Yakuza Wolf | Lone Wolf | Tsukimiya Mita (1969)

Beautiful original page published by Home Run Comics (Tokosha) in 1969 Media: Pencil & ink on paper Size : 25.2 x 36.2 cm Very good condition Tsukimiya Mita was a Japanese mangaka active during the late 1960s and early 1970s, known for his work in the horror and gekiga genres. Although overlooked in mainstream manga history for decades, he has gradually gained recognition among collectors of postwar rental manga and early seinen publications, and despite working under multiple pseudonyms, including Ken Kishuji and Ippei Kitagawa, his artistic style remained very distinctive. One of his best-known series, Kaidan Jatarō, is a horror manga published by Tōkōsha (Home Run Comics). Like many titles of the period, it was circulated mainly through rental bookshops, and today it is considered a highly sought-after collector's item, fetching high prices due to its rarity and cult following. Yakuza Wolf shows his ties to the broader gekiga movement. Its gritty antihero and bold brushwork are reminiscent of Goseki Kojima's Lone Wolf and Cub. Both Tsukimiya and Kojima came from the same late-1960s rental manga scene, influenced by yakuza films and the lone warrior archetype. Tsukimiya's work holds an important place alongside Kojima's within the gekiga tradition. His style was dark, cinematic, and intense, the visual language of gekiga, with adult themes, realism, and psychological depth. In 2019, several of Tsukimiya's rare titles were featured in the Daimansai Festival (and auction), which celebrated obscure and overlooked manga of the postwar period. Although the full scope of his bibliography remains unclear, his work represents a compelling, if obscure, voice within gekiga. His legacy is preserved through the cult appreciation of his horror stories, hard-boiled manga, and Lone Wolf-style tales.