Daijiro Morohoshi

Morohoshi grew up in Adachi-ku, Tokyo.

After graduating from high school, he worked for the Tokyo metropolitan government for three years.

In 1970, Morohoshi made his professional debut with his short story {{nihongo|"Junko Kyōkatsu"|ジュン子・恐喝|Junko, blackmail}} in COM.{{Cite web |title=SFE: Morohoshi Daijirō |url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/morohoshi_daijiro |access-date=2022-11-15 |website=sf-encyclopedia.com}} In 1974, his short story {{nihongo|"Seibutsu Toshi"|生物都市|Bio City}} was selected in the 7th Tezuka Award. His breakthrough came in the same year, when he started publishing the series {{nihongo|Yōkai Hunter|妖怪ハンター|Demon Hunter}} in Weekly Shōnen Jump.{{Cite web |title=メディア芸術データベース |url=https://mediaarts-db.artmuseums.go.jp/id/M544597/ |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=mediaarts-db.artmuseums.go.jp}} He published {{nihongo|Ankoku Shinwa|暗黒神話|Dark Myth}} and {{nihongo|Kōshi Ankokuden|孔子暗黒伝|Dark Biography of Confucius}} in the same magazine afterwards. In 1979, he published the Mud Men series in Monthly Shōnen Champion Zōkan.

In 1983, he published {{nihongo|Saiyū Yōenden|西遊妖猿伝|Journey to the West: Monster monkey's Commentary}} (The Monkey King and other Chinese Legends) based on Journey to the West in Futabasha’s Super Action. This work won him the grand prize of the fourth Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2000.

Morohoshi takes inspiration from ancient history, mythology and folklore, influenced by the essays of Tatsuhiko Shibusawa. Yōkai Hunter revolves around archeologists discovering strange incidents around Japan, Mad Men shows myths from Papua New Guinea clashing with modernity and Saiyū Yōenden is based on the classic Chinese fantasy novel Journey to the West.{{Cite web |last=後藤護 |date=2021-09-30 |title=Daijiro Morohoshi's KOCHUTEN; an essay on Manneristic Comics - TOKION |url=https://tokion.jp/en/2021/09/30/manneristic-comics/ |access-date=2022-11-15 |website=TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information |language=en-US}}

His drawing style is inspired by Western artists such as Salvador Dalí, whom he cites as his favourite painter, but his work also includes references to Hieronymus Bosch, Francisco Goya and Giorgio de Chirico.

Morohoshi's style is perceived as unique in the manga industry. In a roundtable discussion between Morohoshi, Yukinobu Hoshino and Osamu Tezuka, Tezuka said that he could not imitate Morohoshi's painting.{{Cite web |title=Strange Worlds and Stranger Dreams |url=http://www.ceiling-gallery.com/blog/2015/4/4/morohoshidaijiro |access-date=2022-11-15 |website=Ceiling Gallery |language=en-US}} For this reason, manga critics have considered him to be part of a New Wave of manga artists in the late 1970s and early 1980s.{{Cite web |last=Mizumoto |first=Kentarō |date= |title=「ニューウェイブ」という時代 |url=http://www.big.or.jp/~solar/comics/newwave.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030123005700/http://www.big.or.jp/~solar/comics/newwave.html |archive-date=January 23, 2003 |access-date=July 25, 2023 |website=Sora Tobu Kikai}}

Morohoshi has been a key influence to two important anime directors of the 1980s and 1990s, Hayao Miyazaki and Hideaki Anno. Miyazaki mentioned that he was strongly influenced by Morohoshi. His 1997 film Princess Mononoke has references to Mud Men. When Kentaro Takekuma interviewed Miyazaki, he said that he actually wanted Morohoshi to draw Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.pages 135 at the March 2008 issue of Eureka According to Toshio Okada, who was a former representative director of Gainax, Hideaki Anno always said that he wanted to apply the scene where a giant appeared in Morohoshi's {{nihongo|"Kage no Machi"|影の街|Shadow Town}} to his work, and his hope was realized in Neon Genesis Evangelion.January 10, 1997, NHK-BS Manga Yawa featured Boku to Furio to Kōtei de

His style has inspired also musicians. Morohoshi's Mud Men triggered Haruomi Hosono of Yellow Magic Orchestra, and Hosono wrote "The Madmen" for the album Service. Hosono said that his production company misspelled "Mudmen" with "Madmen".

