Junji Ito


Junji Ito 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. 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, 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, a picture book artist. As of 2025, 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. Junji Ito has recommended the manga of Noroi Michiru, stating "I'm always blown away by Noroi Michiru's talent of depicting terror!"
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, 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

Volume 1 and 2: Tomie Volume 3: Flesh-Colored Horror
  • * Collects: The Long Hair in the Attic, Approval, Beehive, Dying Young, Headless Sculptures, and Flesh-Colored HorrorVolume 4: The Face Burglar
  • * Collects: The Face Burglar, Scarecrow, Falling, Red String, Honored Ancestors, and The Hanging BalloonsVolume 5: Souichi's Diary of Delights
  • * A collection of one-shots featuring Junji Ito's character, Souichi
  • * Collects: Fun Summer Vacation, Fun Winter Vacation, Souichi's Diary of Delights, Souichi's Home Tutor, Mannequin Teacher, and Souichi's BirthdayVolume 6: Souichi's Diary of Curses
  • * Sequel collection continuing the Souichi storyline after Souchi's Diary of Delights
  • * Collects: Souichi's Selfish Curse, The Room With Four Walls, Coffin, Rumors, and Fashion ModelVolume 7: Slug Girl
  • * Collects: Slug Girl, ''The Thing That Drifted Ashore, Mold, Shiver, The Inn, Groaning Drain Pipes, and Bio HouseVolume 8: Blood-Bubble Bushes
  • * Collects: Blood-Bubble Bushes, Unendurable Labyrinth, The Reanimator's Sword, The Will, The Bridge, The Devil's Logic, and The Conversation RoomVolume 9: Hallucinations
  • * Hallucinations' stories take place in different dimensions, but share the theme of the titular character/s Oshikiri and the interdimensional portal that exists in his/their house
  • * Collects: Hallucinations, Bog of the Living Dead, Pen Pal, Intruder, The Strange Tale of Oshikiri, and The Strange Tale of Oshikiri: The WallsVolume 10: Marionette Mansion
  • * Collects: Ice Cream Bus, Gang House, The Smoking Club, Used Record, Where the Sandman Lives, The Gift Bearer, and Marionette Mansion Volume 11: The Town Without Streets
  • * Collects: The Town Without Streets, Near Miss!, Maptown, Village of the Siren, and The Supernatural Transfer StudentVolume 12: The Bully
  • * Collects: The Bully, Deserter, A Father's Love, Memory, The Back Alley, Scripted Love, and In The SoilVolume 13: The Circus is Here
  • * Collects: The Circus is Here, Gravetown, The Adjacent Window, two The Bizarre Hikizuri Siblings stories The Second Daughter’s Lover and The Seance Volume 14: The Story of the Mysterious Tunnel
  • * Collects: The Long Dream, The Story of the Mysterious Tunnel, Bronze Statue, Drifting Spores, and Blood Sickness of the White Sands VillageVolume 15: Lovesick Dead
  • * Ryusuke returns to the town he once lived in because rumors are swirling about girls killing themselves after encountering a bewitchingly handsome young man. Harboring his own secret from time spent in this town, Ryusuke attempts to capture the beautiful boy and close the case, but…Volume 16: Frankenstein
  • *Junji Ito's manga adaptation of the Mary Shelley novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
  • *Includes two bonus stories: The Hell of Doll Funeral, and Memories of Real PoopVolume 1 and 2: Tomie Volume 3: The Long Hair in the Attic
  • * Collects: Bio House, Face Thief, Where the Sandman Lives, The Devil's Logic, The Long Hair in the Attic, Scripted Love, The Reanimator's Sword, A Father's Love, Unendurable Labyrinth, Village of the Siren, Bullied, and DeserterVolume 4: Scarecrow
  • * Collects: Red String, Used Record, The Gift Bearer, The Bridge, The Circus is Here, Beehive, Maptown, Headless Sculptures, Dying Young, Shiver, Scarecrow, and The WillVolume 5: The Back Alley
  • * Collects: The Back Alley, Fashion Model, Falling, The Conversation Room, The Inn, Approval, The Smoking Club, Mold, The Town Without Streets, Memory, and Ice Cream BusVolume 6: Soichi's Selfish Curse
  • * Reprints The Junji Ito Horror Comic Collection Volumes 5 and 6, excluding Fashion ModelVolume 7: Groaning Drain Pipes
  • * Collects: The Supernatural Transfer Student, Groaning Drain Pipes, Blood-Bubble Bushes, The Hanging Balloons, Marionette Mansion, Flesh-Colored Horror, Near Miss!, and In the SoilVolume 8: Blood Sickness of the White Sands Village
