Ira Ishida (石田 衣良, Ishida Ira; born March 8, 1960) is a Japanese novelist and TV commentator. After graduating from…
Ira Ishida (石田 衣良, Ishida Ira; born March 8, 1960) is a Japanese novelist and TV commentator. After graduating from Seikei University, he worked for a number of different advertising production companies and as a freelance copywriter. In 1997, he published his first short story collection, Ikebukuro West Gate Park, which won the 36th All Yomimono New Mystery Writer's Prize. In 2003, he won the Naoki Prize for 4teen. His novels describe the culture of young people in Japan, particularly young women and otaku without a college education. Many of his works have been adapted for manga and television. As an actor, he made his first appearance in a leading role in the 2006 film Love My Life. Ishida's pen name, Ishida Ira, was derived by splitting his real family name Ishidaira.
Famous Japanese People: Writer・Novelist
Writer・Novelist: 974 people
Mariko Asabuki (朝吹 真理子, Asabuki Mariko) is a Japanese writer. Her novels have won the Akutagawa Prize and the Bunkamura…
Mariko Asabuki (朝吹 真理子, Asabuki Mariko) is a Japanese writer. Her novels have won the Akutagawa Prize and the Bunkamura Deux Magots Prize, and she was named one of Vogue Japan's 2011 Women of the Year.
Yuka Murayama (村山由佳, Murayama Yuka) (born 1964) is a Japanese writer. She has won the Subaru Literary Newcomer Prize…
Yuka Murayama (村山由佳, Murayama Yuka) (born 1964) is a Japanese writer. She has won the Subaru Literary Newcomer Prize, the Naoki Prize, and the Shibata Renzaburo Prize.
Kimitake Hiraoka (平岡 公威, Hiraoka Kimitake; 14 January 1925 – 25 November 1970), known by his pen name Yukio Mishima (三島…
Kimitake Hiraoka (平岡 公威, Hiraoka Kimitake; 14 January 1925 – 25 November 1970), known by his pen name Yukio Mishima (三島 由紀夫, Mishima Yukio), was a Japanese novelist, playwright, short story writer, actor, martial artist, model, and the leader of an attempted coup d'état that culminated in his seppuku. He is considered one of the most important postwar stylists of the Japanese language. Mishima was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times in the 1960s—including in 1968 when the award went to his countryman and benefactor Yasunari Kawabata. Mishima's works include the novels Confessions of a Mask and The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, and the autobiographical essay Sun and Steel. Mishima's work is characterized by "its luxurious vocabulary and decadent metaphors, its fusion of traditional Japanese and modern Western literary styles, and its obsessive assertions of the unity of beauty, eroticism, and death," according to the author Andrew Rankin. Mishima's political activities made him a controversial figure; he remains so in Japan to the present day. From his mid-30s onwards, Mishima's far-right ideology and reactionary beliefs became increasingly evident. He extolled the traditional culture and spirit of Japan, and opposed what he saw as Western-style materialism, along with Japan's postwar democracy, globalism, and communism, worrying that by embracing these ideas the Japanese people would lose their "national essence" (kokutai) and distinctive cultural heritage to become a "rootless" people. In 1968, Mishima formed the Tatenokai ("Shield Society"), a private militia, for the purpose of protecting the dignity of the emperor as a symbol of national identity. The Tatenokai are interpreted by scholars as attempting to reclaim Japan's prewar values of loyalty. Yukio Mishima believed the traditions that made Japan great had been weakened by postwar Japan. Although the Tatenokai were legally allowed in postwar Japan, their ideology directly opposed the newfound pacifism that was adopted. On 25 November 1970, Mishima and four members of his militia entered a military base in central Tokyo, took its commandant hostage, and unsuccessfully tried to inspire the Japan Self-Defense Forces to rise up and overthrow Article 9 of the 1947 Constitution to restore autonomous national defense and the divinity of the emperor. The incident ended with Mishima's suicide by seppuku, which had been planned.
