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Tamio Kageyama

かげやま たみお

Kageyama Tamio

Pen Names: Ooka Tetsutarou（Used as a pen name for broadcasting work）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1947-03-20 （Kanda, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan）
Died
1998-01-27 （Seijo, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan） age 50
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Religion
Happy Science Baptized in 1991
Residence History
Kanda/Chiyoda, Tokyo → Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture → Hanzomon, Tokyo → Seijo, Setagaya, Tokyo

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Essayist, Broadcast writer, Program writer/producer, Television personality
Active Years
1968-1998
Affiliations
Happy Science

Education

Keio University
Faculty of Letters / Department of Literature
Country: Japan
Repeated grades and was expelled/left before completing degree
Musashino Art University Junior College
Department of Design / Department of Design
Country: Japan
Graduated from the junior college, Department of Design

Awards

Kodansha Essay Award
1987
Work: ONE FINE MESS: The World Is Slapstick
Organization: Kodansha
Result: winner
Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Writers
1987
Work: Escape from the Tiger's Jaws
Organization: Yoshikawa Eiji Prize Committee
Result: winner
Japan Adventure Fiction Association — Best Newcomer Award
1987
Work: Escape from the Tiger's Jaws
Organization: Japan Adventure Fiction Association
Result: winner
Naoki Prize
1988
Work: COO from the Distant Sea
Organization: Naoki Prize Committee
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Escape from the Tiger's Jaws

1986 Adventure novel

A debut adventure thriller depicting young protagonists facing danger and seeking escape; an entertaining action-driven novel.

AdventureComing-of-ageCritique of television/media

COO from the Distant Sea

1988 Children's novel / Adventure

An adventure about a boy and a mysterious creature; blends affection for animals and nature into the story.

Love of animalsNatureAdventure
Adaptations
  • [Theatrical animation] COO from the Distant Sea (animated film)

Trouble Buster

1988 Entertainment novel

An entertainment novel about the inside of a TV network, mixing affection and critique of the broadcasting world.

Television industryPower and backstageProfessional ethics
Adaptations
  • [Film] Trouble Buster (film) / 井筒和幸

Bibliography

  • Ordinary Life
  • Gokuraku TV
  • ONE FINE MESS: The World Is Slapstick
  • Escape from the Tiger's Jaws
  • COO from the Distant Sea
  • Trouble Buster

Adaptations

  • COO from the Distant Sea (animated film)
  • Trouble Buster (film)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
A voice combining humor and biting social critiqueCinematic, fast-paced descriptions
Recurring Motifs
Focus on television and mediaTravel and adventureThe paranormal / spiritual experiences

Health

  • Rheumatic fever (childhood)
    中学1年の頃、半年余の休学
    Long hospitalization and more than half-year leave from school; near-death experience that influenced later outlook and writing

Legacy

He built a career both as a broadcast writer and as a novelist/essayist, earning acclaim for works such as Escape from the Tiger's Jaws and COO from the Distant Sea. His late-life involvement with Happy Science and his sudden death complicated posthumous reception.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Adventure Fiction Association

In Popular Culture

  • Theatrical animation adaptation of COO from the Distant Sea
  • Appearances as a TV program writer and television personality on numerous shows

Quotes

  • I was ill and had certain experiences and saw certain things. Therefore I became not afraid of dying anymore.
    Source: From 'There Are Rainy Days in Every Life' (1989)

Trivia

  • Reported height approximately 184–185 cm.
  • Owned cars such as a used Ford Fairlane and a Cadillac Seville during his life.
  • Spent time illegally staying in the United States in his youth — an episode he later said included fictionalised elements.
  • Reported to have died after a solvent used for plastic models ignited while he was working; official autopsy details were not published.