Japanese Literary Awards

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Kenichi Sobu

そぶ けんいち

Sobu Kenichi

Pen Names:

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1961-01-01 （Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Mystery writer
Active Years
1997-

Education

Waseda University
Faculty of Education / Department of English Language and Literature
Country: Japan
Graduated from Waseda University, Faculty of Education, Department of English Language and Literature.

Awards

Mephisto Prize (3rd)
1997
Work: Six Tonkatsu Cutlets
Organization: Mephisto editorial board
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Six Tonkatsu Cutlets

1997 Short story collection / Mystery

A linked collection of mystery short stories featuring insurance investigator Ono Yuichi. Debut work and winner of the 3rd Mephisto Prize.

Puzzle solvingDetective fictionHumor

Rokuton 2

2005 Short story collection / Mystery

A follow-up short story collection to 'Six Tonkatsu Cutlets', containing idea-driven mystery shorts.

Trick-based puzzlesHuman drama
Translations
  • The Hopeless Dream (short story, English e-book translation)

Rokuton 3

2007 Short story collection / Mystery

The third volume in the series, collecting additional short stories with an emphasis on ideas and puzzles.

MysterySuspense

Rokuton 4: One Tonkatsu

2010 Short story collection / Mystery

The fourth installment in the series, focusing on short stories about everyday mysteries and human relationships.

Everyday mysteriesHuman relationships

Futsuu no Gakkou: The Rash Appearance of Inazuma-sensei

2003 Children's novel

First of a children's series published under Aoi Tori Bunko; a light-hearted school-set story.

School lifeComing of age

The Four Hours Thirty Minutes Barrier of the Nagano-Joetsu Shinkansen

1999 Short story collection / Mystery

A collection of short stories themed around trains and time.

TimeTransportation

Unmoving Evidence

2001 Short story collection / Mystery with SF elements

Collection including stories with SF elements such as 'Changing Evidence'; the afterword recounts an attempt to create a 'sound-producing' mystery book that was rejected.

EvidenceSpeculative/SF elements

Mummy Man

2002 Novel / Mystery

A novel written as a special work for Kodansha Novels' 20th anniversary; commentary by Kenji Kuroda.

Puzzle solvingLegends

Red Thread

2009 Novel / Romance elements / Mystery

A novel containing romantic elements.

LoveFate

Novel X: I Have Been Searching for You

2018 Novel / Short stories / Romance

A book later retitled and released in paperback as 'I Have Been Searching for You'.

LoveMystery

Bibliography

  • Six Tonkatsu Cutlets
  • Rokuton 2
  • Rokuton 3
  • Rokuton 4: One Tonkatsu
  • Futsuu no Gakkou
  • Futsuu no Gakkou 2
  • Futsuu no Gakkou 3
  • The Four Hours Thirty Minutes Barrier
  • Unmoving Evidence
  • Mummy Man
  • Unreached Feelings
  • Koi Shigure
  • Red Thread
  • Old Wristwatch: If I Met You Yesterday…
  • Love Hasn't Begun Yet…
  • I Only Believe in Fate!
  • Novel X: I Have Been Searching for You

Translations of Works

  • The Hopeless Dream (English e-book translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Idea-driven, trick-oriented classic mysteriesExperimentation in short stories, occasional sentimental SF
Recurring Motifs
EvidenceTime/ClocksEveryday madness

Legacy

Considered an eccentric talent in the mystery field, Sobu combines idea-driven detective shorts with sentimental SF. He has written for children's labels and participated in the English-market project The BBB.

Archives

  • National Diet Library (Japan)
  • Waseda University Library

Trivia

  • Debuted as the winner of the 3rd Mephisto Prize (1997).
  • Early works were published under the pen name '我妻起成'.
  • In the afterword of 'Unmoving Evidence' he recounts that a plan for a 'sound-producing' mystery book was rejected by editors.
  • Has published works for children’s imprints (e.g. Aoi Tori Bunko).
  • The short story '叶わぬ想い' was released in English as 'The Hopeless Dream' (e-book, 2012).