Junji Ito (伊藤 潤二) is a Japanese horror manga artist. Some of his most notable works include Tomie, a series chronicling an immortal girl who drives her stricken admirers to madness; Uzumaki, a three-volume series about a town cursed by spirals; and Gyo, a two-volume story in which fish are controlled by a strain of sentient bacteria called "the death stench." His other works include The Junji Ito Horror Comic Collection, a collection of his many short stories, and Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu, a self-parody about him and his wife living in a house with two cats. Ito's work has developed a substantial cult following, and Ito has been called an iconic horror manga artist. His manga has been adapted to both film and anime television series, including the Tomie film series and both the Junji Ito Collection and Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre anime anthology series.

Life and career

Junji Ito was born on July 31, 1963, in Sakashita, now a part of Nakatsugawa, Gifu. He began his experience in the horror world at a very young age, with his first manga being Mummy Teacher by Kazuo Umezu; his two older sisters read Umezu and Shinichi Koga in magazines, and consequently, he began reading them too. He grew up in the countryside, in a small city next to Nagano. In the house where he lived, the bathroom was at the end of an underground tunnel, where there were spider crickets; such experiences were later reflected in his works. Ito began to draw manga at the age of 4, taking inspiration from the works he read in magazines. He continued to draw as a hobby until he became a dental technician in 1984, where he struggled to find a balance between the two. In 1987, he submitted a short story to Monthly Halloween that won an honorable mention in the Kazuo Umezu Prize (with Umezu himself as one of the judges). This story ran for 13 years and was later serialized as Tomie. Ito drew the cover of Mucc's 2002 album Hōmura Uta. He collaborated with the band again in 2020, for the cover of their made-to-order single "Shōfu 2020". Ito teamed up with Takashi Nagasaki and former diplomat Masaru Sato to create Yūkoku no Rasputin (2010–2012), based on Sato's personal experiences in Russia, for Big Comic. Film director Guillermo del Toro cited on his official Twitter account that Ito was originally a collaborator for the video game Silent Hills, of which both Del Toro and game designer Hideo Kojima were the main directors. However, a year after its announcement, the project was canceled by Konami, the IP's owner. Ito and Del Toro would later lend their likenesses to Kojima's next project, Death Stranding.

Awards

Ito's work Uzumaki was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2003 and 2009. In 2019, Ito received his first Eisner Award for his manga adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein for "Best Adaptation from Another Medium." In 2021, Ito received two more Eisner Awards for his works Remina and Venus in the Blind Spot, receiving "Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Asia" and "Best Writer/Artist." The following year, Ito received another Eisner Award for his work Lovesickness, receiving "Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Asia" for the third time and his fourth Eisner Award." In 2023, Ito was awarded the Inkpot Award during the annual San Diego Comic-Con.

Personal life

In 2006, Ito married Ayako Ishiguro (石黒亜矢子), a picture book artist. As of 2024, they have two daughters.

Inspiration and themes

Other artists

In addition to Kazuo Umezu, and Shigeru Mizuki, Ito has cited Hideshi Hino, Shinichi Koga, Yasutaka Tsutsui, Edogawa Ranpo and H. P. Lovecraft as being major influences on his work. Ito has stated that Umezu has inspired his storytelling, and Hino has inspired his ability in creating a mood for a work. He has also stated that he admires Guillermo del Toro's work. A connection between Lovecraft's work and the spirals of Uzumaki has been placed before, as well as a common theme of cosmic horror. Ito has also cited H. R. Giger, Salvador Dalí, and others as influences on his work as well.

Childhood

Ito has been inspired by horror since childhood, with his first manga being written about a protagonist with an eye in the middle of his hand, attacking him; this was heavily influenced by Shigeru Mizuki's Kappa no Sanpei. Ito was inspired by the horror films of the 20th century (such as Dracula and Frankenstein), as well as period dramas of ghosts. He has also found inspiration from Rakugo storytellers who tell Kaiden ghost stories, incorporating it into No Longer Human. Tomie was inspired by the death of one of his classmates. Ito felt strange that a boy he knew suddenly disappeared from the world, and he kept expecting the boy to show up again; from this came the idea of a girl who is supposed to have died but then just shows up as if nothing had happened. Gyo was influenced by the shark attack scenes from Jaws. The Hanging Balloons was based on a childhood dream. Long Dream was inspired by his sister mentioning research of dreams being instantaneous, and Slug Girl was inspired by Ito moving his tongue around in the mirror and finding that it resembled a slug.

Academics

Ito studied and graduated from a vocational school with a degree in Dental Technology before working as a dental technician, where he worked for 3 years until he became a full-time mangaka. Ito found anatomical interest in the books for the medical students, which he used to study muscles. He is also cited stating the schooling gave him more inspiration for his tools in drawing, namely pens and how to whittle pencils like dentures.

Themes

Ito's work consists of many subgenres of horror, mainly being host to the subgenres of body horror and cosmic horror. Much of his work is based solely in them, with other themes including a relationship of predator to prey, a loss of humanity, apocalyptic scenarios, and obsession being common. The universe Ito depicts is cruel and capricious; his characters often find themselves victims of malevolent unnatural circumstances for no discernible reason or punished out of proportion for minor infractions against an unknown and incomprehensible natural order. He takes inspiration from his own fears as well, including death, war, insects, and being watched. Ito has been cited saying that he draws the manifestation of the mind becoming reality, represented in body horror.

Works

Manga

12-volume collection of Junji Ito's Short Stories. Includes all the short stories in the Museum of Terror Collection as well as some newer stories. These are the volumes upon which Viz Media bases their English releases (Junji Ito Story Collections).

Other works

Specials and Uncollected One-Shots

Illustrations

Adaptations

Tomie was adapted into a series of films, beginning in 1999. Several other works of Ito's have subsequently been adapted for film, television and videogaming:

Interviews