Saturday, August 11, 2007

THERE GOES THE UMEZUHOOD: He is my hero

Short news tidbit that cracked me up. Details taken from this article out of South Africa (Especially notable bits in bold by me).



Shock at horror cartoonist's stripy plans

Tokyo - Kazuo Umezu, the father of a Japanese genre of gory comics, is also causing horror for his neighbours because of a plan to paint his new house in vivid red-and-white stripes.

The skinny cartoonist with curly hair is often seen wearing bold red-and-white stripes, a habit attributed to his fantasies of being a pirate.

"Red and white stripes are my trademark and I planned to paint them somewhere on the house," the 70-year-old told the private TBS network.

"But it was said to destroy the landscape," he said. "I was in high spirits but now I'm deeply troubled."

Umezu says he has not broken any law and argues that his house in the quiet backstreets of the trendy Kichijoji area would be "beautiful."

But some residents are not amused and have fought to block him.

"Please understand our mental suffering as we have to live with the view no matter if we like it or not. This is nothing but violence of colours," one resident said before television cameras.

"My heart is also daubed over in red and white," she said.

The two sides are seeking reconciliation through court arbitration.

Umezu already has a house painted yellow in another part in Tokyo and a red-white striped resort house in the central mountain town of Nagano.

He pioneered horror cartoons in the 1960s. He also ventured into the world of comics in the 1970s and scored a huge hit with a series featuring a kindergarten brat who does everything to upset adults.

A similar controversy erupted last year after Italy built a red 12-storey cultural institute in central Tokyo, with Tokyo's governor saying it jarred sombre Japanese sensitivities.

Check out a clip of the Japanese TV news coverage on the Umezu house controversy from our friend Clay, about 1:50 in to the video:


The aforementioned villa in Nagano:


10 comments:

Joseph Luster said...

People should have to pay extra to live next to such a badass house!

Anonymous said...

i love the "my heart is daubed over in red and white" and "mental suffering" soundbites.

that umezu is too much!

can't wait to see how the house turns out.

ps - it's hip to be square

Anonymous said...

I fucking love that house
I wish I could just be a homeless person who frequents parks near it
the japanese have easily irritated egos/buttholes

Anonymous said...

What bullshit! I wish Kazz would come paint every house in my neighborhood.

Chris said...

I love him so much.

Anonymous said...

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C.M.B. said...

fucking awesome.

Anonymous said...

Fight the power, Umezu! You're my hero too!

Claytonian said...

I may have to make a pilgrimage.

Ryan S said...

@clay:

If you end up going, PLEASE let me know :) is the head on top of the building... his head? an iconic bust of his Makoto-chan character (the kid with the gnarly snot dripping out his nose)?

thanks again for the great clip! A lot of people have told me they really loved it!
RYAN