Film director Mamoru Oshii was born on August 8, 1951, in Tokyo. He became involved in student activism during his high school years, inspired by the Haneda Airport Struggle. While attending Tokyo Gakugei University, he founded the Visual Arts Research Association and shot live-action films. After graduating, he got a job at a radio production company, but quit after only six months. While he was casually building plastic models to kill time, he spotted a job opening at the animation production company Tatsunoko Productions (later known as Tatsunoko Productions), and took the job. While working in an office at the time, Oshii's experience as a radio director led to his directorial debut in 1977 with "Ippatsu Kanta-kun." He served as storyboard artist and assistant director for the latter half of the "Time Bokan" series. In 1980, he moved to Studio Pierrot, where he became chief director of "Urusei Yatsura," based on the original work by Rumiko Takahashi, which began airing the following year. While fans of the original manga initially criticized the show for its differences from the original, the show maintained high ratings and became Oshii's breakthrough work. He also made his directorial debut with the theatrical version of the series, "Urusei Yatsura: Only You."
After leaving Studio Pierrot in 1984, he began working as a freelance director. In 1988, he directed the "Mobile Police Patlabor" original animation series, and in 1989, he wrote the screenplay for the anime version of the same work. He also directed the theatrical version of "Mobile Police Patlabor the Movie," released in 1989, for which he won the 7th Japan Animation Award.
In 1995, he directed the theatrical version of "Ghost in the Shell." Released simultaneously in Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom, the film became a global hit, reaching number one in weekly video sales on the Billboard chart, America's most prestigious music chart. In 2004, he released the sequel, "Innocence," which won the Japanese Science Fiction Award. The film was also screened in the competition section at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2008, he directed "The Sky Crawlers," which was entered in the competition section of the Venice International Film Festival.

The "Ghost in the Shell Original Art Exhibition" began today, the same day as his birthday, at Seibu Ikebukuro Main Store.