Kazuo Umezu

Date of death: October 28, 2024

Kazuo is the grandmaster of Japanese horror manga. He published his first manga while still at high school and began working professionaly in the field after his graduation.

His first creations were 'Betsu-Sekai' ('Another World') and 'Mori-no-Kyoudai' ('The Brother and Sister in a Forest').

He mainly created his works for so-called Kashi-hon, magazines that were not for sale but for rent. He developed his detailed horror style in 1962, when he settled in Tokyo.

His works 'Kuchi ga Mimi made Sake-ru Toki' ('The Moment The Mouth Tears to Ears'), 'Hebi Shoujo' ('The Snake Girl') and 'Hito-kobu Shoujo' ('A Girl Who Has A Human-faced Lump on Her Cheek') were his first claims to fame as a master in the horror genre.

On Tuesday, November 5th, it was announced that manga artist Kazuo Umezu passed away in October. He was 88 years old.