Jun'ichi Iwata

Born in Toba City, Mie Prefecture, Jun'ichi Iwata began creating and publishing works such as paintings and tanka poetry from his student days. While still a middle school student, he started corresponding with Takehisa Yumeji, whom he deeply admired. Later, he enrolled in the Fine Arts Department of Tokyo’s Bunka Gakuin, where Yumeji was a teacher. At times, he even worked as a ghostwriter for Yumeji, who called him "Japan’s foremost Yumeji expert."

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At the age of 17, he met Hirai Tarō (later known as Edogawa Rampo), who was working at the Toba Shipyard at the time. After Rampo made his debut as a writer, Iwata illustrated his works and deepened their friendship through their shared interest in the study of male homosexuality.

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At 29, he returned to Toba, where he ran a household goods store while also conducting research on male homosexuality and the folklore of the Shima region.

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In 1945, he passed away at the home of Keizo Shibusawa in Tokyo after coughing up blood. He was 45 years old. His grave is located at Saisho-ji Temple in Toba.