Makoto Furukawa (Japanese: 古川真人) is a Japanese writer. In January 2020, he won the 162nd Akutagawa Prize for his book…Makoto Furukawa (Japanese: 古川真人) is a Japanese writer. In January 2020, he won the 162nd Akutagawa Prize for his book Seitaka Awadachisō.
Hitomi Mieno (三重野 瞳, Mieno Hitomi; born December 21, 1977 in Fukuoka Prefecture) is a Japanese singer and screenwriter.…Hitomi Mieno (三重野 瞳, Mieno Hitomi; born December 21, 1977 in Fukuoka Prefecture) is a Japanese singer and screenwriter. She has released 17 singles and 11 albums since her debut in 1994. Several of her songs have been used as openings and endings of anime and radio dramas. She has also written the screenplays of various anime series under the alias of Deko Akao (赤尾 でこ, Akao Deko), including Noragami, Frame Arms Girl and After the Rain.
Takafumi Horie (堀江 貴文, Horie Takafumi; born October 29, 1972) is a Japanese entrepreneur who founded Livedoor, a…Takafumi Horie (堀江 貴文, Horie Takafumi; born October 29, 1972) is a Japanese entrepreneur who founded Livedoor, a website design operation that grew into a popular internet portal. After being arrested and charged with securities fraud in 2006, he severed all connections with the company. His trial began on September 4, 2006. On March 16, 2007, Horie was sentenced to imprisonment of 2 years and 6 months. He is popularly known as Horiemon (ホリエモン) due to his resemblance to Doraemon, the chubby robot cat in a popular Japanese cartoon. The name Horiemon was also given to a racehorse he owned, after the name had been chosen by voting on a Livedoor website.
Kōshi Rikudō (六道 神士, Rikudō Kōshi; born November 16, 1970) is a Japanese manga artist. Rikudō is a graduate of Kyushu…Kōshi Rikudō (六道 神士, Rikudō Kōshi; born November 16, 1970) is a Japanese manga artist. Rikudō is a graduate of Kyushu Sangyo University and lives in Dazaifu, Fukuoka. His most popular work is Excel Saga, and Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn. a manga which he describes as a work dealing with the everyday aspects of living in Japan. The anime version of Excel Saga contains stories from the first five volumes of the manga, and even features Rikdo as a character (voiced by Wataru Takagi).
Sunao Matsumoto (October 24, 1969 – July 15, 2004), known professionally as Sunao Yoshida (吉田直 Yoshida Sunao), was a…Sunao Matsumoto (October 24, 1969 – July 15, 2004), known professionally as Sunao Yoshida (吉田直 Yoshida Sunao), was a Japanese novelist. He was born in Fukuoka Prefecture and graduated from La Salle Junior and Senior High School in Kagoshima. He attended Waseda University and earned a Master's degree from Kyoto University. Yoshida died of a lung blockage in 2004. Yoshida was known primarily for "light novels," a category in Japanese publishing that includes youth-oriented stories, often featuring anime-style cover illustrations. In 1997, Yoshida was awarded the Sneaker Taisho literary prize for his debut novel, Genocide Angel. He was the author of the novel series Trinity Blood, which was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's The Sneaker magazine. The popularity of The Sneaker dropped significantly after Yoshida's death. The Trinity Blood series was published in North America by Tokyopop. Two years after Yoshida's death, from January to October 2006, his home village of Ashiyamachi, Fukuoka, in conjunction with publishers Kadokawa Shoten, Gonzo and Broccoli, held a "Sunao Exhibit" to memorialize his achievements. Gainax's scheduled project Neppu Kairiku Bushi Road was indefinitely delayed after his death, as he was supposed to be its world designer. The project was eventually taken over by Kinema Citrus and Orange and completed in 2013.
Tamaki Daido (大道 珠貴, Daidō Tamaki; born 1966) is a Japanese writer. She has won the Kyushu Arts Festival Literary…Tamaki Daido (大道 珠貴, Daidō Tamaki; born 1966) is a Japanese writer. She has won the Kyushu Arts Festival Literary Prize, the Bunkamura Deux Magots Literary Prize, and the Akutagawa Prize.
