Shuuji Terayama  

Shuuji Terayama was a Japanese avant-garde artist who excelled in poetry, drama, writing, film direction, and photography. Many critics and supporters consider him one of Japan's most productive and provocative creative figures. He was born on December 10th, 1935, as the only child to Hachiro and Hatsu Terayama in Hirosaki city, Aomori prefecture. His father passed away in Indonesia at the end of World War II in September 1945. At nine years old, his mother relocated to Kyushu to work on an American military base while he stayed with relatives in Misawa, also in Aomori. During this time, Terayama experienced the devastating Aomori air raids that resulted in over 30,000 fatalities.