, known by his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

, is a Japanese writer. In 1991, his novel ''Torarete tamaruka!'' (とられてたまるか!) started his literary career. After writing several

picaresque The picaresque novel (Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for ' rogue' or 'rascal') is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish but appealing hero, usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corrupt ...

novels, his novel ''Metro ni notte'' (地下鉄に乗って) was awarded the

Eiji Yoshikawa was a Japanese historical novelist. Among his best-known novels are revisions of older classics. He was mainly influenced by classics such as ''The Tale of the Heike'', ''Tale of Genji'', ''Water Margin'' and ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', m ...

Prize for New Writers and made into a 2006 film; a short story collection ''The Stationmaster and other stories'' () was also awarded the

Naoki Prize The Naoki Prize, officially , is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. It was created in 1935 by Kikuchi Kan, then editor of the ''Bungeishunjū'' magazine, and named in memory of novelist Naoki Sanjugo. Sponsored by the Society for ...

. He writes also historical and Chinese

historical novels Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

such as ''The Firmament of the Pleiades'' (''Sōkyū no subaru'', 蒼穹の昴). He writes in the traditional style of Japanese popular fiction.

Career

Asada was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

on 13 December 1951. Asada claims that an ancestor of his was a

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

under the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

. He graduated from Suginami High School, which is attached to

Chuo University , commonly referred to as or , is a private research university in Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan. The university finds its roots in a school called Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (English Law School), which was founded in 1885, and became a university in 1 ...

. Inspired by

Yukio Mishima Kimitake Hiraoka ( , ''Hiraoka Kimitake''; 14 January 192525 November 1970), known by his pen name Yukio Mishima ( , ''Mishima Yukio''), was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, Ultranationalism (Japan), ultranationalis ...

, who committed suicide after a failed

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

among

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 ...

, Asada enlisted in the SDF after finishing his studies. He changed jobs many times while endeavoring to find writing opportunities, submitting his works to literary competitions. His novels often depict

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...

and it has been said that in this respect, they are

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

. Asada has stated that he was once connected to a gang, specifically someone who ran businesses to raise funds for

organised crime Organized crime is a category of transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business, some ...

. Asada was connected to a "Nezumi kou" (a

pyramid scheme A pyramid scheme is a business model which, rather than earning money (or providing Return on investment, returns on investments) by sale of legitimate product (business), products to an end consumer, mainly earns money by recruiting new members ...

fraud). However, Asada has denied ever having been an actual member of a gangster organization. There was a period when he lived on money earned from

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

, and thus he has written many essays related to

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

. In 1991, Asada became known for his novel ''Torarete tamaruka!'' (とられてたまるか!). This novel was his first work that passed through a preliminary selection of a literary prize for new writers, so he took his pen name after this novel's protagonist. Because of the picaresque nature of his early works, Asada has often been described as a picaresque writer. However, after winning the

Prize for New Writers for ''Metro ni notte'' (地下鉄に乗って) in 1995, his style and range of writing changed and expanded dramatically. His historical novel ''The Firmament of the Pleiades'' (''Sōkyū no subaru'', 蒼穹の昴), which vividly described the last stages of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

, was nominated for the Naoki prize of 1996.

Literary style

He wrote ''Mibu Gishi Den'' (壬生義士伝) based on the stories of the Shinsen Gumi, and ''Ohara meshi mase'' (お腹召しませ). He describes himself as ''Shōsetsu no taishū shokudō'' (小説の大衆食堂) meaning that he is a "cheap public restaurant", delivering any topic that the public wants. He also says that writing is the best hobby for him; consequently he has written more than 70 works in his 14 years of novelist activity, and is still eager to publish new novels. Regarding his modern novels, Asada is nicknamed "

Heisei The was the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Akihito from 8 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. The Heisei era started on 8 January 1989, the day after the death of the Emperor Hirohito, when hi ...

no nakase ya" (平成の泣かせ屋), meaning that he is good at moving readers to tears. Asada acknowledges that he is a heavy smoker, and asserted the rights of the smoker in an essay "''Yūki rin-rin ruri no iro''" (勇気凛凛ルリの色). Further, every kind of gambling is his hobby, in addition to the horse racing as mentioned above, so there are essays related to gambling such as "''Oh my Gah!''" (オー・マイ・ガアッ!) and "''

Casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

!''" (カッシーノ!).

Works in English translation

* Short story collection **'' The Stationmaster'' (original title: ''Poppoya''), trans. Terry Gallagher (

VIZ Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

, 2009 /

Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

English Edition, 2013) ***''The Stationmaster'' (original title: ''

Poppoya is a 1999 Japanese film directed by Yasuo Furuhata. It was Japan's submission to the 72nd Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee. It was chosen as Best Film at the Japan Academy ...

'') ***''Love Letter'' (original title: ''Rabu retā'') ***''Devil'' (original title: ''Akuma'') ***''In Tsunohazu'' (original title: ''Tsunohazu nite'') ***''Kyara'' (original title: ''Kyara'') ***''The Festival of Lanterns'' (original title: ''Urabon'e'') ***''No-Good Santa'' (original title: ''Rokudenashi no santa'') ***''Invitation from the Orion Cinema'' (original title: ''Orion-za kara no shōtaijō'')

Awards

* 1995 - 16th

Yoshikawa Eiji was a Japanese historical novelist. Among his best-known novels are revisions of older classics. He was mainly influenced by classics such as ''The Tale of the Heike'', ''Tale of Genji'', ''Water Margin'' and ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', m ...

Prize for New Writers for ''Metro ni notte'' (地下鉄に乗って). * 1997 - 16th Japanese adventure fiction association special prize and 117th

for ''The Stationmaster and other stories'' (short story collection). * 2000 - Shibata Renzaburo prize for ''Mibu Gishi Den'' (壬生義士伝, When the Last Sword Is Drawn J'Lit , Publications : When the Last Sword Is Drawn , Books from Japan
) and best dresser prize of Japan. * 2006 - 1st Chuo Koron literature prize for ''Ohara meshi mase'' (お腹召しませ) and 10th

Shiba Ryotaro Shiba may refer to: *Shiba Inu, a breed of dog *Shiba clan, Japanese clan originating in the Sengoku period *Shiba Inu (cryptocurrency), a decentralized cryptocurrency Geography *Shiba, Tokyo, a former ward of Tokyo, Japan *Shiba Park in Tokyo *S ...

prize.

Film adaptations

;Japanese films * ''

'' (''The Stationmaster'') * '' When the Last Sword Is Drawn'' ;South Korean film * ''

Failan ''Failan'' () is a 2001 South Korean romantic drama film written and directed by Song Hae-sung. The film was adapted from the Japanese novel ''Love Letter'' by Jirō Asada. It stars Choi Min-sik and Cecilia Cheung. Plot After losing both her pa ...

'' (''Love Letter'')

Manga

* '' Mibu Gishiden'' (2007–2023) (illustrated by Takumi Nagayasu)

References

External links

J'Lit , Authors : Jiro Asada , Books from Japan
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asada, Jiro 1951 births Living people 20th-century Japanese novelists 21st-century Japanese novelists Japanese male short story writers Writers from Tokyo Japan Ground Self-Defense Force personnel Japanese racehorse owners and breeders Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Naoki Prize winners 20th-century Japanese short story writers 21st-century Japanese short story writers 20th-century Japanese male writers 21st-century Japanese male writers