Hoseki Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 1 (1946) winning
Takashi Asuka
あすか たかし
Asuka Takashi
Pen Names:
Takashi Asuka（Pen name used for novels and mystery fiction）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1921-02-12 （Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan）
- Died
- 2021-02-05 （Japan） age 99
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, mystery writer
- Active Years
- 1946-1990
- Affiliations
- Polytechnic Consultants (President), Shimizu Corporation (Executive Director)
- Nominations
- 3rd Edogawa Rampo Prize (finalist) — 'Haitoku no Machi' (later 'Night of Suspicion')
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yamaguchi Higher School (prewar) | — | — | — | — | Japan |
| Faculty of Engineering, Tokyo Imperial University | Faculty of Engineering | — | — | — | Japan |
| University of Tokyo | — | — | 工学博士 | — | Japan |
Yamaguchi Higher School (prewar)
Country:
Japan
Faculty of Engineering, Tokyo Imperial University
Faculty of Engineering
Country:
Japan
Graduated from the Faculty of Engineering (year unknown)
University of Tokyo
Degree:
工学博士
Year of Graduation:
1968
Country:
Japan
Awarded Doctor of Engineering (1968) based on doctoral thesis
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Japan Detective Writers Club Award | A Thin Red Thread | — | Japan Detective Writers Club | 受賞 |
Japan Detective Writers Club Award
1962
Work:
A Thin Red Thread
Organization:
Japan Detective Writers Club
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Mystery Writers of Japan Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 15 (1962) award
Works
Major Works
Night of Suspicion
1958 Mystery / Detective fictionAn early full-length mystery novel that mixes interpersonal drama with a criminal puzzle, including touches of hard-boiled style.
crimesuspicionhuman relationships
Adaptations
- [Film] Night of Suspicion / 小林恒夫 (1959)
Truck That Carries Death
1959 MysteryA novel centered on an incident involving a truck; the work was adapted into a film.
accidentconspiracyexposure
Adaptations
- [Film] Trap Without Pity / 福田純 (1961)
A Thin Red Thread
1961 MysteryOne of his representative works, noted for delicate psychological depiction and clever plotting; a central title among related short and long works.
psychologyfateguilt and atonement
Adaptations
- [TV drama] A Thin Red Thread (1989)
The Temptation of the Blue Ribbon
1990 MysteryA late-career novel that retains classical mystery elements while addressing more mature themes.
deductiontemptationmorality
Bibliography
- Night of Suspicion (1958)
- Truck That Carries Death (1959)
- Resurrected Suspicion / The Grey River (1959/1961)
- Near Death (1960)
- A Thin Red Thread (1961)
- To the Scaffold, Please (1963)
- Glass Cage (1964)
- The Temptation of the Blue Ribbon (1990)
Adaptations
- Night of Suspicion (1959 film)
- Trap Without Pity (1961 film)
- A Thin Red Thread (1989 TV drama, etc.)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Classical locked-room and puzzle-oriented detective styleOccasional hard-boiled elements in tone and description
- Recurring Motifs
- closed settingsattention to small detailscrime and atonement
Legacy
Regarded as a postwar classical mystery writer with several film and TV adaptations. Unusually, he combined a career as an engineer and executive with literary activity, producing both technical papers and fiction.
In Popular Culture
- Multiple film and TV adaptations of his works (e.g., 'Night of Suspicion', 'Trap Without Pity', 'A Thin Red Thread')
Trivia
- Real name: Sensuke Karasuda (烏田専右).
- Graduated from the Faculty of Engineering (Tokyo Imperial University) and earned a Doctor of Engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1968.
- Served as executive director at Shimizu Corporation and as president of a consulting company.
- Published technical papers in engineering (concrete engineering); doctoral thesis submitted under his real name.