  • * Reprints The Junji Ito Horror Comic Collection Volumes 14: The Story of the Mysterious Tunnel
  • * Includes six bonus stories: Gravetown, Gang House, Slug Girl, The Adjacent Window, The Thing That Drifted Ashore, and Honored AncestorsVolume 9: Oshikiri Idan & Frankenstein
  • * Reprints The Junji Ito Horror Comic Collection Volumes 9 and 16
  • * Includes three bonus stories: The Hell of Doll Funeral, Fixed Face, and Junji Ito's Dog DiaryVolume 10: Lovesick Dead
  • * Reprinting of The Junji Ito Horror Comic Collection Volume 15: Lovesick Dead
  • * Includes bonus stories: Both The Bizarre Hikizuri Siblings stories, The Mansion of Phantom Pain, The Rib Woman, and Memories of Real PoopDeserter: Junji Ito Story Collection
  • * Reprints Museum of Terror Volume 3: The Long Hair in the AtticFrankenstein: Junji Ito Story Collection
  • * Reprints Museum of Terror Volume 9: Oshikiri Idan & FrankensteinLovesickness: Junji Ito Story Collection
  • * Reprints Museum of Terror Volume 10: Lovesick DeadSmashed: Junji Ito Story Collection
  • * Reprints Voices in the Dark and New Voices in the Dark, with the exception of Glyceride Soichi: Junji Ito Story Collection
  • * Reprints Museum of Terror Volume 6: Soichi's Selfish Curse with the exception of Fashion ModelTombs: Junji Ito Story Collection
  • * Reprints Museum of Terror Volume 8: Blood Sickness of the White Sands Village with the exception of The Long Dream and Honored Ancestors
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.Volume 1: Tomie: Part 1
  • * Collects: Tomie, Tomie Part 2: Morita Hospital, Basement, Photo, Kiss, Mansion, Revenge, Waterfall Basin, and PainterVolume 2: Tomie: Part 2
  • * Collects: Assassins, Hair, Adopted Daughter, Little Finger, Boy, Moromi, Babysitter, Gathering, Passing Demon, Top Model, and Old and UglyVolume 3: Soichi
  • * Collects: Fun Summer Vacation, Fun Winter Vacation, Soichi's Diary of Delights, Soichi's Home Tutor, Mannequin Teacher, Soichi's Birthday, Soichi's Selfish Curse, The Room With Four Walls, Coffin, and RumorsVolume 4: Lovesickness
  • * Collects: Lovesickness: The Beautiful Boy at the Crossroads, Lovesickness: A Woman in Distress, Lovesickness: Shadow, Lovesickness: Screams in the Night, Lovesickness: The Boy in White, The Bizarre Hikizuri Siblings: Narumi's Boyfriend, The Bizarre Hikizuri Siblings: The Séance, The Mansion of Phantom Pain, The Rib Woman, and Memories of Real PoopVolume 5: Deserter
  • * Collects: Bio House, Face Thief, Where the Sandman Lives, The Devil's Logic, The Long Hair in the Attic, Scripted Love, The Reanimator's Sword, A Father's Love, Unendurable Labyrinth, Village of the Siren, Bullied, and DeserterVolume 6: Alley
  • * Collects: Alley, Falling, The Conversation Room, The Inn, Approval, The Smoking Club, Mold, The Town Without Streets, Memory, and Ice Cream BusVolume 7: Statues
  • * Collects: Red String, The Gift Bearer, The Bridge, The Circus is Here, Beehive, Maptown, Headless Sculptures, Dying Young, Scarecrow, and The WillVolume 8: Moan
  • * Collects: The Supernatural Transfer Student, Groaning Drain Pipes, Blood-Bubble Bushes, Flesh-Colored Horror, Near Miss!, and In The SoilVolume 9: Tombs
  • * Collects: Tombs, Clubhouse, Slug Girl, The Window Next Door, Washed Ashore, The Strange Tale of the Tunnel, Bronze Statue, Floaters, and The Bloody Story of ShirosunaVolume 10: Frankenstein
  • * Collects: Frankenstein, Neck Specter, Bog of Living Spirits, Pen Pal, Intruder, The Strange Tale of Oshikiri, The Strange Tale of Oshikiri: The Walls, The Hell of Doll Funeral, Face Firmly in Place, Boss Non-Non, and Hide-and-Seek with Boss Non-NonVolume 11: Smashed
  • * Collects: Bloodsucking Darkness, Ghosts of Prime Time, Roar, Earthbound, Death Row Doorbell, The Mystery of the Haunted House, The Mystery of the Haunted House: Soichi's Version, Soichi's Beloved Pet, In Mirror Valley, I Don't Want to be a Ghost, Library Vision, Splendid Shadow Song, and SmashedVolume 12: Shiver
  • * This volume acts as a greatest hits collection of short stories
  • * Collects: Used Record, Shiver, Fashion Model, Hanging Blimp, Marionette Mansion, Painter, The Long Dream, Honored Ancestors, Greased, and Fashion Model: Cursed Frame''

