Mephisto Award
1 appearances
Reiichiro Fukami
ふかみ れいいちろう
Fukami Reiichiro
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1963-02-13 （Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan → Tokyo, Japan → France (studied abroad)
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Mystery writer
- Active Years
- 2007-
- Affiliations
- Mystery Writers of Japan
- Memberships
- Mystery Writers of Japan
- Nominations
- 2010: Nominee, 10th Honkaku Mystery Award (Novel) — 'Hanmado Garasu: Chagall's Apocalypse', 2015: Nominee, 15th Honkaku Mystery Award (Criticism/Research) — 'The Casebook of Inspector Oobeshimi', 2016: Nominee, 16th Honkaku Mystery Award (Novel) — 'Mystery Arena'
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yamagata Prefectural Yamagata Higashi High School | — | — | — | — | Japan |
| Keio University | Faculty of Letters | — | 学士（文学） | — | Japan |
| Keio University Graduate School | — | French Literature | 後期博士課程単位取得退学 | — | Japan |
| University of Burgundy (Université de Bourgogne) | — | — | 修士（仏文学） | — | France |
| Paris 12 University (Université Paris-Est Créteil) | — | — | DEA（博士課程研究専門課程）修了 | — | France |
Yamagata Prefectural Yamagata Higashi High School
Country:
Japan
Keio University
Faculty of Letters
Degree:
学士（文学）
Country:
Japan
Studied in France as a French government scholarship student during studies
Keio University Graduate School
French Literature
Degree:
後期博士課程単位取得退学
Country:
Japan
Withdrew from doctoral program after obtaining credits (major: French literature)
University of Burgundy (Université de Bourgogne)
Degree:
修士（仏文学）
Country:
France
Obtained a master's degree (studied in France)
Paris 12 University (Université Paris-Est Créteil)
Degree:
DEA（博士課程研究専門課程）修了
Country:
France
Completed DEA (Diplôme d'études approfondies)
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Mephisto Prize | Ultimo Torukko (later retitled 'The Last Trick') | — | Kodansha | Winner |
| 2011 | Mystery Writers of Japan Award | Human Dignity and 800 Meters | 短編部門 | Mystery Writers of Japan | Winner |
| 2019 | Sake-Drinking Booksellers' Award | Bijin Hakumei (Beauty's Short Life) | — | Sake-Drinking Booksellers' Award | Winner |
Mephisto Prize
2007
Work:
Ultimo Torukko (later retitled 'The Last Trick')
Organization:
Kodansha
Result:
Winner
Mystery Writers of Japan Award
2011
Work:
Human Dignity and 800 Meters
Category:
短編部門
Organization:
Mystery Writers of Japan
Result:
Winner
Sake-Drinking Booksellers' Award
2019
Work:
Bijin Hakumei (Beauty's Short Life)
Organization:
Sake-Drinking Booksellers' Award
Result:
Winner
Awards & Nominations
Mystery Writers of Japan Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 64 (2011) award
Sake-drinking Bookstore Staff Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 15 (2019) award
Works
Major Works
Ultimo Torukko (The Last Trick)
2007 MysteryDebut novel that challenges an impossible trick in which the reader is made to be the culprit. Later retitled 'The Last Trick' in paperback and became a bestseller.
impossible crimemeta-mysteryreader-participation
Ecole de Paris Murder Case
2008 Mystery (Art-detective series)A classic-style mystery centering on art. Part of the art-detective series featuring Shunichiro Shinsenji; intertwines art history and elaborate tricks.
arthonkaku deductive mysteryart-related mystery
Tosca's Kiss
2008 Mystery (music/opera)A music-themed mystery centered on opera. Uses musical and operatic elements to construct puzzles and tricks.
musicoperapuzzle-solving
Stained Glass: Chagall's Apocalypse
2009 Mystery (art mystery)An art mystery set largely in Reims Cathedral. The work employs experimental techniques (e.g., sections without katakana) and uses motifs such as nested patterns within the narrative.
