Gosho Aoyama was born as Yoshimasa Aoyama in Hokuei on June 21, 1963. He was gifted at drawing, even as a child. In first grade, his painting of "Yukiai War" won a competition & was displayed at the Tottori Daimaru Department Store. He graduated from high school at Ikuei High School. After finishing high school, he studied at Nihon University College of Art in Tokyo. In 1986, Gosho joined a comic contest for freshmen and won, which was a stepping-stone for his future career as a manga artist & author. The following year, his first & earliest comic was "Chotto Mattete" (Wait a Minute), first published in the Shonen Sunday magazine. In 1992, He won the Shogakukan manga contest for his "Yaiba" series. In 1994, Gosho's Case Closed (a.k.a. Detective Conan) made its manga debut, which became a popular & long-running anime TV series.