Junji Ito

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Junji Ito
伊藤 潤二
Ito at Lucca Comics & Games 2018
Born	(1963-07-31) July 31, 1963 (age 58) Nakatsugawa, Gifu, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Occupation	Writer, penciller, inker, manga artist
Notable work	Tomie Uzumaki Gyo

Junji Ito (Japanese: 伊藤 潤二, Hepburn: Itō Junji, born July 31, 1963) is a Japanese horror mangaka. 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 obsessed with spirals; and Gyo, a two-volume story where fish are controlled by a strain of sentient bacteria called "the death stench." His other works include Itou Junji Kyoufu Manga Collection, a collection of different short stories including a series of stories named Souichi's Journal of Delights, 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, with some deeming him a significant figure in recent horror iconography.

Life and career[]

Junji Itō was born on 31 July 1963 in Sakashita, now a part of Nakatsugawa, Gifu. He began his experience in the horror world at a very young age; his two older sisters would read Kazuo 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.^[1] 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.^[2]

Itō first began writing and drawing manga as a hobby while working as a dental technician around 1984.^[2]

In 1987, he submitted a short story to Gekkan Halloween (月刊ハロウィン, lit. Monthly Halloween) that won an honorable mention in the Kazuo Umezu Prize (with Umezu himself as one of the judges).^[3] This story was later serialized as Tomie.^[4]

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.^[5] Itō and Del Toro would later lend their likenesses to Kojima's next project, Death Stranding.^[6]

In 2019, Ito received an Eisner Award for his manga adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.^[7]

Personal life[]

In 2006, Junji married Ayako Ishiguro (石黒亜矢子), a picture book artist. As of 2013, they have two children.^[8]

Inspiration and themes[]

In addition to Kazuo Umezu, Itō has cited Hideshi Hino, Shinichi Koga, Yasutaka Tsutsui, Edogawa Ranpo and H. P. Lovecraft as being major influences on his work.^[9] The universe Itō 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.^[10] Some of the recurring themes of Itō's work include jealousy, envy, body horror, seemingly ordinary characters who begin to act out of irrational compulsion, the breakdown of society, deep-sea organisms, and the inevitability of one's demise, all displayed through a realistic and simple design, which emphasizes the contrast between beauty and death. The events narrated are unpredictable and violent, and arise from normal situations.^{[citation needed]} Itō has also cited H. R. Giger, Salvador Dali, and others as influences on his work as well.^[11]

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 his anti-war feelings, developed when he was a child, due to his parents' tragic and frightening war stories. “The Hanging Balloons” was based on a childhood dream.^[2]

Works[]

Manga[]