stained glassreligious architectureformal experimentation
Ricercare of Five Voices
2010 Mystery (music motif)A structured mystery that uses musical motifs. Incorporates musical theory and compositional structures into its puzzles.
musicstructural trickshonkaku mystery
Siegfried's Sword
2010 Mystery (music/art elements)A mystery that incorporates musical and artistic elements. Related to the art-detective series.
musicart-detectivemystery-solving
Human Dignity and 800 Meters
2011 Short story (mystery)A short story linking the theme of human dignity with an athletic motif (800 meters). Winner of the Mystery Writers of Japan Award (short story category).
human naturesports motifethics
Mystery Arena
2015 Mystery (experimental structure)An experimental novel that presents 15 different solutions to a single case. Called an extreme of multiple resolutions, it ranked #1 in the Honkaku Mystery Best 10 list.
multiple resolutionsformal experimentationtheory of detection
Bijin Hakumei (Beauty's Short Life)
2013 Novel (a mystery disguised as mainstream literature)A work that appears to be mainstream fiction on the surface but is in fact a mystery. It won the Sake-Drinking Booksellers' Award in 2019.
disguised mysterycharacter depictionsocial themes
The Culprit Election
2019 Mystery (multi-ending elements)An experimental mystery with multi-ending elements. The paperback edition was retitled 'Multi-Ending Mystery'.
voting/electionambiguous/multiple endingsallegory on contemporary society
Bibliography
- Ultimo Torukko: The Culprit Was You!
- The Last Trick (retitled, paperback)
- Ecole de Paris Murder Case
- Tosca's Kiss: Opera Misteriosa
- Stained Glass: Chagall's Apocalypse
- Ricercare of Five Voices
- Siegfried's Sword
- Human Dignity and 800 Meters
- Night of the Kotodamas
- Bijin Hakumei (Beauty's Short Life)
- The World's Only Way to Kill
- Tempesta: The Wild Girl and Seven Days of Justice
- The Casebook of Inspector Oobeshimi
- Mystery Arena
- The Four Seasons of Inverted Detective Stories: Broken Tricks
- The Casebook of Inspector Oobeshimi Returns: Oobeshimi vs. Art Detective
- Boyhood
- The 3 AM Farewell Game
- How to Steal a Stradivarius Properly
- Illusory Arabesque
- The Fourth Violence
- The Culprit Election
- A Poet's Love
- A Famous Painting Novel
- Authenticity
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Honkaku-style trick-focused writingExperimental and formalist approachesArt- and music-centered descriptionsBlend of humor and parody
- Recurring Motifs
- impossible tricksmultiple resolutionsart (paintings, stained glass)music (opera, songs)mysteries disguised as mainstream novels
Legacy
Reiichiro Fukami is known for expanding the boundaries of traditional honkaku mystery through experimental tricks and art- and music-themed mysteries. His reader-participation devices and multi-resolution constructions have garnered attention, establishing him as a distinctive voice in contemporary Japanese mystery fiction.
Academic Societies
- Mystery Writers of Japan
Archives
- National Diet Library (Japan)
- Keio University Library
In Popular Culture
- 'The Last Trick' became the Grand Champion book at the MyNavi National High School Bibliobattle (2019), gaining attention in youth reading events
Quotes
-
"The person who killed this victim was me. (omitted) A method that no one noticed. Unquestionably number one in this genre."
Source: Soji Shimada (blurb on the book jacket) (2007)
Trivia
- Hobbies include playing piano and performing German art songs.
- Is a player of the browser game 'Kantai Collection' and wrote a column introducing it for the Yamagata Shimbun.
- Has publicly expressed conservative political opinions; supported actions during the 2011 Fuji TV protests.
- Has served on the selection committee for the Mystery Writers of Japan Award since 2018.
- Debut novel 'Ultimo Torukko' was retitled 'The Last Trick' in paperback and became a bestseller.