Shinji Aoyama (青山 真治, Aoyama Shinji; 13 July 1964 – 21 March 2022) was a Japanese film director, screenwriter…Shinji Aoyama (青山 真治, Aoyama Shinji; 13 July 1964 – 21 March 2022) was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, composer, film critic, and novelist. He graduated from Rikkyo University. He won two awards at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival for his film Eureka.
Ken'ichi Sakemi (酒見 賢一, Sakemi Ken'ichi; November 26, 1963 – November 7, 2023) was a Japanese writer. Sakemi is known…Ken'ichi Sakemi (酒見 賢一, Sakemi Ken'ichi; November 26, 1963 – November 7, 2023) was a Japanese writer. Sakemi is known for his novels with Chinese themes. And his work is renowned for his unbridled imagination, based on Chinese history but not restricted by it. His works have attracted a lot of attention from other fields and have been adapted into other formats, including manga, anime, and films.
Kazuki Nakashima (中島 かずき, Nakashima Kazuki; born August 19, 1959 in Fukuoka, Japan) is a Japanese playwright, novelist…Kazuki Nakashima (中島 かずき, Nakashima Kazuki; born August 19, 1959 in Fukuoka, Japan) is a Japanese playwright, novelist, contributing editor and screenwriter. In addition to working on Getter Robo, he is a fan of Ken Ishikawa.
Kazufumi Shiraishi (白石 一文, Shiraishi Kazufumi) is a Japanese novelist and the son of novelist Ichirō Shiraishi. The two…Kazufumi Shiraishi (白石 一文, Shiraishi Kazufumi) is a Japanese novelist and the son of novelist Ichirō Shiraishi. The two are the only father-son pair to have both received the Naoki Prize, the father on his eighth nomination after numerous disappointments and the son on his second, for the 2009 Hokanaranu hito e (To an Incomparable Other). At his prize press conference, the son joked that he had always “hated” the Naoki because of the grief it had put his father through. Shiraishi debuted in 2000 to great critical acclaim with Isshun no hikari (A Ray of Light). His novel Boku no naka no kowareteinai bubun (The Part of Me That Isn’t Broken Inside), published in 2002, became a national best-seller and is forthcoming in translation from Dalkey Archive Press, who is also publishing Shiraishi's 2008 novel, Kono yo no zenbu o tekini mawashite (Me Against the World). In addition to winning the Naoki Prize, Shiraishi has also won the prestigious Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize for his 2009 novel, Kono mune ni fukabuka to tsukisasaru ya o nuke (Remove That Arrow from Deep in My Heart). He is a member of Red Circle Authors.
Shin'ichi Abe (Japanese: 安部 慎一 Abe Shin'ichi; 7 April 1950 – 4 September 2026) was a Japanese mangaka. Abe joined the…Shin'ichi Abe (Japanese: 安部 慎一 Abe Shin'ichi; 7 April 1950 – 4 September 2026) was a Japanese mangaka. Abe joined the magazine Garo when he was 20 years old and had his works extend to the European sphere in the 2000s. Abe died from mandibular gland cancer on 4 September 2026, at the age of 76.
Jirō Akagawa (赤川 次郎, Akagawa Jirō; born February 29, 1948) is a Japanese novelist born in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture…Jirō Akagawa (赤川 次郎, Akagawa Jirō; born February 29, 1948) is a Japanese novelist born in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Masakane Yonekura (Japanese: 米倉 斉加年; 7 October 1934 – 26 August 2014) was a Japanese stage director, actor, author, and…Masakane Yonekura (Japanese: 米倉 斉加年; 7 October 1934 – 26 August 2014) was a Japanese stage director, actor, author, and illustrator who was one of the central members of the Gekidan Mingei theatre company.
Hiroyuki Itsuki (Japanese: 五木 寛之, born September 30, 1932) is a Japanese novelist, essayist and lyricist, best known in…Hiroyuki Itsuki (Japanese: 五木 寛之, born September 30, 1932) is a Japanese novelist, essayist and lyricist, best known in Japan by his novel The Gate of Youth and in the English-speaking world by Tariki: Embracing Despair, Discovering Peace.
