Hitonari Tsuji 辻仁成 | |
|---|---|
 Hitonari living in Paris, 2016 | |
| Born | October 4, 1959 Tokyo, Japan |
| Occupation | Novelist, film director, composer, professor, editor |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Genre | Historical fiction, romance, mystery |
| Notable works |
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| Spouse | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Hitonari Tsuji (辻 仁成, Tsuji Hitonari, born October 4, 1959) is a Tokyo-born Japanese writer, composer, and film director. In his film and singing work he uses the name Jinsei Tsuji, an alternative reading of the Japanese writing of his name. He debuted as a writer in 1989. His books and stories have been bestsellers in Japan as well as overseas, with his work being translated into 20 languages and selling over ten million copies.[citation needed]
His books Calmi Cuori Appassionati Blu (1999) and Good Bye See You Someday (2001). He is also a film director and his films include Hotoke (ほとけ) (2001) and Filament (フィラメント) (2001) were officially presented at the 51st Berlinale and the 37th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival where he won a special mention in the Ecumenical Jury Award category.[citation needed]
He launched the web magazine Design Stories and became its chief editor in October 2016.[1]
Tsuji was born in Tokyo in 1959.[citation needed] He debuted as a vocalist of the rock band ECHOS in 1985 and the original song "ZOO" reached over a million sales.[citation needed]
He was a professor at Kyoto University of Art and Design from 2007 to 2016.[citation needed]
Tsuji was married to actress Kaho Minami from 1995 to 2000. He married singer and actress Miho Nakayama in 2002 and they moved to Paris, France, before she gave birth to their son a year later.[2] They divorced in 2014, and Nakayama moved back to Japan, with Tsuji retaining custody of their son.[2]
During the 1980s, Tsuji started seriously writing novels as a “Blank Generation” writer.[citation needed]
In 1989, his first novel, Pianissimo, won the 13th Subaru Prize for Literature (Subaru Bungaku Sho).[citation needed]
In 1997, he was awarded the 116th Akutagawa Prize for Kaikyo no Hikari (The Light from the Straits).
In 1999, he was awarded the Prix Femina Award, a prestigious French literary prize, in the foreign novel category, for the French translation of Le Boudda blanc (The White Buddha, or Hakubutsu, published by Mercure de France).[citation needed] He is the first Japanese writer to ever win the Prix Femina Award.
In 2003, his seven short stories were published in the French literary magazine Je Bouquine.[citation needed]
In 2005, he was selected by French literary magazine LIRE as one of the world’s 50 prospective novelists.[citation needed]
In 2005, his serial novel was featured in the South Korean newspaper The Hankyoreh.[citation needed] Tsuji is the first Japanese native novelist to have his work published in The Hankyoreh.
In 2011, Tsuji wrote a children’s book called In Rapet’s World dedicated to children who were struck by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake.
In the 1980s, Tsuji started producing independent films through his college’s movie club.[citation needed]
In 1999, his directorial debut, Sennen-Tabito (for which he did the direction, screenwriting, and music) was presented as an official invitation film for the 56th International Critic week of the Venice Film Festival.
In 2001, his movie Hotoke (director, writer, and music) was presented as an official selection in the 51st Berlin International Film Festival, in the Panorama section. In the same year, Hotoke was presented to the Deauville Asian Film Festival, in the Competition section, and won best image award.[citation needed] The film was featured in the 27th Seattle International Film Festival.[citation needed]
In 2002, his movie Filament (director, screenwriter, music) was submitted to the 37th Czech Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Official Selection Competition section and awarded the International Ecumenical Jury of the Christian Churches.[citation needed]
Tsuji also wrote and directed a TV movie titled Mokka no Koibito in 2002.[citation needed]
In summer 2008, his other movie Acacia was produced; it was presented at the 22nd Tokyo International Film Festival in the Competition section in 2009.
In 2010, his movie Paris Tokyo Paysage was produced and submitted to the 7th Festival du cinéma japonais contemporain Kinotayo (2012-2013)[3] and awarded the Prix de la meilleure image (best cinematography).