Shion Miura (三浦 しをん, Miura Shion; born 1976) is a Japanese writer. She has won the Naoki Prize, the Oda Sakunosuke…
Shion Miura (三浦 しをん, Miura Shion; born 1976) is a Japanese writer. She has won the Naoki Prize, the Oda Sakunosuke Prize, and the Japan Booksellers' Award. Her work has been adapted for film and television, and her books have been translated into Indonesian, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, English, German and Italian.
Atsushi Nakajima (中島 敦, Nakajima Atsushi; 5 May 1909 – 4 December 1942) was a Japanese author known for his unique…
Atsushi Nakajima (中島 敦, Nakajima Atsushi; 5 May 1909 – 4 December 1942) was a Japanese author known for his unique style and self-introspective themes. His major works include "The Moon Over the Mountain" and "Light, Wind and Dreams" with the former being published in many Japanese textbooks. During his life he wrote about twenty works, including unfinished works, typically inspired by Classical Chinese stories and his own life experiences.
Mizuki Tsujimura (辻村深月, Tsujimura Mizuki) (born February 29, 1980) is a Japanese writer from Fuefuki, Yamanashi.…
Mizuki Tsujimura (辻村深月, Tsujimura Mizuki) (born February 29, 1980) is a Japanese writer from Fuefuki, Yamanashi. Tsujimura specializes in mystery novels. She writes both for adults and children. She has been writing mystery novels since she was a high school student. She decided to go to Chiba University because there was a mystery research group in this university. She made her debut in 2004 with her novel A School Frozen in Time. She professes herself to be a fan of Doraemon and wrote the screenplay for the Doraemon movie, Doraemon: Nobita's Chronicle of the Moon Exploration and its novel version in 2018.
Risa Wataya (綿矢 りさ, Wataya Risa; born February 1, 1984) is a female Japanese novelist from Kyoto. Her short novel…
Risa Wataya (綿矢 りさ, Wataya Risa; born February 1, 1984) is a female Japanese novelist from Kyoto. Her short novel Keritai senaka won the Akutagawa Prize and has sold more than a million copies. Wataya has also won the Bungei Prize and the Kenzaburo Oe Prize. Her work has been translated into German, Italian, French, Thai, Korean, and English.
Keigo Higashino (Japanese: 東野 圭吾, Hepburn: Higashino Keigo; February 4, 1958 – July 23, 2026) was a Japanese author…
Keigo Higashino (Japanese: 東野 圭吾, Hepburn: Higashino Keigo; February 4, 1958 – July 23, 2026) was a Japanese author chiefly known for his mystery novels. He served as the 13th President of Mystery Writers of Japan from 2009 to 2013. Higashino won major Japanese awards for his books, almost twenty of which have been turned into films and television series.
Motojirō Kajii (梶井 基次郎, Kajii Motojirō; also Motojirou Kajii, February 17, 1901 – March 24, 1932) was a Japanese writer…
Motojirō Kajii (梶井 基次郎, Kajii Motojirō; also Motojirou Kajii, February 17, 1901 – March 24, 1932) was a Japanese writer in the early Shōwa period known for his poetic short stories. Kajii's works included Remon (檸檬; "Lemon"), "Shiro no aru machi nite" (城のある町にて; "In a Castle Town"). Fuyu no hi (冬の日; "Winter Days") and Sakura no ki no shita ni wa (櫻の樹の下には; "Beneath the Cherry Trees"). His poetic works were praised by fellow writers including Yasunari Kawabata and Yukio Mishima. Today his works are admired for their finely tuned self-observation and descriptive power. Despite the limited body of work he created during his short lifetime, Kajii has managed to leave a lasting footprint on Japanese culture. "Lemon" is a staple of literature textbooks. According to a report in major daily newspaper Asahi Shimbun, many high school students have emulated the protagonist's defiant act of leaving a lemon in the book section of Maruzen, a department store chain. The opening line of "Under the Cherry Trees" (Dead bodies are buried under the cherry trees!) is popularly quoted in reference to hanami, the Japanese custom of cherry blossom viewing.
