Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Seishu Hase

はせ せいしゅう

Hase Seishu

Pen Names: Bando Lenin（Pen name used in game magazines, novelizations and essays）, Akira Sayama（Used as a game-writer byline and for some novelizations）, Riku Kokami（Used for game-related writing and editing）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1965-02-18 （Urakawa, Hokkaido, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Urakawa, Hokkaido, Japan → Shinjuku (Golden Gai), Tokyo, Japan → Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Critic, Game writer
Active Years
1996-
Affiliations
The Mystery Writers of Japan, Japan Adventure Writers Club
Memberships
The Mystery Writers of Japan, Japan Adventure Writers Club
Influenced By
James Ellroy, Futaro Yamada, Haruhiko Oyabu
Nominations
Naoki Prize nominee (116th) — Sleepless Town, Naoki Prize nominee (120th) — Yakomushi, Naoki Prize nominee (122nd) — M, Naoki Prize nominee (130th) — Birthday Festival (Seitan-sai), Naoki Prize nominee (138th) — In the Promised Land, Naoki Prize nominee (153rd) — Untouchable

Education

Yokohama City University
Faculty of Humanities and Sciences
Country: Japan
Worked part-time as a bartender in Shinjuku's Golden Gai during university

Awards

Eiji Yoshikawa New Author Prize
1997
Work: Sleepless Town
Organization: Eiji Yoshikawa Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Japan Adventure Fiction Association Grand Prize (Domestic)
1997
Work: Sleepless Town
Category: 国内部門
Organization: Japan Adventure Writers Club
Result: 受賞
Mystery Writers of Japan Award (Long-form)
1998
Work: Requiem: Sleepless Town II
Category: 長編部門
Organization: Mystery Writers of Japan
Result: 受賞
Haruhiko Oyabu Prize
1999
Work: The Hazard City
Organization: Oyabu Haruhiko Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Naoki Prize
2020
Work: A Boy and a Dog
Organization: Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Sleepless Town

1996 Noir novel

A noir novel in which a mixed-Chinese-Japanese couple become entangled in a conflict among Chinese mafia factions in Shinjuku's Kabukicho. The work was Hase's breakout bestseller.

mafiaviolenceunderworldurban claustrophobia
Adaptations
  • [Film] Sleepless Town (film) / リー・チーガイ (1998)
  • [Manga] Sleepless Town (manga) (1998)

Requiem: Sleepless Town II

1997 Noir novel

A sequel to Sleepless Town, depicting further conflicts and tragedies among the characters.

revengeconflictruin

The Hazard City

1998 Noir / Crime

A noir ensemble set in a city of violence and chaos. Winner of the Oyabu Haruhiko Prize.

violencechaosensemble drama
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Hazard City (film) / 三池崇史 (2000)

M

1999 Crime novel

A long-form work portraying human relationships around a crime; adapted into film.

crimehuman psychology
Adaptations
  • [Film] M (film) / 廣木隆一 (2007)

A Boy and a Dog

2020 Literary fiction

Through the relationship between a boy and a dog, the novel explores human loneliness and renewal. Winner of the 163rd Naoki Prize.

familylonelinessrenewaldogs
Adaptations
  • [Film] A Boy and a Dog (film) / 瀬々敬久 (2025)
  • [Manga] A Boy and a Dog (manga) (2022)

Bibliography

  • Sleepless Town
  • Requiem: Sleepless Town II
  • The Hazard City
  • Yakomushi
  • M
  • Birthday Festival
  • Untouchable
  • A Boy and a Dog
  • Blue Ridge
  • The Dog in the Rainy Forest

Adaptations

  • Sleepless Town (film, 1998)
  • The Hazard City (film, 2000)
  • M (film, 2007)
  • A Boy and a Dog (film, 2025)
  • Sleepless Town (manga, 1998)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Noir / dark fictionhard-boiled elementsensemble/ensemble-cast structuredetailed crime depiction
Recurring Motifs
mafia and underworldviolence and revengeurban lonelinessdogs (recurring motif)

Legacy

Seishu Hase is one of Japan's representative noir writers since the 1990s, acclaimed for works depicting crime and the underworld. Multiple major literary awards and several media adaptations have made him widely known.

Academic Societies

  • The Mystery Writers of Japan
  • Japan Adventure Writers Club

Archives

  • National Diet Library (bibliographic holdings)
  • VIAF / international authority records

In Popular Culture

  • Film adaptations of Sleepless Town, The Hazard City, M, etc.
  • Involvement in games such as scenario supervision for the Yakuza (Ryū ga Gotoku) series

Quotes

  • I think I'm still the only Japanese writer consciously writing noir.
    Source: Interview (author's statement), circa 2005 (2005)

Trivia

  • Real name: Toshihito Bando (reading also given as 'Reinin')
  • Pen name is formed by reversing the name of film star Stephen Chow (Chau Sing-chi / Zhou Xingchi)
  • Uses multiple pen names (Bando Lenin, Akira Sayama, Riku Kokami)
  • Cigar enthusiast — wrote columns/essays about cigars which were published in book form
  • Bought a villa in Karuizawa for his dog Marge (a Bernese Mountain Dog) and later moved to Karuizawa
  • Wedding anniversary: November 11
  • Parents were involved with the Japanese Communist Party; his father was a member of the Urakawa town assembly
  • Worked as a writer for the game magazine Popcom and authored game novelizations
  • Several works such as Sleepless Town and The Hazard City have been adapted to film and manga