, 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 ...

, was a Japanese writer of

adventure fiction Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of Romance (prose fiction)#Definition, romance fiction. History In t ...

Biography

Funado was born as Kenji Harada on February 8, 1944. During his student days, he traveled to

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. He graduated from

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

. Funado wrote approximately 30 stories for the

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series ''

Golgo 13 is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takao Saito, published in Shogakukan's manga magazine ''Big Comic'' since October 1968. The series follows the title character, a professional assassin for hire. ''Golgo 13'' is ...

'', three of which he later novelized in 2011. Funado made his debut as an adventure novel writer in 1979. After writing some prize-winning adventure novels, in 2000 he won 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 ...

for his novel ''

May in the Valley of the Rainbow May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the ...

''. In February 2015, he published the last volume of his nine-volume novel series on the history of

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

. Funado died of thymic cancer on April 22, 2015, in Suginami, Tokyo.

Works in English translation

*''

'' (original title: ''Niji no Tani no Gogatsu''), trans.

Eve Nyren Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

(

Vertical Vertical is a geometric term of location which may refer to: * Vertical direction, the direction aligned with the direction of the force of gravity, up or down * Vertical (angles), a pair of angles opposite each other, formed by two intersecting s ...

, 2006)

Awards

Japan Adventure Fiction Association Prize The were presented every year by the (JAFA) from 1982 to 2011. They honor the best in adventure fiction published in the previous year. The Japan Adventure Fiction Association was founded in 1981 by Chin Naitō (1936–2011) and was disbanded in ...

** 1985 - ''Yamaneko no Natsu'' (''Summer of the Wildcat'') ** 1988 - ''Takeki Hakobune'' ** 1989 - ''Densetsu Naki Chi'' ** 1992 - ''Suna no Kuronikuru'' (''Sand Chronicle'') ** 1996 - ''Ezochi Bekken'' ** 2004 - ''Yume wa Arechi o'' *Other awards ** 1985 -

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: ''Yamaneko no Natsu'' (''Summer of the Wildcat'') ** 1988 - The Best Japanese Crime Fiction of the Year ( Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! 1988): ''Densetsu Naki Chi'' ** 1989 -

Mystery Writers of Japan Award The are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of Japan. They honor the best in crime fiction and critical/biographical work published in the previous year. MWJ Award for Best Novel winners (1948–1951, 1976–present) MWJ Award for Be ...

for Best Novel: ''Densetsu Naki Chi'' ** 1992 -

Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize The is a Japanese literary award established in 1988 in memory of author Shūgorō Yamamoto. It was created and continues to be sponsored by the Shinchosha Publishing company, which published Yamamoto's ''Complete Works''. The prize is awarded ann ...

: ''Suna no Kuronikuru'' (''Sand Chronicle'') ** 1993 - The Best Japanese Crime Fiction of the Year ( Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! 1993): ''Suna no Kuronikuru'' (''Sand Chronicle'') ** 2000 -

: ''

'' ** 2014 - Japan Mystery Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement

Main works

* ''Higōhōin'' (1979) * ''Chi to Yume'' (1982) * ''Yamaneko no Natsu'' (lit. ''Summer of the Wildcat'') (1984) * ''Takeki Hakobune'' (1987) * ''Densetsu Naki Chi'' (1988) * ''Midori no Soko no Soko'' (1989) * ''Suna no Kuronikuru'' (lit. ''Sand Chronicle'') (1991) * ''Ezochi Bekken'' (1995) * ''Niji no Tani no Gogatsu'' (2000) (''

''. Vertical. 2006) * ''Yume wa Arechi o'' (2003) * ''Kahan ni Shirube Naku'' (lit. ''No Sign on the Riverside'') (2006) * ''Manshukoku Engi'' (2007–2015) (nine volumes)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Funado, Yoichi 1944 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Japanese novelists 21st-century Japanese novelists Japanese crime fiction writers Spy fiction writers Mystery Writers of Japan Award winners Japanese historical novelists People from Shimonoseki Writers from Yamaguchi Prefecture Waseda University alumni Deaths from cancer in Japan Deaths from thymus cancer