Japanese Literary Awards

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Jugo Kuroiwa

くろいわ じゅうご

Kuroiwa Jugo

Pen Names: Sango Jugo（Pen name used for certain submissions (e.g., when submitting "虚数と詩人").）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1924-02-25 （Osaka, Japan (company housing at Ajikawa Power Plant)）
Died
2003-03-07 （Japan） age 79
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Osaka (born and long-term residence) → Higashida-cho (near Tobita shopping street; Kamagasaki area), Osaka

Career

Occupations
Novelist
Active Years
1949-2003
Memberships
Japan Mystery Writers Association (served as Kansai branch head), Naoki Prize selection committee member, Nara Literary Award selection committee member
Influenced By
Osamu Dazai, Sakunosuke Oda, Seicho Matsumoto, Ryotaro Shiba
Influenced

Education

Uda Middle School (old system; now Nara Prefectural Ouda High School)
Period: 旧制中学を4年で終了
Country: Japan
Completed the old-system middle school (four-year program), then entered Doshisha University's preparatory division.
Doshisha University
Faculty of Law / Law
Period: 在学中に学徒出陣、復学して1947年卒業
Year of Graduation: 1947
Country: Japan
Left for wartime service during studies, later returned and graduated in 1947.

Awards

Sunday Mainichi Popular Literature Award
1958
Work: Neon and the Triangle Hat
Organization: Sunday Mainichi (Magazine)
Result: 受賞
Naoki Prize
1960
Work: Haitoku no Mesu (Scalpel of Immorality)
Organization: Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize
1980
Work: The Sun of the Milky Way (Ten no Kawa no Taiyō)
Organization: Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Medal with Purple Ribbon
1991
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
Kikuchi Kan Prize
1992
Work: A series of ancient historical romances
Organization: Kikuchi Kan Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Haitoku no Mesu (Scalpel of Immorality)

1960 social-issue detective novel

A novel set in the Kamagasaki area portraying various characters and social issues; noted for depicting contemporary loneliness and social collapse.

lonelinesspovertysocial exclusion
Adaptations
  • [Film] Haitoku no Mesu / 野村芳太郎 (1961)

The Sun of the Milky Way (Ten no Kawa no Taiyō)

1979 historical novel (ancient history)

A major historical novel about the Jinshin War, depicting Emperor Tenmu (Oama) and the turbulent era around him.

ancient historystruggle for powerheroic saga

Prince of the Setting Sun (Soga no Iruka)

1982 historical novel (ancient history)

Set on the eve of the Taika Reform, this novel centers on Soga no Iruka and features original interpretations beyond conventional views.

ancient politicspower and intriguehuman characterization

Tenpu no Saiō (Fujiwara no Fuhito)

1997 historical novel

A historical romance focusing on Fujiwara no Fuhito and the power dynamics of the ancient court.

ancient powerfamily and succession

Chronicle of Prince Nakano-Oe (Tenji)

2001 historical novel

A biographical historical novel depicting the life of Emperor Tenji (Prince Nakano-Oe).

governancereformpersonal conflict

Kyujitsu no Dangai (Cliff of Holiday)

1960 detective/fiction focusing on corporate inside stories

A detective novel centered on corporate insiders; reflects the author's experience with stock markets and securities.

corporationsmarketsdeception
Adaptations
  • [TV drama] Kyujitsu no Dangai (1961)

Bibliography

  • Kyujitsu no Dangai (Cliff of Holiday)
  • Haitoku no Mesu (Scalpel of Immorality)
  • Mahiru no Wana (Daytime Trap)
  • Ten no Kawa no Taiyō (The Sun of the Milky Way)
  • Rakujitsu no Gunzō (Figures of the Setting Sun)
  • Haikyo no Kuchibiru (Lips of Ruin)
  • Hana o Kuu Mushi (The Bug That Eats Flowers)
  • Yoru no Nami (Night Waves)
  • Hakuchō no Ōji (Prince Yamato Takeru)
  • Yami no Sa-Daijin: Ishikaga no Asomi Maro
  • Sagi-shi no Tabi (The Con Man's Journey)
  • Ōinaru Henshin (The Great Transformation)
  • Chronicle of Prince Nakano-Oe (Tenji)
  • Tenpu no Saiō (Fujiwara no Fuhito)

Adaptations

  • Haitoku no Mesu (film, 1961)
  • Mahiru no Wana (film, 1962)
  • Haikyo no Kuchibiru (TV drama, 1964)
  • Onna no Kobako (TV drama, 1975-76)
  • Hana o Kuu Mushi (film, 1967)

Translations of Works

  • Yoru no Nami (short story included in a Chinese anthology of contemporary Japanese short stories)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
social-issue detective fictionfiction exploring social moreshistorical fiction (ancient history)
Recurring Motifs
portraits of people in Nishinari/Kamagasakiinner lives consumed by greed and lust for powerempathy for those facing decline or ruin

Health

  • Acute poliomyelitis (paralysis)
    1953-1956（入院とその後の回復）
    Contracted poliomyelitis in 1953 and was hospitalized for about three years; left with residual leg impairment after discharge.
  • Sudden upper-body paralysis
    1962（入院約3か月）
    Suffered sudden paralysis of the upper body while reporting in 1962, hospitalized around three months but continued his serial writing.
  • Liver failure
    2003
    Died of liver failure in 2003.

Legacy

Known for a wide range from postwar social-issue detective fiction to historical novels about ancient Japan. He was praised for realistic portrayals of Kamagasaki and for original interpretations in ancient-history romances. He won awards such as the Naoki Prize, the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize, and the Kikuchi Kan Prize, and many of his works were adapted for film and television.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Mystery Writers Association

In Popular Culture

  • Film adaptation of 'Haitoku no Mesu' (1961, dir. Yoshitaro Nomura) and numerous TV/film adaptations of other works.

Quotes

  • If the meaning of 'mystery' is not limited to tricks or catching the perpetrator but includes the mysteries of society and of human beings pursued deductively, then I would proudly call myself a social-issue mystery writer.
    Source: Asahi Shimbun (statement) (1962)
  • On the basis of some twenty-plus years of study, I sometimes use imagination to reason and analyze; otherwise, as a writer, there is no point for me to tackle the mysteries of ancient history.
    Source: Interview/essay on ancient history

Trivia

  • Was at one time a heavy smoker (over 100 cigarettes a day) but later attempted to quit.
  • Wartime mobilization and experiences in Manchuria influenced his fiction from early on.
  • Worked in securities and as a stock information broker, which influenced his corporate-themed novels.
  • Used the pen name 'Sango Jugo' on occasion when submitting to contests.
  • Enjoyed cruising and fishing; gave up his cruiser after a collision at sea in 1994.