Born in 1940. He joined Mushi Production, founded by Osamu Tezuka, in 1960 and went on to direct the theatrical Animerama series aimed at adult audiences. The three films—A Thousand and One Nights (1969), Cleopatra (1970), co-directed with Tezuka, and Belladonna of Sadness—were part of Tezuka’s project to create theatrical animation for adults, with Belladonna of Sadness marking the final installment in the series.
