KUMAKAWA Masao was born in Kyoto in 1916. He started his career in the1930s. After World War II, he worked as a key animator in Nichido-Eiga, which became Toei-Doga later. During World War II, he was involved in creating "Benkei vs. Ushiwakamaru" (1939) and "Kumo to churippu (A spider and a tulip, 1943)". After World War II, as an animator he participate to create "Suteneko Torachan (Torachan: a deserted kitten, 1947)" and "Kobito to Aomushi (A midget and a green caterpillar, 1950)" that were known as masterpieces of Japanese animation. Then, he left the animation field and drew illustrations for a while. In 1956 he was invited to Toei-Doga for a trainer of young animators. At the same time, he was involved in creating "Shonen Sarutobi Sasuke(The Adventures of Little Samurai, 1959) " and "Saiyuki (Enchanted Monkey, 1960) ". In 1964 he left Toei Doga and trained many animators in YAMAMOTO Sanae's animation studio. Yamamoto was an ex-deputy manager of Toei Doga . After resigning Toei-Doga, Yamamoto built his own studio, Kuma Production, and worked as an animator to create TV animation. Currently he is a water color painter.