Mitsumasa Anno

Anno was born in 1926 in Tsuwano, a small town in Shimane Prefecture, Japan where he grew up. As a student at a regional high school, he studied art, drawing, and the writings of Hermann Hesse. During World War II, Anno was drafted into the Japanese army. After the war, Anno earned a degree from the Yamaguchi Teacher Training College (a predecessor of Yamaguchi University) in 1948. He taught mathematics for ten years in an elementary school in Tokyo before beginning a career illustrating children's books. Anno lived in Japan with his wife, Midori. They had two children, Masaichiro and Seiko. He died on 24 December 2020 from cirrhosis of the liver.

Anno was best known for wordless picture books featuring small, detailed figures. In the "Journey" books, a tiny character travels through a nation's landscape, densely populated with pictures referencing that country's art, literature, culture, and history. Anno's illustrations are often in pen and ink and watercolor, and occasionally incorporate collage and woodcuts. They are intricately detailed, showing a sense of humor as well as an interest in science, mathematics, and foreign cultures. They frequently incorporate subtle jokes and references. Anno's style has been compared to that of M. C. Escher. A collection of his work is exhibited in Kyoto at "The House in the Forest: Mitsumasa Anno Museum."