Jiraiya (児雷也, born April 28, 1967) is a pseudonymous[1] Japanese gay manga artist and illustrator. He is noted for his homoerotic, hyperreal drawings of gachimuchi (ガチムチ, “muscle-curvy” or “muscle-chubby”) men, and for his use of digital illustration in his artwork.
Jiraiya was born in 1967[2] to a working class family in Sapporo, Japan.[3] In the late 1980s, he discovered the gay magazine Sabu [ja], and was influenced by the artwork by Gengoroh Tagame published in the magazine.[3] In his twenties, Jiraiya worked as a mangaka for Shogakukan, and later as a graphic designer.[2]