Cartoonist Shigeru Mizuki, known for his "GeGeGe no Kitaro" series depicting yokai, the spirits and monsters of Japanese folklore, died Monday of multiple organ failure at a Tokyo hospital, his office said. He was 93.

Mizuki, whose real name was Shigeru Mura, was hospitalized Nov. 11 after he fell and hit his head at his Tokyo home. He underwent emergency surgery and temporarily recovered at one point, but died at 7:18 a.m. Monday, according to the office.

The native of Tottori Prefecture started his career as a cartoonist after barely surviving World War II, during which he was sent to Rabaul — a scene of fierce fighting — in what is now Papua New Guinea. He suffered from malaria and lost his left arm in a U.S. airstrike.