Akio Jissoji was a Japanese television and film director best known outside Japan for the 1960s TV series Ultraman and Ultra Seven, as well as for his auteur erotic ATG-produced Buddhist trilogy Mujō (無常), Mandala (曼陀羅), and Uta (哥). He was also known for his film adaptations of Japanese horror author Rampo Edogawa. Jissoji possessed a very distinctive visual style that was notable even in Japanese cinema which is known