Kazuo Umezu, Prolific Manga Creator of Horror & Other Genres, Dies at 88

©楳図かずお

Prolific horror manga creator Kazuo Umezu died last week on October 28. He was 88. His family and close friends held a private funeral.

Umezu's art company UMEZZ issued a statement regarding his death, saying "Umezu wanted to spread his work throughout the world, to be read by all forever. He believed in the intrinsic artistic value of his work. May that aspiration rest forever in the hearts of all."

Shogakukan and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions also issued a joint statement, saying "Umezu leaves behind legendary works in not just horror, comedy, and science fiction manga, but also in film and in the recent 101 acrylic paintings of "Kazuo Umezz: The Great Art Exhibition," with his expressive techniques transcending the boundaries of manga."

Umezu was born in Wakayama City in 1936, but was raised in Nara Prefecture. He began drawing his own manga in fourth grade. He made his professional manga debut as an 18-year-old third-year high school student with the Bessekai and Mori no Kyōdai books, published under Tomo Books. While best known for his horror and supernatural manga, Umezu also drew comedy manga such as Makoto-chan, and also published horror manga in shojo magazines, such as Reptilia, which ran in Kodansha's Shōjo Friend magazine.

Viz published Umezu's The Drifting Classroom manga in 2006 to 2008, and released the manga digitally in 2013, with a new deluxe hardcover release in 2019-2020. His other manga include Cat-Eyed Boy and Orochi, among others. Umezu originally retired from drawing manga in 1995 after finishing the 14-Sai manga. He later made his directorial debut in an autobiographical film titled Mother, which opened in Japan in September 2014.

Umezu's science fiction manga My Name Is Shingo ran in Shogakukan's Weekly Big Comic Spirits in the 1980s. His most recent work is Zoku Shingo: Chiisana Robot Shingo Bijutsukan (Sequel Shingo: Small Robot Shingo Art Museum), a sequel to My Name Is Shingo, consisting of a series of 101 acrylic paintings. The work, four years in the making, debuted in January 2022 at an art exhibition featuring Umezu's work titled "Kazuo Umezz The Great Art Exhibition." The exhibition was held at Tokyo City View from January to March 2022, and was be held at Osaka's Abeno Harukas Art Museum in September to November 2022. The Asahi Shimbun paper's 27th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize awards honored Umezu with a special prize for the work in 2023.

Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs awarded Umezu with its Commissioner for Cultural Affairs award in March 2019, which honors "individuals who have made distinguished accomplishment in artistic and cultural activities."

Source: Comic Natalie