was an award-winning Japanese writer. Internationally he is best known for his novels ''Shipwrecks'' and '' On Parole''.

Life and work

Yoshimura was the president of the Japanese writers' union and a PEN member. He published over 20 novels, of which ''On Parole'' and ''Shipwrecks'' are internationally known and have been translated into several languages. In 1984 he received the

Yomiuri Prize The is a literary award in Japan. The prize was founded in 1949 by the Yomiuri Shinbun Company to help form a "strong cultural nation". The winner is awarded two million Japanese yen and an inkstone. Award categories For the first two years, ...

for his novel ''Hagoku'' (, ''On Parole'') based on the true story of Yoshie Shiratori. After the

2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami Eleven or 11 may refer to: * 11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn * ...

, Yoshimura's nonfiction chronicle of three previous tsunamis on the coast of Sanriku, ''Sanriku Kaigan Otsunami'' received an influx of orders, requiring a reprint of 150,000 copies. Yoshimura's wife and author in her own right, Setsuko Tsumura donated the royalties from the book to the village of Tanohata, which was heavily impacted by the tsunami. Tanohata was a favorite place of Yoshimura's to visit and inspired him to begin research on the historical tsunamis of the area. Yoshimura was married to the writer Setsuko Tsumura.

Books (selection)

* 1966 ''Senkan Musashi'' () :* English edition:. ''Battleship Musashi: The Making and Sinking of the Worlds Biggest Battleship''. Kodansha USA, 1999 * 1967 ''Mizu no sōretsu'' () * 1970 ''Umi no kabe sanriku kaigan ōtsunami'' () * 1978 ''Tōi hi no sensō'' () :* English edition: ''One Man’s Justice''. Canongate 2004, * 1979 ''Pōtsumasu no hata'' () (on the 1905 Japan-Russia

Treaty of Portsmouth A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal p ...

negotiation) :* French edition: ''Les drapeaux de Portmouth'', éditions Philippe Picquier, 1990 * 1982 ''Hasen'' () :* English edition: ''Shipwrecks'' (, ''Hasen''). Harvest Books 1996, * 1983 ''Hagoku'' () * 1988 ''Karishakuhō'' () :* English edition: '' On Parole'' Harvest Books 2000, , loosely adapted into a movie as '' The Eel'' * 1989 ''Yami ni hirameku'' () * 1998 ''Namamugi jiken'' () * 1999 ''Amerika Hikozō'' () (on Joseph Heco,) :* English edition: ''Storm Rider''. Harcourt, 2004.

Awards and honors

* 1966 - Dazai Osamu Prize * 1973 - Kikuchi Kan Prize * 1985 - 36th

* 1997 -

Japan Art Academy is the highest-ranking official artistic organization in Japan. It is established as an extraordinary organ of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁, Bunkacho) in the thirty-first article of the law establishing the Ministry of ...

member * 2006 - Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class

References

External links

Review of ''Shipwrecks'' at asianreviewofbooks.com
Japanese writers Japanese historical novelists 1927 births 2006 deaths Gakushuin University alumni Writers from Tokyo Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class 20th-century novelists Yomiuri Prize winners Presidents of the Japan Writers’ Association {{Japan-writer-stub