The Japanese illustrator Kenji Tsuruta (鶴田謙二) grew up in Hamamatsu, a city in Shizuoka Prefecture south-west of Tokyo. Originally intending to become a photographer, he studied optical science at university, where he discovered the work of manga artist Yukinobu Hoshino, whose science fiction stories helped persuade him to change direction. Influenced also by the science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein and manga artist Tetsuya Chiba, he began producing independent publications before making his professional debut in 1986 with What a Big Wonderful Universe It Is (広くてすてきな宇宙じゃないか).

Tsuruta became best known for Spirit of Wonder (スピリット オブ ワンダー), a science fiction manga serialised from 1986 to 1994, and subsequently adapted for animation. His other manga include Wandering Island (冒険エレキテ島) and Memories of Emanon (おもいでエマノン), based on a story by Shinji Kajio. He also designed characters for the animated series Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (アベノ橋魔法☆商店街) and illustrated numerous books, particularly science fiction titles.

Alongside his narrative work, Tsuruta has developed a distinctive practice as an illustrator. His images combine finely observed detail, fluid drawing and subtle, naturalistic colour. His background in photography informs his attention to composition, perspective and the physical character of settings. Women are frequent subjects, depicted in both everyday situations and imagined worlds, with a directness that gives his work a particular intimacy.

His 2002 illustration collection Hita Hita (ひたひた) brings together a substantial body of drawings of unclothed young women, often presented without elaborate staging or overt narrative. The images range from informal domestic scenes to more carefully composed portraits, balancing close observation of the human form with an understated eroticism. Other art books include Hydrogen (水素), Eternal (エターナル) and Comet (コメット).

Tsuruta received the Seiun Award in the art category in 2000, 2001, 2013 and 2023, and the Hayakawa’s SF Magazine Reader’s Award (SFマガジン読者賞) for best illustrator in 2000.

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