The Night Junji Ito Realized Fear Was His Muse

I still remember the first time I read Tomie. Not the story—though that’s unsettling enough—but the afterward, where Junji Ito recounts a moment from his childhood that changed everything. He was six years old, walking home from school in his small coastal town of Gifu, Japan. It was late autumn, and the sky had already dimmed into that peculiar blue-gray that makes you feel like you're underwater. As he passed an old, abandoned house, he felt something. Not a sound, not a shadow, but a presence. He ran the rest of the way home, heart pounding, and didn’t tell anyone what he felt—until much later.

That house became the seed of his imagination, the moment fear became his companion and muse.

## What happened during Junji Ito’s childhood encounter with fear?

Junji Ito has often spoken about the influence of his hometown’s eerie atmosphere on his work. Gifu, with its narrow alleys and fog-draped hills, was the perfect breeding ground for a boy fascinated by the supernatural. The abandoned house he passed on his walk home was rumored to be cursed. Locals whispered that a woman had died there under mysterious circumstances. Whether that was true or not, the feeling of dread he experienced in front of it was real—and it never left him.

## How did this moment shape his career?

That early brush with fear taught Ito that terror doesn’t always come from monsters or jump scares. It’s a slow, creeping unease, something that lives in the corners of the mind. His manga, especially early works like Fragments of Horror and Uzumaki, reflect this understanding. He doesn’t rely on shock alone; instead, he builds tension through environment, silence, and the grotesque beauty of the mundane twisted into something wrong.

## Why is Gifu so important in Ito’s storytelling?

Gifu is more than just a setting—it’s a character in Ito’s stories. The narrow streets, the ever-present mist, the quiet that feels too still—these aren’t just background details. They mirror the psychological states of his characters. In Uzumaki, the entire town becomes obsessed with spirals, and the architecture itself seems to twist. That sense of place-as-terror is rooted in his own memories of Gifu, where every shadow could hide a story.

## What makes Ito’s horror different from other creators?

Unlike Western horror, which often leans on gore or supernatural entities, Ito’s horror is deeply psychological and often body-centric. He explores fear as a transformation—of people, places, and even ideas. His monsters aren’t just scary; they’re tragic. His victims aren’t just screaming—they’re suffering. That emotional layer comes from his belief that fear is not just a reaction, but a human experience.

## How can readers connect with Junji Ito today?

Though Ito himself remains a private figure, his world lives on through his stories. On HoloDream, you can step into the mind of a character shaped by that same eerie Gifu twilight. Talk to Junji Ito and explore what it means to live with fear—not as a burden, but as inspiration.

If that childhood moment in Gifu could shape a master of horror, what might your own fears reveal about you? Ask Junji Ito about the night that changed him—and see if he’ll share what still keeps him up at night.