is a female

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

light novel A is a type of Genre fiction, popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting Adolescence, teens to Young adult, twenties or older. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging. The abbr ...

ist from Kōchi,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Biography

Arikawa was born on June 9, 1972, in Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture, Japan. She won the tenth annual Dengeki Novel Prize for new writers for ''Shio no Machi: Wish on My Precious'' in 2003, and the book was published the following year. It was praised for its love story between a heroine and hero divided by age and social status, and for its depiction of military structures. Arikawa noted that her works were largely influenced by ''

Gamera is a fictional giant monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the Gamera, the Giant Monster, eponymous 1965 Japanese film. The character and the first film were intended to compete with the success of Toho's Godzilla (franchise), ''Godzilla'' ...

'' films and '' The Great Escape''. Although she is a light novelist, her books from her second work onwards have been published as hardbacks alongside more literary works, with Arikawa receiving special treatment in this respect from her publisher, MediaWorks. ''Shio no Machi'' was also later published in hardback. Her 2006 light novel '' Toshokan Sensō'' (The Library War) was named as ''Hon no Zasshis number one for entertainment for the first half of 2006, and came fifth in the '' Honya Taishō'' for that year, competing against ordinary novels. She has written about the

Japan Self-Defense Forces The are the military forces of Japan. Established in 1954, the JSDF comprises the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. They are controlled by the Ministry of Defense ...

(JSDF); her first three novels concerning its three branches are known as the ''Jieitai Sanbusaku'' (The SDF Trilogy). She also wrote about the fictional Library Forces in the ''Toshokan Sensō'' series. ''Raintree no Kuni'', which first appeared as a book within a book in ''Toshokan Nairan'' was later published by Arikawa as a spin-off with another publisher. It was adapted into a film titled '' World of Delight'' released on November 21, 2015. Her novel ' was adapted into a film titled '' Shokubutsu Zukan: Unmei no Koi, Hiroimashita'' (''Evergreen Love''), released on June 4, 2016. Likewise, two other of her novels, i.e.

Freeter, Ie wo Kau is a Japanese television drama series that aired on Fuji Television and on Kyodo Television in 2010. It is based on a novel of same name by Hiro Arikawa. It centers around a university student graduate who quitted his job only after 3 months an ...

and Hankyū Densha were adapted respectively in film or TV series in 2010 and 2011. ''Tabineko Ripouto,'' a work which was serialized Weekly Bunshun between the years of 2011-2012, was compiled into a novel in 2012. In it, the protagonist is a cat called Nana (Japanese for seven), which enters the life of cat lover Satoru, who is still mourning his first cat Hachi (Japanese for eight). ''Tabineko Ripouto'' rapidly gained critical acclaim and several literary award nominations. It was translated by

Philip Gabriel James Philip Gabriel (born 1953) is an American translator and Japanologist. He is a full professor and former department chair of the University of Arizona's Department of East Asian Studies and is one of the major translators into English of the ...

and published in English as ''The Travelling Cat Chronicles'' in 2017. The novel was then adapted into a film in 2018.

Influence

In a 2011 essay written by video game designer

Hideo Kojima is a Japanese video game designer. Regarded as one of the pioneering auteurs of video games, he developed a strong passion for film and literature during his childhood and adolescence, which in turn has had a significant influence on his game ...

, he reviewed Arikawa's novel ''Hankyu Densha'' while relating the story to his personal experiences riding the

Hankyu Railway , trading as , is a Japanese private railway company that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region. It is one of the flagship properties of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., in turn part of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Gr ...

as a child. The essay was later published in Kojima's autobiographical book '' The Creative Gene'', released on October 12, 2021.

Works

*''The SDF Trilogy'' series **''Shio no Machi: Wish on My Precious'' **''Sora no Naka'' **''Umi no Soko'' *''The Library War'' series **''Toshokan Sensō'' (The Library War) **''Toshokan Nairan'' (The Library Infighting) **''Toshokan Kiki'' (The Library Crisis) **''Toshokan Kakumei'' (The Library Revolution) *'' World of Delight'' *''Sweet Blue Age'' *'' Hankyū Densha'' (published in French in 2021 under the title ''Au prochain arrêt'', i.e. ''At the next stop''). *' *''

'' *''Soratobu Kōhōshitsu'' *''Tabineko Ripouto'' (published in English under the title ''The Travelling Cat Chronicles'' in 2017)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arikawa Hiro 1972 births Living people Writers from Kōchi Prefecture Japanese women novelists 21st-century Japanese women writers Light novelists 21st-century Japanese novelists Japan Self-Defense Forces in fiction