Development

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Junji Ito's initial desire was to create a story about strange changes that would occur to people living in a very long, traditional Japanese terraced house. This story would have been based on Ito's personal experience living in such a house as a child.^[1] During the process of finding a way to draw such a long building, Ito was inspired by the shape of a mosquito coil and decided he could make the building long by having it spiral.^[2] Ito has noted that the spiral is a "mysterious pattern" and described writing Uzumaki as an attempt to learn the secrets of the spiral. Ito sought inspiration by methods such as staring at spirals, researching spirals, creating spiral patterns by draining water from bath tubs, eating foods with spiral patterns, and raising snails.^[3] Looking back on the series in 2006, Ito stated that while he was still uncertain what the spiral stood for, he thought it might be representative of infinity.^[4]

Uzumaki was influenced by the positive representation of spirals in media, which inspired Ito to subvert them to create horror, stating: "Usually spiral patterns mark character's cheeks in Japanese comedy cartoons, representing an effect of warmth. However, I thought it could be used in horror if I drew it a different way." The story in which Kirie's hair is cursed by the spiral reflects a recurring theme in Ito's work in which a heroine's hair has a life of its own. Ito uses this imagery because it lends itself well to horror due to its association with the Japanese feminine ideal (Yamato nadeshiko), as well as the unnerving flowing motions of long hair, which he describes as snakelike. Ito also noted that horror writer H. P. Lovecraft was one of his inspirations when creating Uzumaki, stating that the gradual development of the spiral curse was patterned on Lovecraft's storytelling and that "Lovecraft's expressionism with regard to atmosphere greatly inspires my creative impulse."^[4]

^ Jonathan Ross (April 16, 2007). "Kaidan". Japanorama. Series 3. Episode 5. Hotsauce TV. BBC Choice/BBC Three. Archived from the original on January 20, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
^ "Ghost Story Roundtable". Da Vinci Magazine. 10 (7): 184, 185. July 2003.
^ Ito, Junji (October 6, 2001). "Afterword". Uzumaki. Viz Media. pp. 204, 205. ISBN 1-4215-1389-7.
^ ^a ^b Mira Bai Winsby (March 1, 2006). "Into the Spiral - A Conversation with Japanese Horror Maestro Junji Ito". Translated by Miyako Takano. 78 Magazine. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014.

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