• The Junji Ito Horror Comic Collection (collects stories from Halloween, ComicsOne, English editions have flipped pages):
  • Volume 1 and 2: Tomie (富江) (does not include Tomie: Again, English: 2001, ISBN 978-1-58899-084-6 and ISBN 1-58899-085-0, respectively)
  • Volume 3: Flesh-Colored Horror (肉色の怪, Nikuiro no Kai) (English: 2001, ISBN 1-58899-086-9)
  • Volume 4: The Face Burglar (顔泥棒)
  • Volume 5: Souichi's Diary of Delights (双一の楽しい日記, Souichi no Tanoshi i Nikki)
  • Volume 6: Souichi's Diary of Curses (双一の呪い日記)
  • Volume 7: Slug Girl (なめくじの少女)
  • Volume 8: Blood-bubble Bushes (血玉樹)
  • Volume 9: Hallucinations (首幻想)
  • Volume 10: House of the Marionettes (あやつりの屋敷)
  • Volume 11: The Town Without Streets (道のない街)
  • Volume 12: The Bully (いじめっ娘)
  • Volume 13: The Circus is Here (サーカスが来た)
  • Volume 14: The Story of the Mysterious Tunnel (トンネルの奇譚)
  • Volume 15: Lovesick Dead (死びとの恋わずらい)
  • Volume 16: Frankenstein (フランケンシュタイン)
• Uzumaki (うずまき) (VIZ, 2001, ISBN 978-1-56931-714-3)
• Museum of Terror (恐怖博物館, Kyōfu Hakubutsukan) (collects stories from Halloween in order of publication, Asahi Sonorama,^[12] first 3 volumes translated into English by Dark Horse Comics^[13])
  • Volume 1 and 2: Tomie (富江) (Volume 2 includes Tomie: Again, Asahi Sonorama, 2002, ISBN 978-4-257-72159-8 and ISBN 978-4-257-72160-4, Dark Horse, 2006, ISBN 978-1-59307-542-2 and ISBN 978-1-59307-612-2, respectively)
  • Volume 3: The Long Hair in the Attic (屋根裏の長い髪, Yaneura no nagai kami) (Asahi Sonorama, 2002, ISBN 978-4-257-72164-2, Dark Horse, 2006, ISBN 978-1-59307-639-9)
  • Volume 4: Kakashi (案山子) (Asahi Sonorama, 2002, ISBN 978-4-257-72169-7, 2007 ISBN 978-4-02-267008-3)
  • Volume 5: Rojiura (路地裏) (Asahi Sonorama, 2002, ISBN 978-4-257-72173-4)
  • Volume 6: Sōichi no katte na noroi (双一の勝手な呪い) (Asahi Sonorama, 2002, ISBN 978-4-257-72177-2)
  • Volume 7: Umeku haisuikan (うめく配水管) (Asahi Sonorama, 2002, ISBN 978-4-257-72179-6)
  • Volume 8: Shirosunamura chitan (白砂村血譚) (Asahi Sonorama, 2002, ISBN 978-4-257-72184-0)
  • Volume 9: Oshikiri idan (押切異談&フランケンシュタイン) (Asahi Sonorama, 2002, ISBN 978-4-257-72187-1)
  • Volume 10: Shibito no Koi Wazurai (死びとの恋わずらい) (Asahi Sonorama, 2003, ISBN 978-4-257-72191-8)
• Gyo (ギョ) includes two bonus stories: The Sad Tale of the Principal Post (大黒柱悲話, Daikokubashira Hiwa) and The Enigma of Amigara Fault (阿弥殻断層の怪, Amigara Dansō no Kai) (VIZ: 2003, ISBN 978-1-56931-995-6)
• Mimi's Ghost Stories (ミミの怪談, Mimi no Kaidan) (Media Factory: 2003, ISBN 978-4-84010-484-5) (adapted from Shin-Mimi-Bukuro (新耳袋) by  [ja])
• Remina (地獄星レミナ, Jigokusei Remina) (Shogakukan: 2005, ISBN 978-4-09186-083-5)
• Voices in the Dark (闇の声, Yami no Koe) (Asahi Sonorama, 2007, ISBN 978-4-02213-023-5)
• New Voices in the Dark (新・闇の声 潰談, Shin Yami no Koe Kaidan) (Asahi Sonorama, 2007, ISBN 978-4-02213-024-2)
• Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu (猫日記 よん&むー, Neko Nikki Yon to Mū) (Kodansha: 2009, ISBN 978-4-06337-664-7)
• Black Paradox (ブラックパラドクス, Burakku Paradokusu) (Shogakukan: 2009, ISBN 978-4-09182-532-2)
• Rasputin the Patriot (憂国のラスプーチン, Yuukoku no Rasputin) (Shogakukan: 2010, ISBN 978-4-09183-610-6)
• Fragments of Horror (魔の断片, Ma no Kakera) (VIZ: 2015, ISBN 978-1-4215-8079-1)
• Dissolving Classroom (溶解教室, Yōkai Kyoushitsu)^[14] (Vertical Inc.: 2017, ISBN 978-1-94299-385-8)
• Shiver (VIZ: 2017, ISBN 978-1-42159-693-8)
• Smashed (collection that includes: Yami no Koe and Shin Yami no Koe Kaidan) (VIZ: 2019, ISBN 978-1-42159-846-8)
• Sensor (センサー, Sensa) (Asahi Sonorama, 2019, ISBN 978-4-02214-284-9)
• No Longer Human (人間失格, Ningen Shikkaku) (VIZ: 2020, ISBN 978-1-97470-709-6)
• Venus in the Blind Spot (collection that includes: The Human Chair, Venus in the Blind Spot, The Licking Woman, Keepsake, and more) (VIZ: 2020)
• Specials and One Shots
  • Phantom Mansion
  • Demons Voice
  • Fixed Face
  • Ghost Heights Management Association
  • Human Chair
  • Junji Ito's Dog Diary
  • Junji Ito's Snow White
  • Mountain of Gods
  • Ribs Woman
  • She is a Slow Walker (I Am a Hero spinoff)
  • The Summer Time Graduation Trip
  • Umezz Kazuo & Me
  • Youkai Kyoushitsu

Adaptations[]

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

• The Fearsome Melody – (戦慄の旋律 Senritsu no Senritsu), 1992
• Tomie – (富江 Tomie), 1998
• Tomie: Another Face – (富江:アナザフェイス Tomie: Anaza Feisu), 1999
• Tomie: Replay – ( 富江:re-play Tomie: re-play), 2000
• Uzumaki – (うずまき Uzumaki), 2000
• Gravemarker Town – (墓標の町 Bohyou no Machi), 2000
• The Face Burglar- (顔泥棒 Kao Dorobou), 2000
• The Hanging Balloons – (首吊り気球 Kubitsuri no Kikyuu), 2000
• Long Dream – (長い夢 Nagai Yume), 2000
• Oshikiri – (押切 Oshikiri), 2000
• Kakashi – (案山子 Kakashi), 2001
• Lovesick Dead (also known as Love Ghost) – (死びとの恋わずらい Shibito no Koiwazurai), 2001
• Tomie: Re-birth – (富江:Rebirth Tomie: Rebirth), 2001
• Tomie: The Final Chapter – Forbidden Fruit – (富江 最終章 ?禁断の果実 Tomie: Saishuu-sh? – Kindan no Kajitsu), 2002
• Marronnier – (マロニエ Marronnier), 2002
• The Groaning Drain – (うめく排水管), 2004
• Tomie: Beginning, 2005
• Tomie: Revenge, 2005
• Tomie vs Tomie, 2007
• Tomie Unlimited, 2011
• Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack, 2012
• Junji Ito Collection, 2018^[15]
• Uzumaki, 2022^[16]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Junji Ito.

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Junji Ito

• Junji Ito at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Junji Ito at IMDb
• English Fansite
• Into the Spiral: A Conversation with Japanese Horror Maestro Junji Ito, 78 Magazine, February–March 2006
• 13 Extremely Disturbing Junji Ito Panels
• The Horrifyingly Beautiful Junji Itō : Collection Exhibit at ACG_Labo