Reiko Mori (森禮子; July 7, 1928 – March 28, 2014) was a Japanese novelist and playwright. She was awarded the Akutagawa…Reiko Mori (森禮子; July 7, 1928 – March 28, 2014) was a Japanese novelist and playwright. She was awarded the Akutagawa Award for her book Mokkingubado no iru machi (モッキングバードのいる町) in 1979.
Eisuke Nakazono (中薗 英助, Nakazono Eisuke; August 27, 1920 – April 9, 2002), pen-name for Hideki Nakazono, was one of…Eisuke Nakazono (中薗 英助, Nakazono Eisuke; August 27, 1920 – April 9, 2002), pen-name for Hideki Nakazono, was one of Japan's pioneer writers of spy fiction. Nakazono was born in Fukuoka Prefecture, spent from 1938-1946 in China, and died of pneumonia at a hospital in Kawasaki, Kanagawa. He won the 1992 Yomiuri Prize for Peking hanten kyūkan nite.
Kyojin Onishi (大西 巨人, Ōnishi Kyojin; 1916–2014) was a Japanese novelist and critic. He was born in 1916 in Fukuoka…Kyojin Onishi (大西 巨人, Ōnishi Kyojin; 1916–2014) was a Japanese novelist and critic. He was born in 1916 in Fukuoka Prefecture and dropped out of Kyushu University. He was a Marxist throughout his life.
Kiyoteru Hanada (花田 清輝, Hanada Kiyoteru; March 29, 1909 – September 23, 1974) was a prominent Japanese literary critic…Kiyoteru Hanada (花田 清輝, Hanada Kiyoteru; March 29, 1909 – September 23, 1974) was a prominent Japanese literary critic and essayist. Hanada is widely acclaimed as one of the most influential advocates and theorists of the postwar avant-garde art movement. Jukki Hanada is his grandson.
Ashihei Hino (火野 葦平, Hino Ashihei) (born 玉井勝則, Tamai Katsunori; 25 January 1907 – 24 January 1960) was a Japanese…Ashihei Hino (火野 葦平, Hino Ashihei) (born 玉井勝則, Tamai Katsunori; 25 January 1907 – 24 January 1960) was a Japanese writer, whose works included depictions of military life during World War II. He was born in Wakamatsu (now Wakamatsu ward, Kitakyūshū) and in 1937 he received the prestigious Akutagawa Prize for one of his novels, Fun'nyōtan (糞尿譚, Tales of Excrement and Urine). At that moment he was a soldier for the Japanese army in China. He then got promoted to the information corps and published numerous works about the daily lives of Japanese soldiers. It is for his war novels that he became famous during (and forgotten after) the war. His book Mugi to Heitai (麦と兵隊, Wheat and Soldiers) sold over a million copies. Hino committed suicide at the age of 53. His death was first reported to have been from a heart attack, but was later revealed by his family to have been from an overdose of sleeping pills. His birthhouse can be visited nowadays.
Fumiko Hayashi (林芙美子, Hayashi Fumiko; December 31, 1903 – June 28, 1951) was a Japanese writer of novels, short stories…Fumiko Hayashi (林芙美子, Hayashi Fumiko; December 31, 1903 – June 28, 1951) was a Japanese writer of novels, short stories and poetry, who has repeatedly been included in the feminist literature canon. Among her best-known works are Diary of a Vagabond, Late Chrysanthemum and Floating Clouds.
Itō Noe (伊藤 野枝; January 21, 1895 – September 16, 1923) was a Japanese anarchist, social critic, author, and feminist.…Itō Noe (伊藤 野枝; January 21, 1895 – September 16, 1923) was a Japanese anarchist, social critic, author, and feminist. She was the editor-in-chief of the feminist magazine Seitō (Bluestocking). Her progressive anarcha-feminist ideology challenged the norms of the Meiji and Taishō periods in which she lived. She drew praise from critics for her ability to weave her personal and political ideas into her writings. The Japanese government, however, condemned her for challenging the constructs of the time. She became a martyr of the anarchist ideology in which she believed during the Amakasu Incident, when she was murdered along with her lover, anarchist author Ōsugi Sakae, and his nephew.
