Mitsuhashi Otoya was in love as a child with kashihon (rental) gekiga. His first work for Garo (1965) strongly bore that dying genre's influence. In 1967, he began working as an assistant to the legendary Nagashima Shinji. Then, from the mid-70s to the mid-80s, Mitsuhashi himself became a regularly contributor of dream stories and bohemian fantasies to Garo. He is perhaps better known, however, as the blues singer and harmonica artist, Shiva (シバ). He helped form the band Musashino Dangelion Group (武蔵野たんぽぽ団) in 1971, and released his first studio album "Blue Sky Day" in 1972. He remains active as a musician and visual artist, though the latter now primarily as a painter.