In Memoriam: Masaaki Mori, Pioneering Japanese Clay Animator

 

This has been a very difficult year for the tight knit Japanese independent animation community as we were rocked by the sudden passing of much-loved stop motion animator Masaaki Mori (森まさあき, 1955-2025) on Monday, March 24th, 2025. I was able to pay my respects to a warm, sociable man who had quickly become my friend since I became a JAA member at the well-attended public service that was held Sunday, March 30th at Comwell Hall Koenji in Tokyo.

 

A special memorial event called “My Story: Time Spent with Professor Mori Masaaki” 追悼企画「マイ・ストーリー 森まさあき先生と歩んだ時間」 was held at ICAF (the Inter College Animation Festival) at the National Art Center on Saturday, October 11th. Hosted by his peers IKIF (Kifune Tokumitsu木船徳光 + Ishida Sonoko 石田[木船]園子) with participation by his former students independent animators Qrais (キューライス), Shōta (しょーた), and Madhouse Animator Chie Yamashiro (山城智恵).

At this event we had the opportunity to see rare 8mm works made in Mori’s youth as well as a number of his television commercials. It was clearly a trip down memory lane for his peers. His former students shared anecdotes from their time with their animation sensei. The overall picture matched the man that I knew: warm, funny, gregarious, generous to a fault… and unbelievably supportive of his former students in all their endeavours. It was clear that he was much more than just a mentor to them. He was like a family member.

An Overview of Mori’s Life 

 Born in Shizuoka in 1955, Mori initially studied accounting at Chuo University under pressure from his father to take over the family business. However, his real passion was animation and puppetry and he eventually convinced his father to allow him to switch to a career in the arts. As a child, puppet shows on the public broadcaster NHK inspired Mori to start making his own puppets. His mother encouraged his interest by buying him a book on how to make puppets using papier-mâché. A screening of the original King Kong sparked his interest in the technique of stop motion, and his uncle, a graphic designer, taught Mori and his older sister how to make stop motion using vinyl figurines and an 8mm camera. His father bought him a Single 8 Fujifilm camera, which he used to make both animation and live action with special effects with his school friends.

While at prep school in Koenji, Mori bought a copy of the entertainment magazine PIA at a bookshop and came across an advertisement for a Ray Harryhausen special screening by the animation research group Anido featuring an image of the Cyclops from Jason and the Argonauts (Don Chaffey, 1963). Mori loved the film when he had seen it on TV, but this was his first time learning the name of the man responsible for the stop motion special effects. After the screening, he saw an ad in PIA by a group called Arugo Tankentai (Copycat Expedition Team a play on the Japanese title of Jason and the Argonauts, Arugo Tankeitai no Daibouken, which literally translates as The Great Adventure of the Argo Expedition Team) evoking Harryhausen’s name.

Outside of Japan, Mori is known for his work with renowned puppet animation pioneer Kihachirō Kawamoto. He was one of 35 animators who contributed animated shorts to Kawamoto’s adaptation of Bashō’s renku poem Winter Days (Fuyu no hi, 2003). Mori adapted stanza 30 by Kakei using his signature clay animation pigs. The amusing scene of a biwa playing pig amusing three noble pigs in a garden of hibiscus flowers is typical of Mori’s use of humour in his works. He was also one of the main stop motion animators who worked on Kawamoto’s final masterpiece, Book of the Dead (Shisha no Sho, 2005).

In addition to his creative work, Mori was an active member of the animation community as vice chairperson of the Japanese Animation Association (JAA) and an animation professor at Tokyo Zokei University from 2005 until his retirement in 2021. He was a beloved mentor to many young students introducing them to stop motion from around the world

He was a regular attendee of animation festivals across Japan where he loved making new friends and having deep conversations about the art and craft of animation. He also loved documenting the attendees of animation events taking selfies with his friends and new acquaintances. His friends and family gave him his final farewell with a tribute of flowers. During his open casket service, we could see that clasped in his hands was a photograph of Mori with his hero Ray Harryhausen. We will remember him for his enthusiasm for stop motion and his welcoming smile.

The Tokyo Anime Award Festival (東京アニメアワードフェスティバル) has announced that Mori Masaaki will be posthumously celebrated at the 2026 festival in March. If you are in Tokyo March 13-16, I recommend coming to see a selection of his representative works (selected works TBA).

The information in this obituary is based on my conversations with Mori-san over the years, information presented at his retirement exhibition at Tokyo Zokei University in 2021, and the interview by Takanaka Shimotsuki published by Zokei in advance of the exhibition.

2025 Cathy Munroe Hotes