Other works

The Art of Junji Ito: Twisted Visions
  • * A first-ever collection of Junji Ito's artworks, featuring over 130 images from his bestselling manga titles along with rare works. This collection includes Ito's illustrations in both black-and-white and color, from the dreadful beauty of Tomie to the inhuman spirals of Uzumaki. Includes an interview focused on Ito's art technique as well as commentary from the artist on each work.Black Paradox
  • * Four people intent on killing themselves meet through the suicide website Black Paradox: Maruso, a nurse who despairs about the future; Taburo, a man who is tortured by his doppelganger; Pii-tan, an engineer with his own robot clone; and Baracchi, a girl who agonizes about the birthmark on her face.
  • * Includes two bonus stories: The Licking Woman and Mystery PavilionA Diary of Embellished Patches
  • * Collects: Pond, Conversation, and DIY Instructions Dissolving Classroom
  • * A pair of twisted siblings—Yuuma, a young man obsessed with the devil, and Chizumi, the worst little sister in recorded history—cause all sorts of tragic and terrifying things to happen wherever they go. These scary short stories will shock the reader with a literal interpretation of the ills that plague modern society.
  • * Includes two bonus stories: The Return and Children of the EarthFragments of Horror
  • * Collects: Futon, Haunted Wood Mansion, Tomio: Red Turtleneck, Lingering Farewell, Dissection Girl, Black Bird, Nanakuse Magami and Whispering Woman Gyo: Ugomeku Bukimi
  • * The floating smell of death hangs over the island. What is it? A strange, legged fish appears on the scene... So begins Tadashi and Kaori's spiral into the horror and stench of the sea.
  • * Includes two bonus stories: The Sad Tale of the Principal Post and The Enigma of Amigara FaultJunji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu
  • * Junji Ito, as J-kun, has recently built a new house and has invited his fiancée, A-ko, to live with him. Little did he know, his blushing bride-to-be has some unexpected company in tow—Yon, a ghastly-looking family cat, and Mu, an adorable Norwegian forest cat. Despite being a dog person, J-kun finds himself persuaded by their odd cuteness and thus begins his comedic struggle to gain the affection of his new feline friends.The Liminal Zone
  • * Collects: Weeping Woman Way, Madonna, The Spirit Flow of Aokigahara, and SlumberThe Liminal Zone Vol.2
  • * Collects: Demon King of Dust, Village of Ether, The Strange Hikizuri Siblings - Uncle Ketanosuke and The Shells of ManjunumaMimi's Tales of Terror
  • * Collects: The Woman Next Door, Sound of Grass, Graveman, The Seashore, Alone with You, and The Scarlet Circle
  • * Includes two short chapters: On the Utility Pole and Sign In the Field
  • * Includes one bonus story: Monster PropNo Longer Human
  • * Ito's manga adaptation of the Osamu Dazai novel of the same name.Rasputin the Patriot
  • *Ito's adaptation of ex-diplomat Sato Masaru's autobiography, The Trap of the State.Remina
  • * This is a horror/sci-fi story about a giant planet-consuming creature from another dimension that a scientist discovers and mistakenly identifies as a planet. Being given the honor to name it as its discoverer, the professor chooses to name it after his only daughter, Remina, but when Hellstar Remina is headed on a direct collision course with Earth, the world goes insane and all the people in the city start a witch hunt to kill Remina, thinking she is somehow to blame.
