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Abe Ryutaro

あべ りゅうたろう

Abe Ryutaro

Aliases: 安部 良法
Pen Names: Abe Ryutaro（Pen name (real name: 安部 良法)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1955-06-20 （Kuroki, Yame District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan (now Yame City)）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Kuroki, Yame (now Yame City), Fukuoka, Japan → Shimomaruko, Ota, Tokyo, Japan → Kyoto City, Japan (established a workplace)

Career

Occupations
Novelist
Active Years
1988-
Affiliations
Japan Writers' Association, Japan PEN Club
Memberships
Japan Writers' Association, Japan PEN Club
Influenced By
Osamu Dazai, Ango Sakaguchi
Nominations
Yaguchi no Watari - Candidate for the 67th All Yomimono Newcomer Award (1987), Kōjin Kanashimashi - Candidate for the 5th Shōsetsu Shinchō Newcomer Award (1987), Chi no Nihonshi - Candidate for the 4th Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize (1991), Kogane Kairyū - Candidate for the 13th Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Authors (1992), Samayoeru Mikado - Candidate for the 111th Naoki Prize and 7th Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize (1994), Sekigahara Renpanjō - Candidate for the 10th Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize (1997), Ikite Sōrō - Candidate for the 9th Nakayama Yoshihide Literary Prize (2003)

Education

Kurume National College of Technology
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Country: Japan
Graduated from a national technical college (Kosen), Department of Mechanical Engineering

Awards

Nakayama Yoshihide Literary Prize
2005
Work: Tenma, Kakeru
Organization: Nakayama Yoshihide Literary Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Naoki Prize
2013
Work: Tōhaku
Organization: Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Historical & Period Fiction Writers' Club Award
2016
Work: Achievement and Meritorious Service Award
Organization: Historical and Period Fiction Writers' Club
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Tōhaku

2012 Historical novel

A historical novel depicting the life and art of painter Tōhaku Hasegawa, detailing his creative process and the human figures amid turbulent times.

ArtSengoku periodBiographicalCreative struggle

Tenma, Kakeru

2004 Historical novel

A novel centered on Minamoto no Yoshitsune, portraying his valor, tragedy, and the tides of the era.

WarriorLoyaltyTragedy

Chi no Nihonshi

1990 Popular history / non-fiction

A popular-history work arranging events of Japanese history by episodes of bloodshed and violence in a chronological narrative.

Japanese historyViolence and bloodChronicle

Ieyasu (series)

2020 Period novel

A multi-volume series centered on Tokugawa Ieyasu, depicting politics, economy, and human relationships from the end of the Sengoku period into the early Edo period.

PoliticsEconomic historySengoku periodBiographical history

Bibliography

  • Chi no Nihonshi (1990)
  • Kogane Kairyū (1991)
  • Samayoeru Mikado (1994)
  • Taikō no Shiro (1994)
  • Muromachi Kaden (1995)
  • Kaze no Gotoku, Mizu no Gotoku (1996)
  • Sekigahara Renpanjō (1996)
  • Misshitsu Osaka-jō (1997)
  • Kanazawa-jō Arashi no Ma (1997)
  • Nampū (1998)
  • Kamigami ni Tsugu (1999)
  • Kaijin: Sontarō Hyōryūki (1999)
  • Kaiyōmaru, North: Rise and Fall of the Tokugawa Navy (1999)
  • Okichi Photo Album (2000)
  • Nobunaga Moyu (2001)
  • Ikite Sōrō (2002)
  • Satsuma Moyu (2004)
  • Tenma, Kakeru (2004)
  • Jōdo no Mikado (2005)
  • Tenka Fubu: Yume-dono Yoichirō (2006)
  • Koi Nanayo (2007)
  • Dōyo to Masashige (2009)
  • Geten o Hakaru (2009)
  • Aoki Nobunaga (2010)
  • Hagakure Monogatari (2011)
  • Leon Shigeyoshi (2012)
  • Tōhaku (2012)
  • Gomine no Taka (2013)
  • Fuyu o Matsu Shiro (2014)
  • Ishin no Shōzō (2015)
  • Himegami (2015)
  • Yoshisada no Hata (2015)
  • Sōrin no Umi (2017)
  • Heijō-kyō (2018)
  • Ezo Taiheiki: Thirteen Sea Roars (2019)
  • Umi no Jūjika (2020)
  • Meikyū no Tsuki (2020)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Depicts history through the lens of economic structures and tradeNarration emphasizes individuals' decisions and human relationshipsCareful handling of sources combined with narrative storytelling
Recurring Motifs
Sengoku period and pivotal historical turning pointsImpact of overseas trade and economicsWarriors and their decisionsSea and voyages

Health

  • Serious rugby injury
    高専時代（学生時代）
    Took a year off from school. During the hiatus he read and was inspired to pursue a career as a writer.

Legacy

Recognized as one of contemporary Japan's prominent historical novelists, noted for a broad range of works and a meticulous historical perspective; gained wide recognition with awards such as the Naoki Prize.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Writers' Association
  • Japan PEN Club
  • Historical and Period Fiction Writers' Club

Archives

  • National Diet Library authority record
  • Authority data such as VIAF, ISNI, WorldCat

In Popular Culture

  • Naoki Prize win expanded public recognition, leading to increased newspaper and TV interviews and features

Quotes

  • I consider that what moves history are three things: overseas trade, changes in economic structures, and whether individuals emerge to act on those changes.
    Source: Author comment / interview (from biographical notes)

Trivia

  • Real name: 安部 良法.
  • Graduated from Kurume National College of Technology (Department of Mechanical Engineering).
  • Debuted in 1988 with the short story 'Shinao no Koi' published in Shōsetsu Shinchō.
  • Sustained a serious rugby injury during student days and took a year off.
  • Won the 148th Naoki Prize in 2013 for 'Tōhaku'.