心之谷
is a fantasy artist influenced by both the Surrealism and Impressionism movements. Most of his paintings are set in the fantastical land of . He created reference and background art for the Studio Ghibli film "Whisper of the Heart" and also provided a cameo appearance as the voice of Minami. More recently, his works were given a more direct adaptation in the short film which is shown exclusively at the Ghibli Museum. He directed the 2007 OVA "Iblard Jikan", produced by Studio Ghibli.