Uketsu

Uketsu (Japanese: 雨穴, romanized as Uketsu) is a Japanese YouTuber and author of unknown identity. He creates surreal short films and writes mystery and horror fiction.^[1][2]

Uketsu's novels and short stories incorporate diagrams and images as integral elements of the narrative. In 2024, three of his books were in the list of Japan's top ten fiction bestsellers.^[3][1]

Uketsu first gained notoriety through a series of unusual, often unsettling short videos posted to his YouTube channel, in which everyday objects or scenes are presented with minor distortions or surreal alterations.

In addition to uploads of narrative short films, Uketsu has participated in public events and media appearances while retaining his masked persona, including a press conference held in Tokyo that was covered by international and Japanese media.

Uketsu's fiction blends conventional prose with visual elements (drawings, diagrams, floor plans) that are presented as clues within the text. His 2022 novel Strange Pictures (Japanese title: 変な絵) sold over 1.2 million copies in Japan and 2 million copies worldwide. In France, it was named FNAC’s Book of the Month, and in Germany it topped the May 2025 Krimibestenliste as the best crime novel of the month.^[4]

Uketsu appears in public wearing a white papier-mâché mask and a black bodysuit and uses a voice changer to conceal his identity.^[2] Little is known about his life, except that he is a man, lives in Kanagawa Prefecture southwest of Tokyo, and he lived in Surrey, United Kingdom, during his childhood. His parents divorced when he was young.^[1]

He has stated in an interview that he keeps rabbits as pets, and making music is one of his major hobbies. He plays the guitar, the piano and the drums.^[2] He has also stated that only around 30 people know his identity, including his family, publisher and colleagues.^[1]