Japanese screenwriter Makiko Uchidate, known for writing scripts for many television drama series in the country, died of acute left-side heart failure at a hospital in Tokyo on Dec. 17. She was 77.
Uchidate was born in Akita Prefecture in 1948. After graduating from Musashino Art University in Tokyo, she started her career as a screenwriter in 1988.
In 1993, she received an award for her screenwriting for ¡°Hirari,¡± a TV drama series about a girl who loves sumo.
Her works also included samurai drama series ¡°Mori Motonari.¡± She was also known as a writer of bestselling novels.
From 2000 to 2010, she served as the first-ever female member of a panel to assess yokozuna, the highest rank in professional sumo.
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