Yoshiki Hayama (葉山 嘉樹, Hayama Yoshiki; March 12, 1894 – October 18, 1945) was a Japanese author associated with the…Yoshiki Hayama (葉山 嘉樹, Hayama Yoshiki; March 12, 1894 – October 18, 1945) was a Japanese author associated with the Japanese proletarian literature movement. He is perhaps best known for Men Who Live on the Sea (海に生くる人々, Umi ni Ikuru Hitobito), a 1926 novel about the appalling labor conditions on a cargo ship plying the Japan trade lanes, and for short stories such as The Prostitute (淫売婦, Imbaifu; 1925), an early example of proletarian literature in Japan. He spent time in jail due to his involvement with the labor movement, but later turned away from Marxism and became an enthusiastic supporter of Japanese imperialism.
Kōji Uno (宇野 浩二, Uno Kōji; July 26, 1891 - September 21, 1961) was a noted Japanese novelist and short story writer.…Kōji Uno (宇野 浩二, Uno Kōji; July 26, 1891 - September 21, 1961) was a noted Japanese novelist and short story writer. Uno was born in Fukuoka to parents of Samurai origin. His grandfather was a police captain and his father a teacher. After his father's death when Uno was four, his family lost all their savings speculating in the stock market. When Uno was eight, he was sent to live with his grandmother and an uncle in Sōemonchō as his mother became a waitress. There he lived, beside the Dōtonbori entertainment district, among geisha, prostitutes, wig-makers, and gamblers, as he attended Rikugun elementary school from 1899 to 1901. He attended Tennōji middle school, where he learned to read English and acquired a taste for Nikolai Gogol's fiction. In 1910 he moved to Tokyo to study English literature at Waseda University, where he read Symbolist poetry and Russian modernists including Leonid Andreyev, Mikhail Artsybashev, Konstantin Balmont, Aleksandr Kuprin, Fyodor Sologub, and Boris Konstantinovich Zaytsev. At age 28, Uno published his first major work, "In the Storehouse", whose colloquial and ironic style was criticized as "flippant" and "popular". After seven years (1927–1933) of mental illness and silence, his publications became more conventional and Uno participated in the literary life of the day. During World War II, he wrote essays on literary life in the Taishō period (1912–1926). He received the Yomiuri Prize in 1950 for his 1948 novel Omoigawa (思ひ川, River of Thought), and highly praised for his 1951 critical biography of author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. In 1953 he campaigned for the release of twenty Communist factory workers accused of sabotaging a Japan National Railways freight train, publishing two novels on their behalf, and touring China in 1956 on a personal invitation from Zhou Enlai. Uno died of pulmonary tuberculosis.
Yumeno Kyūsaku (夢野 久作; 4 January 1889 – 11 March 1936) was the pen name of Sugiyama Yasumichi (杉山 泰道), an early Shōwa…Yumeno Kyūsaku (夢野 久作; 4 January 1889 – 11 March 1936) was the pen name of Sugiyama Yasumichi (杉山 泰道), an early Shōwa period Japanese author, Zen priest, post office director and sub-lieutenant. The pen name roughly means "a person who always dreams". His Dharma name was Goshin-in Gin'en Taidō-koji (悟真院吟園泰道居士). He wrote detective novels and is known for his avant-gardism and his surrealistic, wildly imaginative and fantastic, even bizarre narratives.
Sakai Toshihiko (堺 利彦; November 25, 1871 – January 23, 1933) was a Japanese socialist. He advocated opposition to the…Sakai Toshihiko (堺 利彦; November 25, 1871 – January 23, 1933) was a Japanese socialist. He advocated opposition to the Russo-Japanese War, founded the Heiminsha and published the newspaper Heimin Shimbun. He formed the Japan Socialist Party and the Japanese Communist Party, and became the first general secretary of the Japanese Communist Party. His pen name is Saka Kosen (堺枯川). He is also known for his translation with Kōtoku Shūsui.
Ishibashi Ningetsu (石橋 忍月, 1 September 1865 – 1 February 1926) was a Japanese writer and literature critic. His…Ishibashi Ningetsu (石橋 忍月, 1 September 1865 – 1 February 1926) was a Japanese writer and literature critic. His critique "Maihime", on the short story of the same name by Mori Ōgai, was an important dispute in literature during the early Meiji period. He was also among the contributors of Jogaku zasshi, an influential magazine of the Meiji era.