March 8, 1922

Shigeru Mizuki (March 8, 1922 to November 30, 2015), a Manga artist, was remembered by fans this way:

'It is with sad but full hearts that we celebrate the life of Shigeru Mizuki. Over the course of his long and productive career as one of the forefathers of manga, he invented the yokai genre and was instrumental in the gekiga movement. In 2007, he became the first manga-ka to win the prestigious Fauve D'Or at the Festival International de la Bande Dessinée, and in 2010, the Japanese government named him a Person of Cultural Merit, honouring him with a museum and cultural center. His first English translation, Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, was published in 2011: it won over North American audiences for its weighty treatment of the complexities of war and was featured on PRI's The World. Mizuki went on to win two Eisner Awards (for the translations of Onward and Showa: A History of Japan).'

'There is no doubt that he will live on through his work, and in the hearts of all his readers. You will be missed, Mizuki-san.'

And with these wonderful sketches we get why he will be missed:





and






A Pinterest gloss says this is from Mizuki's The Illustrated Guide To Yokai Monsters, (2004). The rendering is of  "A cat-spirit with magical powers that walks on two legs and sometimes plays shamisen."