  • * Includes bonus story: Billions Alone Sensor
  • * A woman walks alone at the foot of Mount Sengoku. A man appears, saying he has been waiting for her, and invites her to a nearby village. Surprisingly, the village is covered in hair-like volcanic glass fibers, and all of it shines a bright gold. At night, when the villagers perform their custom of gazing up at the starry sky, countless unidentified flying objects come raining down on them—the opening act for the terror is about to occur.Tomie
  • * Tomie Kawakami is a femme fatale with long black hair and a beauty mark just under her left eye. She can seduce nearly any man, and drive them to murder as well, even though the victim is often Tomie herself. While one lover seeks to keep her for himself, another grows terrified of the immortal succubus. But soon they realize that no matter how many times they kill her, the world will never be free of Tomie.
  • * Does not include Control, Takeover or Souichi PossessedVenus in the Blind Spot
  • * Collects: Billions Alone, The Human Chair, An Unearthly Love, Venus in the Blind Spot, The Licking Woman, Umezz Kazuo and Me, How Love Came to Professor Kirida, The Enigma of Amigara Fault, The Sad Tale of the Principal Post, and KeepsakeVoices in the Dark
  • * Collects: Blood-Slurping Darkness, The Ghost of Golden Time, Roar of Ages, Secret of the Haunted Mansion, Glyceride, The Earthbound, and Dead Man Calling New Voices in the Dark
  • * Collects: The Soichi Front, Soichi's Beloved Pet, In the Valley of Mirrors, Anything but a Ghost, Library of Illusions, Songs in the Dark, and Splatter Film Uzumaki
  • * Kurozu-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed. According to Shuichi Saito, the withdrawn boyfriend of teenager Kirie Goshima, their town is haunted not by a person or being but by a pattern: uzumaki, the spiral, the hypnotic secret shape of the world. It manifests itself in small ways: seashells, ferns, whirlpools in water, whirlwinds in air. And in large ways: the spiral marks on people's bodies, the insane obsessions of Shuichi's father, the voice from the cochlea in your inner ear. As the madness spreads, the inhabitants of Kurozu-cho are pulled ever deeper, as if into a whirlpool from which there is no return...
  • * Includes bonus story: Galaxies''

Specials and Uncollected One-Shots

Demon's VoiceGhost Heights Management AssociationJunji Ito's Snow White ''Layers of FearMountain of Gods: Precipice of the UnknownMr. Inagawa's Ghost Story Treasure BoxReturn of the Hanging BalloonsShe is a Slow Walker Soichi PossessedSouichi's Junji Ito Exhibition: EnchantmentThe Summer Time Graduation TripTomie: Takeover
  • ''Tomie: Control''

Illustrations

Magic: The Gathering
  • * Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines
  • * Carrion Feeder, Thoughtseize, Doomsday, Plaguecrafter
  • * A special promotion for hand-signed Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines was held in Japan.
  • Doctor! Doctor! - Zerobaseone

Adaptations

Tomie was adapted into a series of films, beginning in 1998. Several other works of Ito's have subsequently been adapted for film, television and videogaming:Tomie

Interviews

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