Yasunari Kawabata (川端 康成, Kawabata Yasunari; Japanese pronunciation: [ka.wa.ba.ta (|) ja.sɯꜜ.na.ɾʲi], 11 June 1899 – 16…
Yasunari Kawabata (川端 康成, Kawabata Yasunari; Japanese pronunciation: [ka.wa.ba.ta (|) ja.sɯꜜ.na.ɾʲi], 11 June 1899 – 16 April 1972) was a Japanese novelist and short story writer whose spare, lyrical, subtly-shaded prose works won him the 1968 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Japanese author to receive the award. His works have enjoyed broad international appeal and are still widely read.
Zhang Wenhuan (Chinese：张文环, October 10, 1909 – February 12, 1978) was a novelist and magazine editor during the…
Zhang Wenhuan (Chinese：张文环, October 10, 1909 – February 12, 1978) was a novelist and magazine editor during the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan. He was born in Meishan Township, Chiayi County.
Ai Morinaga (森永あい, Morinaga Ai) (28 April 1981 – 2 August 2019) was a Japanese manga artist from Okayama Prefecture.…
Ai Morinaga (森永あい, Morinaga Ai) (28 April 1981 – 2 August 2019) was a Japanese manga artist from Okayama Prefecture. Among her best-known series are Your and My Secret and My Heavenly Hockey Club. Morinaga's last work was Kirara no Hoshi, which was published in Betsufure magazine from 2010 to 2015. Morinaga died on August 2, 2019.
Atsuko Asano (Japanese: あさの あつこ, Hepburn: Asano Atsuko; born 1954 in Okayama Prefecture) is a Japanese writer. She…
Atsuko Asano (Japanese: あさの あつこ, Hepburn: Asano Atsuko; born 1954 in Okayama Prefecture) is a Japanese writer. She wrote the children's novel series Telepathy Shōjo Ran and the manga series The Manzai Comics. She started writing children's novels when she was in college. She graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University with the Bachelor of Letters degree. After that, she worked as a temporary teacher of the elementary school in Okayama for two years. She published Hotarukan monogatari as her first novel in 1991. She is married to a dentist and they have two sons and a daughter. Asano received the Noma Prize for Juvenile Literature in 1997 for the book series Battery, which has been adapted into a film. The same series won the Shogakukan Children's Publication Culture Award in 2005. Her work frequently appears in literary magazines and she has also been featured in the Mainichi Shimbun. She is a supporter of the Japanese Communist Party (JCP).
Kanae Minato (湊かなえ, Minato Kanae; born 1973) is a Japanese writer of crime fiction and thrillers. She is a member of…
Kanae Minato (湊かなえ, Minato Kanae; born 1973) is a Japanese writer of crime fiction and thrillers. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of Japan and the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. She is a 2015 recipient of the Alex Awards.
Makishi Satoko (Japanese: 真喜志 智子), known professionally as Cocco (こっこ), is a Japanese pop/folk rock singer.
Keitarō Arima (有馬 啓太郎, Arima Keitarō; born on January 13, 1969) is a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator…
Keitarō Arima (有馬 啓太郎, Arima Keitarō; born on January 13, 1969) is a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator of Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase. He was a member of the Manga Dōkōkai OB at Kansai University. His pen names include Pitarō Arima (有馬 秘太郎, Arima Pitarō), Haruo Arima (有馬 晴臣, Arima Haruo) and Pīttarō Arima (有馬 ピーッ太郎, Arima Pīttarō).
