Japanese Literary Awards

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Jo Sasaki

ささき じょう

Sasaki Jō

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1950-03-16 （Yubari, Hokkaido, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Nakashibetsu, Hokkaido, Japan → Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan (childhood)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Visiting Professor
Active Years
1979-
Affiliations
Tokyo University of Agriculture (Visiting Professor), Japan Arensky Association (Honorary Chairman)

Education

Hokkaido Sapporo Tsukisamu High School
Country: Japan

Awards

All Yomimono Newcomer Award
1979
Work: Tekkihi, Tonda (The Cavalryman Jumped)
Organization: Bungeishunjū
Result: 受賞
Japan Mystery Writers Association Award (Long Novel)
1990
Work: Emergency Telegram from Etorofu
Category: 長篇部門
Organization: Japan Mystery Writers Association
Result: 受賞
Japan Adventure Fiction Association Grand Prize
1990
Work: Emergency Telegram from Etorofu
Organization: Japan Adventure Fiction Association
Result: 受賞
Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize
1990
Work: Emergency Telegram from Etorofu
Organization: Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Japan Adventure Fiction Association Grand Prize
1995
Work: The Envoy to Stockholm
Organization: Japan Adventure Fiction Association
Result: 受賞
Nitta Jirō Literary Prize
2002
Work: Buyō-den
Organization: Nitta Jirō Literary Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Japan Adventure Fiction Association Grand Prize
2008
Work: Blood of the Policeman
Organization: Japan Adventure Fiction Association
Result: 受賞
Naoki Sanjūgo Prize
2010
Work: Begging at the Ruins
Organization: Naoki Sanjūgo Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Japan Mystery Literature Grand Prize
2016
Work: Court of Silence
Organization: Japan Mystery Literature Grand Prize Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Tekkihi, Tonda (The Cavalryman Jumped)

1979 Adventure novel

His debut work, an adventure-oriented novel for young readers; later adapted into a film.

adventureyouth
Adaptations
  • [Film] Tekkihi, Tonda (film) (1980)

Emergency Telegram from Etorofu

1989 Adventure / Mystery

A long novel set against Cold War-era events and regional history; one of his award-winning representative works.

Cold Warhistoryadventure
Adaptations
  • [TV drama] Emergency Telegram from Etorofu (NHK drama) (1993)

Blood of the Policeman

2007 Police novel

A multi-generational story of a police family; a central work in the Hokkaido Police series, adapted for film and television.

policefamilylocal community
Adaptations
  • [TV drama] Blood of the Policeman (TV drama) (2009)
  • [Award] This Mystery Is Amazing! (2008) No.1 ranking (2008)

Begging at the Ruins

2009 Short story collection / Social fiction

A linked short story collection that won the 142nd Naoki Prize; highly regarded as work by a veteran author.

citysocietyhuman drama

Buyō-den

2001 Historical novel

A long historical novel set in the late Tokugawa period; winner of the Nitta Jirō Literary Prize.

Bakumatsuhistorybiographical

The Singing Policeman (retitled: Laughing Policeman)

2004 Police novel

A work in the Hokkaido Police series; adapted into film and television, depicting regional police in a hard-boiled style.

policeregioncrime
Adaptations
  • [Film] Laughing Policeman (film) (2009)

Bibliography

  • Tekkihi, Tonda (The Cavalryman Jumped)
  • Emergency Telegram from Etorofu
  • The Envoy to Stockholm
  • Buyō-den
  • Blood of the Policeman
  • Begging at the Ruins
  • The Singing Policeman (Laughing Policeman)
  • Court of Silence
  • Child of the Library
  • Those Who Chase Time

Adaptations

  • Tekkihi, Tonda (film adaptation)
  • Laughing Policeman (film & TV adaptations)
  • Blood of the Policeman (TV adaptation)
  • Emergency Telegram from Etorofu (NHK drama adaptation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
social-fictionhighly entertainingblend of fact and fiction
Recurring Motifs
police and law enforcementHokkaido / Ezo regioninfluence of Cold War / warfamily and inheritance

Legacy

Known for combining social fiction with entertainment, he is widely read for his Hokkaido-set police novels. Many works have been adapted for film and television, leaving a solid mark on contemporary Japanese popular literature.

Museums

  • Jo Sasaki Archive (official)

Academic Societies

  • Japan Mystery Writers Association
  • Japan Adventure Fiction Association

Archives

  • Jo Sasaki Archive
  • National Diet Library (holdings)

In Popular Culture

  • Numerous film and TV drama adaptations
  • Often cited as a representative author of the police-novel genre

Trivia

  • Born at the Mitsubishi Ōyubari coal mine; due to registration issues his official birthplace was recorded as Sapporo.
  • His debut was a juvenile-style adventure novel that was adapted into a film.
  • A fan of Western films; he incorporated Western motifs into his Ezo (Hokkaido) trilogy.