Yakuza Wolf | Mito Tsukimiya | Lone Wolf and Cub | 1969

Size : 24.5 x 35 cm
Media; pencil & ink on paper
Very good condition

Mita Tsukimiya (also known as Yoshito Tsukimiya) was a Japanese manga artist known for his work in the horror and gekiga genres.
Although he worked under several pen names, including Ken Kishuji and Ippei Kitagawa, his drawing style always remained distinctive. His art is raw, energetic, and powerful, with no restraint—perfectly suited to the dark subjects he explored. This rough and direct inking style, which today fascinates more than it shocks, was highly innovative in the late 1960s.

Tsukimiya was an artist of extraordinary range, producing works that spanned sensual themes, the bizarre and occult, and gekiga. His popularity at the time was such that even his jidaigeki (period dramas) were regularly granted dedicated special-feature issues.
In his depictions of action, the power of his inking is immediately apparent:
each expression is charged with a forceful hand, and the pressure of the line work itself draws the eye, making even the simplest scene particularly compelling.

One of his most important works is Kaidan Jatarō, a horror manga that has since become a cult title and is highly sought after by collectors. Other works such as Nagare Hichō, Kikoku no Zampō, and especially Yakuza Wolf further demonstrate his unique talent.

Yakuza Wolf can be seen as part of both the gekiga and seinen movements. It features a rough anti-hero, nervous and expressive inking, and the imagery of the lone wolf—imagery that clearly recalls Lone Wolf and Cub by Goseki Kojima, though Yakuza Wolf was in fact published a year earlier.

Both Tsukimiya and Kojima emerged from the 1960s rental manga scene and were influenced by yakuza films and the figure of the solitary warrior. They share a dark, cinematic aesthetic and a strong psychological focus at the heart of their narratives.

In 2019, several of Tsukimiya’s rare works were highlighted at the Daimansai Festival, an event dedicated to forgotten postwar manga. Although parts of his bibliography remain unclear, Tsukimiya left behind a distinctive body of work, celebrated for its horror stories, hard-boiled thrillers, and powerful variations on the theme of the lone wolf.