Shigeru Mura, popularly known as Shigeru Mizuki, passed away on Monday morning, Nov. 30, in a hospital in Tokyo due to cardiac failure. The 93-year-old mangaka was responsible for creating the famed yokai manga "GeGeGe no Kitaro" (Spooky Kitaro).
The manga artist was born as the second of three sons in the town of Sakaiminato in the Tottori Prefecture in Japan. In a 2005 interview Mizuki revealed that, as a child, he was noted for his curiosity and drawing skills. He also disclosed the inspiration for his yokai-themed work.
"(Non-non-ba) [woman who likes telling yokai stories to Mizuki] knew a lot about yokai . . . but my knowledge of ghouls mostly came later, from reading the works of [folklore researcher] Kunio Yanagida," Mizuki told The Japan Times.
Although signs of his inclination to drawing and storytelling showed early in life, the writer, penciller and inker wasn't able to start his manga career right away. Mizuki was recruited into serving in the military in 1942 and was subsequently stationed in Rabaul, which is now part of Papua New Guinea.
While in Rabaul, the Japanese manga artist contracted malaria and was bedridden. But one of his greatest tragedies came after. During an air raid, Mizuki lost his left arm after getting hit by a bomb.
"The moment I was hit, the pain was so fierce that I shrieked — but then the next moment, I forgot everything," Mizuki detailed. "Your memory is temporarily lost, and you go into a different world when the bombing takes place right by you."
Even without his left arm, Mizuki still served under the military but he had more free time than others since he wasn't assigned to laborious chores. The time gave him the opportunity to befriend the native tribespeople, the Tolai, which offered to wed him to one of their women prior to his return to Japan.
"We had this weird illusion that we could win the war with just our yamatodamashi [Japanese spirit], paying only a little attention to the material aspects of the war. We were punished for that," Mizuki commented on World War II.
It was only after the war that Mizuki pursued a career as a mangaka. In 1957, "Rocketman," his debut work, was released. Other titles such as "Hakaba Kitaro," "Terebi-kun," "Akuma-kun" and "Kappa no Sanpei" followed. However, it wasn't until 1967 when his most popular work, "GeGeGe no Kitaro," was published. Mizuki then worked on one of his more intriguing works, "Hitler: A Biography," which reflects his views on the foolishness of war.
Throughout his career, Mizuki received multiple recognitions including the 1965 Kodansha Jido Manga Award for "Terebi-kun" and the 2007 Best Comic Book award that was handed to him at the Angoulême International Comics Festival for "NonNonBā." In 1996, a road in Sakaiminato, which is filled with bronze statues of "GeGeGe No Kitaro," was named in his honor.
