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Kari Kyu

かり きゅう

Kari Kyū

Pen Names: Kai Yumiko（Used as an alternate pen name）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1922-02-10 （Takanawa, Tokyo, Japan）
Died
1977-10-12 （Japan (details unknown)） age 55
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Takanawa, Tokyo

Career

Occupations
Novelist
Active Years
1951-1977
Affiliations
SR no Kai (Tokyo branch; formerly Kansai Oni Club Tokyo branch), Doujin magazine 'Misshitsu'
Influenced By
Kaji Tatsuo, Tetsuya Ayukawa

Education

Keio University
Faculty of Engineering / Department of Electrical Engineering
Degree: 学士
Year of Graduation: 1946
Country: Japan
Graduated in 1946. Contracted tuberculosis the same year and underwent long-term care.

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Falling Rock

1951 Short detective fiction

One of the short stories written during his sanatorium period; submitted to a short-story competition and later published in a magazine.

mysteryclosed-setting

Iceberg

1951 Short detective fiction

A short piece published in Bessatsu Hoseki; noted for its sensory prose and suspenseful elements.

suspensepsychology

Accomplice

1954 Short detective fiction

A 1954 short story with strong detective elements.

crimemorality

Strange Pollen

1958 Short story collection

A 1958 collection of short stories containing representative early works.

weird fictionsuspense

Exile

1975 Science fiction (short)

An SF story published in 1975 in the magazine 'Genei-jo', marking his return to fiction after a long hiatus.

science fictionexile

Unnecessary Crime

1976 Novel (erotic suspense)

Published in 1976 as his first full-length novel; an erotic, suspenseful work.

eroticismcrime

Bibliography

  • Strange Pollen (1958)
  • Exile (1975)
  • Unnecessary Crime (1976)
  • Collected Works of Kari Kyu (6 vols., 2013)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
sensory prosesuspense-focuseduse of I-novel (confessional) techniques
Recurring Motifs
meta-fictional insertion of the authorclosed settings and psychological focuseroticism and crime

Health

  • tuberculosis
    1946-1953
    Underwent long-term sanatorium treatment, which affected his life and work; he nevertheless began publishing short stories during this period.
  • lung cancer
    1977
    Died of lung cancer in 1977 at age 55.

Legacy

Known for distinctive sensory prose and suspense in mainly short fiction. Posthumously collected works were published and his stories continue to appear in mystery anthologies and studies.

Archives

  • Works included in anthologies held by the Mystery Literature Museum

Trivia

  • Real name: Ichihashi Hisaaki.
  • Began publishing short stories while in a sanatorium.
  • Also wrote under the pen name Kai Yumiko.
  • Worked on dubbing scripts for foreign films and later in planning/production for PR and commercial films.
  • Completed a second novel manuscript that remained unpublished for a long time after his death.