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Soji Shimada
Born (1948-10-12) October 12, 1948 (age 75)
Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan
OccupationNovelist
Period1981–present
GenreMystery fiction
Notable workThe Detective Kiyoshi Mitarai series
Signature
Website
WS Kan Soji Shimada Supervision Website

Soji Shimada (島田 荘司, Shimada Sōji, born October 12, 1948) is a Japanese mystery writer. Born in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.

Biography

Soji Shimada graduated from Seishikan High School in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and later Musashino Art University as a Commercial arts design major.[1]

After spending years as a dump truck driver, free writer, and musician, he made his debut as a mystery writer in 1981 when The Tokyo Zodiac Murders was shortlisted for the Edogawa Rampo Prize.[2] His most well-known works in Japan include the Detective Mitarai Series and the Detective Yoshiki Series.[2] His works often involve themes such as the death penalty, Nihonjinron (his theory on the Japanese people), and Japanese and international culture.[citation needed] He is a strong supporter of amateur Honkaku (i.e. authentic, orthodox) mystery writers.[citation needed] Following the trend of Social School of crime fiction led by Seicho Matsumoto, he was the pioneer of "Shin-Honkaku" (New Orthodox) logic mystery genre.[3] He bred authors such as Yukito Ayatsuji, Rintaro Norizuki and Shogo Utano, and he led the mystery boom from the late 1980s to present day. As the father of "Shin-Honkaku," Shimada is sometimes referred to as "The Godfather of Shin-Honkaku" or "God of Mystery.”[4]

His humor mysteries such as Soseki and the London Mummy Murders and Let There Be Murder, Any Kind of Murder involve an extravagant mystery trick as well as elements of satire, confusion, youth, and survival.

In recent years, he has begun a new challenge—an animated series called the "Taiga Novels," collaborated with the renowned illustrator Masamune Shirow. Upon its kick-off in January 2008, he and Shirow plan to create a twelve-book series through the Kodansha BOX publishers.[5] On top of the BOX, Shimada holds a column in the celebrated magazine, the Weekly Shincho. He is also heading two newly founded Amateur Mystery Novel contests—first, "The City of Roses Fukuyama Mystery Award"[6] for amateur writers in Japan, and the "Soji Shimada Mystery Award"[7] in Taiwan, sponsored by Crown Publishing company. In 2019 he joined the curated group of award-winning Japanese authors Red Circle Authors.[8]

Awards and nominations

Shimada has been nominated for numerous literature awards, but gained a growing reputation in his early career for consistently losing out. He was nominated for the Naoki Prize twice, in 1984 for "Soseki and the London Mummy Murders" and in 1985 for "Summer, 19-year-old portrait" (losing both awards). His books Murder in the Crooked Mansion and Water that the Dead Drink were submitted[when?] for the Edogawa Rampo Prize. Both failed to make the finalist list. In 1985, Shimada was nominated for the Yoshikawa Literature Newcomer Award for "Soseki and the London Mummy Murders". He was nominated for the Mystery Writers of Japan Award eight times in eight consecutive years, but this was declined by himself before the selection process.[vague] In 2005, his novel "The Phantom of the Skyscraper" was nominated for the Honkaku Mystery Award; he finished as runner-up.

Shimada's lack of awards led to him being referred to as the "uncrowned king".[9]

In 2008, Shimada won the 12th Japan Mystery Literature Grand Prize.

In 2010, Shimada was again nominated for Honkaku Mystery Award for "Sharaku: Tojita Kuni no Maboroshi".

Works in English translation

Novel
Short stories

Bibliography

Detective Kiyoshi Mitarai Series

Detective Takeshi Yoshiki Series

All works, with the exception of The Fading "Crystal Express," have been published by Kobunsha Press. A portion of the works have been adapted into a TV series by TBS: Takeshi Yoshiki Series.

Standalone novels

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Profile and Interview Soji Shimada". Red Circle Authors. October 21, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  2. ^ a b JLPP profile
  3. ^ Inagaki, Kana (November 20, 2015). "Soji Shimada: man of mystery". Financial Times. ISSN 0307-1766. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  4. ^ Inagaki, Kana (November 20, 2015). "Soji Shimada: man of mystery". The Financial Times. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  5. ^ Kodansha BOX
  6. ^ Fukuyama Mystery Award Archived February 24, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Soji Shimada Mystery Award
  8. ^ Nathan, Richard (October 21, 2019). "Soji Shimada, author of the genre defining 'Tokyo Zodiac Murders', one of t". Red Circle Authors. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  9. ^ "島田荘司さん「無冠」返上". YOMIURI ONLINE（読売新聞）. May 7, 2009. Archived from the original on May 8, 2009. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  10. ^ "One Love Chigusa". Red Circle. August 6, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  11. ^ "島田荘司の作品一覧・シリーズまとめ【日本の本格ミステリー作家】". Book-series. September 9, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  12. ^ L_103687. "《夏天，十九岁的肖像》岛田庄司黄子韬一见如故--人民网广西频道--人民网". gx.people.com.cn. Retrieved March 19, 2016.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links

Authority control databases
Categories