō

Yokohama Kaidashi Kiko

is a science fiction manga written and illustrated by Hitoshi Ashinano. The title can be translated Yokohama Shopping Log or Record of a Yokohama Shopping Trip. One tankōbon volume, the publisher's former English language website, and the second original video animation series have the subtitle...

, for which he won Afternoon magazine's Four Seasons Award for debut works and the 2007 Seiun Award

Seiun Award

The is a Japanese science fiction award for the best science fiction published in Japan during the preceding year, as voted by attendees of the Japan Science Fiction Convention. "Seiun" is the Japanese word for "nebula", but the award is not related to the American Nebula Award. It was named after...

 for Best Science Fiction Manga. Another notable work is PositioN. He has also been known to create dōjinshi

Dojinshi

is the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...

 under the name "suke". Prior to his debut, Ashinano worked as an assistant to manga artist Kōsuke Fujishima

Kosuke Fujishima

is a Japanese manga artist.Born in Chiba, Japan, he first came to public attention as an editor of Puff magazine, his first job after completing high school. Fujishima originally intended to be a draftsman, but took the editorial role after failing to get a drafting apprenticeship...

.

His work also usually has a rather laid-back, nostalgic feel with undertones of mystery; there are frequent stretches with little or no dialogue. Many of his works are also notable for their strong, independent female protagonists.

Works

(2007-Ongoing, Afternoon

Afternoon (magazine)

is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Kodansha. It is a monthly anthology, and each issue typically has around thirty ongoing stories by various authors and runs about 800 pages...

)

• Kumabachi no koto (February 2007, Afternoon
  Afternoon (magazine)
  is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Kodansha. It is a monthly anthology, and each issue typically has around thirty ongoing stories by various authors and runs about 800 pages...
  
  )
• Misaki (July 2006, Afternoon)
• PositioN (1999, Afternoon Season Zōkan and Bessatsu Morning)
• Trbo Type S (2006, tribute manga for E no Moto)
• Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō
  Yokohama Kaidashi Kiko
  is a science fiction manga written and illustrated by Hitoshi Ashinano. The title can be translated Yokohama Shopping Log or Record of a Yokohama Shopping Trip. One tankōbon volume, the publisher's former English language website, and the second original video animation series have the subtitle...
  
  (1994–2006, Afternoon)