Iku Oishi (born in 1902 in Nihonbashi, Tokyo; died December 4, 1944) was a Japanese animator and independent animation producer who played an important role in the development of early Japanese animation.
He studied drawing at Seiki Kuroda's private school and later worked as a title-card designer at Shochiku Kamata Studio. In 1929, he released his first animation, Futatsu no Taiyou (The Two Suns), under the name Iku Oishi. The following year, he founded an independent studio, Oishi Senga Seisakusho, which was renamed Oishi Kosaisha two years later.
In 1933, Oishi's studio was absorbed into Photo Chemical Laboratory (P.C.L.), the predecessor of Toho, as the company expanded into animated films. One of his best-known works, Ugokie Kori no Tatehiki (1933), was produced by P.C.L.'s Manga Division and remains a key title in his filmography.
During the early 1940s, he also contributed to the field through writing, handling Section 15, The Techniques of Cartoons, for The Cinematography Reader (Vol. 1 and 2, 1940–41). Oishi died at sea during the war while on a southern expedition, but his influence continued through the artists he mentored at Oishi Senga Seisakusho and later at Toho, including Shoji Ichino, Hiromasa Suzuki (Iwao Ashida), and manga artist Soji Ushio.
