Junji Itō is a Japanese horror manga artist born on July 31, 1963, in Sakashita, a town that is now part of Nakatsugawa in Gifu Prefecture. Before becoming a full-time manga creator, he studied at a vocational school and worked as a dental technician, a profession that gave him an anatomical understanding of the human body which would later influence his artistic style. He made his professional debut in 1987 with the series Tomie, which originally began as a short story submitted to Monthly Halloween magazine and won an honorable mention in the Kazuo Umezu Prize.

Itō is best known for several landmark manga works that have defined his career. Tomie chronicles an immortal girl with long black hair and a beauty mark under her eye who drives her admirers to madness and murder, only to regenerate from her remains no matter how many times she is killed. Uzumaki, a three-volume series, tells the story of a town cursed by spirals, where residents become obsessed with and transformed by the pattern in increasingly grotesque ways. Gyo is a two-volume story about fish that become controlled by sentient bacteria called the death stench, allowing them to walk on mechanical legs. Beyond these major works, he has produced numerous short story collections including The Junji Ito Horror Comic Collection, as well as Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu, a self-parody about living with his wife and their two cats.

The creator's work has been extensively adapted into anime and live-action films. The Tomie series alone has spawned numerous Japanese film adaptations beginning in 1998, including Tomie: Another Face, Tomie: Replay, Tomie: Re-birth, and Tomie Unlimited, among others. An anime television series titled Junji Ito Collection aired in 2018, adapting many of his short stories including Souichi's Convenient Curse, Fashion Model, Slug Girl, and The Hanging Balloons. A second anime anthology, Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre, was released on Netflix in 2023 with twenty episodes featuring adaptations of Tomie, Souichi stories, and tales such as The Strange Hikizuri Siblings and The Hanging Balloons. An anime adaptation of Uzumaki aired beginning in 2024. Live-action adaptations include the film Uzumaki from 2000, Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack from 2012, and contributions to the World Wonderful Tales anthology series.

Itō's artistic identity is characterized by body horror, grotesque imagery, and the transformation of ordinary people and settings into sources of profound unease. He has cited Western horror influences and has noted that his stories tend not to rely on traditional Japanese ghost lore, instead pursuing something closer to Western horror traditions. His medical training as a dental technician gave him precision in depicting anatomical distortion, and he has stated that the human body represents a kind of bottomlessness that serves as a rich source for horror. His visual style often features meticulously detailed linework, exaggerated facial expressions of terror, and surreal, physics-defying transformations.

In terms of industry significance, Itō has developed a substantial international cult following and is frequently called an iconic figure in horror manga. He collaborated with film director Guillermo del Toro and game designer Hideo Kojima, originally on the canceled video game Silent Hills and later lending his likeness to Death Stranding. In 2021, he won the Eisner Award for Best Asian Work for the English edition of Hellstar Remina, and his Best of Best short story collection won the Eisner for Best Writer-Artist. His work continues to be adapted for international audiences, with projects including the animated series Uzumaki, the Netflix anthology Junji Ito Maniac, and upcoming live-action adaptations such as Bloodsucking Darkness.