Masashi Kishimoto author page

Masashi Kishimoto biography

Masashi Kishimoto is a Japanese manga artist best known for creating the manga series Naruto. Born in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, Kishimoto developed an early interest in drawing and manga. He attended Kyushu Sangyo University, where he studied art. During his university years, Kishimoto worked on developing his own manga style and ideas.

Kishimoto’s professional debut came in 1996 when his work Karakuri won the Hop Step Award, a recognition for promising new manga artists. He continued to refine his craft and, in 1999, began serialising Naruto in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump published by Shueisha. The series follows the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja seeking recognition and aspiring to become the leader of his village. Naruto ran until 2014, spanning 72 volumes.

Following the conclusion of Naruto, Kishimoto supervised the sequel series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, which continues the story with new characters and developments. In addition to his work on Naruto and Boruto, Kishimoto has contributed to other manga projects and has been involved in the production of anime adaptations of his work.

In 2015, Masashi Kishimoto received the Rookie of the Year award from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for his achievements in manga.