His work has gained some international attention since the 2000s. Manga of his have been translated into French{{Cite web |title=MOROHOSHI Daijirô |url=https://www.manga-news.com/index.php/auteur/MOROHOSHI-Daijiro |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=manga-news.com |language=fr}} and Spanish.{{Cite web |title=Daijirô Morohoshi |url=https://satoriediciones.com/escritor/daijiro-morohoshi/ |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=satoriediciones.com}}

{{awards table}}

|-

| style="text-align:center;"| 1974

| style="text-align:left;"| "Seibutsu Toshi"

| The 7th Tezuka Award

|{{nom}}

|-

| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| 1992

| style="text-align:left;"| Boku to Furio to Kōtei de

| The excellence prize of The 21st Japan Cartoonists Association Award

|{{won}}

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| Morokai Shii: Ikairoku

| The excellence prize of The 21st Japan Cartoonists Association Award

|{{won}}

|-

| style="text-align:center;"| 2000

| style="text-align:left;"| Saiyū Yōenden

| The grand prize of the 4th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize

|{{won}}

|-

| style="text-align:center;"| 2008

| style="text-align:left;"| Shiori to Shimiko

| Excellent prize of the 12th Japan Media Arts Festival Manga section

|{{won}}

|-

| style="text-align:center;"| 2014

| style="text-align:left;"| Uriko-hime no Yoru, Cinderella no Asa

| Award for the Media Arts division at the 64th Annual MEXT Art Encouragement Prizes{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-03-14/japanese-government-honors-ghibli-suzuki-voice-actress-nana-mizuki|title=Japanese Government Honors Ghibli's Suzuki, Voice Actress Nana Mizuki|date=14 March 2014|work=Anime News Network|access-date=14 March 2014}}

|{{won}}

{{end}}

• Kyōko no Kyō wa Kyōfu no Kyō (2004)
• Kumo no Ito wa Kanarazu Kireru (2007)

• Rōkō ni Ari (Author: Ken'ichi Sakemi)

• Hiruko the Goblin (1991, Film Director: Shinya Tsukamoto)
• Kidan (2005, Film Director: Takashi Komatsu)
• Kabeotoko (British title: The Wall Man) (2007, Film Director: Wataru Hayakawa)

• Fukushū Club (1991, Fuji Television, in Yo nimo Kimyo na Monogatari)
• Shiro (1992, Fuji Television, in Yo nimo Kimyo na Monogatari)
• Shiori to Shimiko no Kaiki Jikenbo (2008, Nippon Television)

• Saiyū Yōenden (1989)
• Zoku Saiyū Yōenden (1990)
• Yumemiru Kikai (2000)

• Ankoku Shinwa (The Dark Myth) Chapter 1/Chapter 2 (1990)

• Ankoku Shinwa: Yamato Takeru Densetsu (1988)

{{Reflist}}

• {{LCAuth|no2008081924|Daijirō Morohoshi|2|ue}}
• [http://www.ne.jp/asahi/techno/ostra/morohoshi/morobooks.html List of works] at ne.jp/asahi
• [http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1991/do000940.htm Hiruko/Yōkai Hunter (movie)]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110629091122/http://book.geocities.jp/yasukenyan/ Daijiro Morohoshi Museum]

{{Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morohoshi, Daijiro}}

Category:1949 births

Category:Cthulhu Mythos writers

Category:Japanese horror artists

Category:Japanese horror writers

Category:Living people

Category:Manga artists from Nagano Prefecture