Kitamura Masashi

Masashi Kitamura (July 22, 1956 – June 17, 2006) was a Japanese musician, editor, and music critic. He was a founding member of the bands YBO², Canis Lupus, and Differance. He also founded the labels /, , and .

He founded [l=Fool's Mate] magazine in 1977, and was the editor-in-chief until 1985. The title was taken from the Peter Hammill album. The magazine also gave Masami Akita (Merzbow) his first regular writing gig.

He passed away at the age of 49 due to heart disease.