As a manga artist, Nazuna Saito has had a unique career path in the world of Japanese creators.

The 78-year-old is still active after making her professional debut at age 40, unusually late by “mangaka” standards.

In her latest work, “Bocchi Shi no Yakata” (The house of solitary death), Saito explores a subject matter that she knows intimately, but few of her colleagues have ever explored: solitary deaths, dementia and a host of other issues that Japan’s growing ranks of elderly citizens face.

“Bocchi Shi no Yakata” has been highly acclaimed, with many fans finding it relatable to their own lives.

“It is rare in the commercial manga industry for an artist on the front line of our aging society to write about what is happening to people her age,” said Tomo Machinaga, 43, Saito’s editor at publisher Shogakukan Inc.

The manga, set in an apartment complex known as the Tama New Town on the outskirts of Tokyo, describes the daily lives of seniors living there.

The sprawling apartment complex, where Saito has lived for nearly 50 years, was constructed to alleviate a serious housing shortage in the capital when Japan’s economy was rapidly expanding. A vast number of young families moved there after the 1970s.

Half a century later, their community, now home to some 200,000 people, has transformed into one predominantly of elderly people, with or without spouses, as their grown children have moved away.

Death is not a remote prospect for these residents and solitary death is not uncommon in the community. Saito portrays these events matter-of-factly.

Her characters, understandably, carry emotional baggage from the past and struggle with illnesses, loneliness and friction with their relatives and neighbors.

Although the lives of elderly people can be a heavy subject to tackle, the tone of her manga is not terribly dark--it’s sprinkled with dry humor and warmth.

Saito said her work is largely fiction, but inspired by many incidents she has witnessed in her community.

“I find the events around me intriguing and use them as material for my work,” she said.

Though passionate about her career, she did not set out to become a manga artist.

After graduating from a junior college in Tokyo, she landed a job at an English language school.

She dabbled in drawing pictures for teaching materials at the school. The experience prompted her to hone her skills as an illustrator.

As her work gained notice among her acquaintances, she received an offer to illustrate for a sports newspaper. Saito did that gig for eight years.

As she gradually received fewer assignments from the newspaper, she decided to try her hand at becoming a professional manga artist, despite having little experience in the field.

“I thought I might be able to make some money if I wrote a manga,” she recalled of her decision.

Her professional debut came in 1986, when she published “Daria,” which shows the lives of ordinary people from the viewpoint of an elementary schoolgirl. Published by Shogakukan, it was awarded the publisher’s Big Comic New Face Award in 1986.

Saito moved on to work on a serialized manga, but was forced to pause her career to look after her mother and husband.

About 10 years ago, Sato was encouraged to start creating again by former students of her manga classes at Kyoto Seika University, the nation’s only university offering a manga program.

The resulting manga appeared in a fanzine and received rave reviews.

It came to the attention of Seirinkogeisha, a publisher specializing in subculture comics, which approached her about a project.

The result was “Yugure he” (Toward dusk), Saito’s first published comic since her 20-year hiatus. It portrays dramas of lovers, married couples and lonely old people laden with emotions.

The work won her prestigious prizes in 2019: the excellence award of the Japan Cartoonists Association and the outstanding performance award of the manga division of the cultural affairs agency’s Japan Media Arts Festival.

However, a stroke five years ago forced Saito to slow down. She was hospitalized for 10 days and took more than six months to fully recover.

“I was in shock at the beginning, but my doctor assured me that I would regain my health,” she said. “So, I switched my thinking and took advantage of the situation to use as a source material for my manga.”

In addition to drawing her own manga, Saito gives manga lessons for residents in her neighborhood.

Asked about why she continues to work at her age, her answer is brief.

“I need to make ends meet,” she said with a grin. “I must work until I die to make a living. I have no choice.”

However, she added that aging is not necessarily a setback--professionally or as an individual.

“As I grow older and have more experiences, I’ve come to see clearly what matters most in life,” she said. “Curiously enough, my techniques just get better and my desire to write manga becomes stronger.”