Takashi Ito (伊藤高志, Itō Takashi; born 1956) is a Japanese experimental filmmaker known for his avant-garde short films…
Takashi Ito (伊藤高志, Itō Takashi; born 1956) is a Japanese experimental filmmaker known for his avant-garde short films, including Spacy (1981), Thunder (1982), and Ghost (1984). His films are characterized by such photographic techniques as long-exposure and time-lapse photography, as well as a stop motion technique in which series of photographs are themselves photographed frame-by-frame, creating an animated effect. Ito's filmmaking style and interest in experimental film were influenced by his mentor Toshio Matsumoto, under whom Ito learned while a student at the Kyushu Institute of Design. Matsumoto's 1975 experimental short Ātman influenced Ito to create Noh (1977), an 8 mm short. Ito's first 16 mm short, Spacy, was completed in 1981. Spacy screened at several museums in and outside of Japan, as well as international film festivals and universities. Over the course of his career, Ito has directed a total of over 20 short films, a number of which have been shown at film festivals and as part of retrospective exhibitions on Ito's filmography. Ito's debut feature-length film, Toward Zero, premiered at the 2021 Image Forum Festival, and received a theatrical release in Japan in August 2022.
Tabata Kihachi V (Japanese:五代田畑喜八) is a Japanese textile artist who specializes in dying kimono using the Yuzen…
Tabata Kihachi V (Japanese:五代田畑喜八) is a Japanese textile artist who specializes in dying kimono using the Yuzen technique of dyeing.
Mizuki Nomura (野村美月, Nomura Mizuki) is a Japanese light novelist. Table Tennis was the best prize winner in the third…
Mizuki Nomura (野村美月, Nomura Mizuki) is a Japanese light novelist. Table Tennis was the best prize winner in the third Entame Prize (えんため大賞) in the novel category held by Enterbrain in 2003.
Yang Kui (Chinese: 楊逵; pinyin: Yáng Kuí; Wade–Giles: Yang K'uei; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Iûⁿ Kùi; 18 October 1906 – 12 March 1985)…
Yang Kui (Chinese: 楊逵; pinyin: Yáng Kuí; Wade–Giles: Yang K'uei; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Iûⁿ Kùi; 18 October 1906 – 12 March 1985) or Yō Ki, originally named Yang Kui (楊貴), was a Taiwanese writer and social activist born in Tainan, Taiwan. He used pen names such as Yang-kuei (楊逵), Yang Chien-wen (楊建文), Lai Chien-erh (賴健兒), Lin Ssu-wen (林泗文), and Ito Ryo (伊東 亮). Raised in Japanese-language schools, Yang Kui went to the Japanese mainland, where he experienced both persecution and acceptance, especially by Japanese communists. Under these influences he became a proletarian novelist. After World War II, he was imprisoned by the Kuomintang government from 1949 to 1961. After being released from prison, he had to learn the Chinese language from his granddaughter Yang Tsui, as Japanese had been the common language of Taiwan until the time of his imprisonment. Yang Kuei actively participated in various social movements and organizations, including the Taiwan Peasants’ Association during the Japanese rule period, the Taiwanese Cultural Association, Taiwan Alliance for Literature and Arts, and the opposition movement after the arrival of the Nationalist government. In honor of Yang Kuei, the Yang Kui Literature Memorial Museum was established in Xinhua District, Tainan City. It officially opened on November 27, 2005, and features Yang Kuei's manuscripts, documents, such as the first edition of "The Newspaper Carrier" translated by Hu Feng (胡風) and published by Tung Hua Book Co. in 1947, and other artifacts.
Ao Jūmonji (十文字青, Jūmonji Ao) is a Japanese light novelist. He is from Hokuto, Hokkaidō Prefecture and graduated from…
Ao Jūmonji (十文字青, Jūmonji Ao) is a Japanese light novelist. He is from Hokuto, Hokkaidō Prefecture and graduated from Hokkaido University.
Natsume Akatsuki (暁なつめ, Akatsuki Natsume) is a Japanese light novel author and manga writer. He is best known as the…
Natsume Akatsuki (暁なつめ, Akatsuki Natsume) is a Japanese light novel author and manga writer. He is best known as the creator of the KonoSuba series.
Mari Miyazawa (宮澤真理, Miyazawa Mari) is a Japanese bento artist (food artist) and stop-motion animator based in Japan.