Japan Mystery Literature Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 12 (2009) award
Soji Shimada
しまだ そうじ
Shimada Sōji
Pen Names:
Shimada Soji (as musician)（Stage name used during his musician period in the 1970s; released the LP 'LONELY MEN' (1976).）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1948-10-12 （Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Mystery writer, Essayist, Illustrator, Musician
- Active Years
- 1981-
- Influenced By
- Edogawa Rampo, Agatha Christie
- Nominations
- 'Soseki and the London Mummy Murder' — Naoki Prize candidate (1984), 'Summer, Portrait of 19' — Naoki Prize candidate (1985)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hiroshima Prefectural Fukuyama Seishikan High School | — | — | — | — | Japan |
| Musashino Art University | Commercial Art & Design | — | — | — | Japan |
Hiroshima Prefectural Fukuyama Seishikan High School
Country:
Japan
Musashino Art University
Commercial Art & Design
Country:
Japan
Graduated from the Commercial Art & Design department
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Japan Mystery Literature Award | — | — | Japan Mystery Literature Award | 受賞 |
| 1981 | Edogawa Rampo Prize | The Tokyo Zodiac Murders | — | Edogawa Rampo Prize Committee | 最終候補 |
| 2005 | Honkaku Mystery Award | The Towering City Phantom | — | Honkaku Mystery Writers Club | 次点（受賞ならず） |
Japan Mystery Literature Award
2008
Organization:
Japan Mystery Literature Award
Result:
受賞
Edogawa Rampo Prize
1981
Work:
The Tokyo Zodiac Murders
Organization:
Edogawa Rampo Prize Committee
Result:
最終候補
Honkaku Mystery Award
2005
Work:
The Towering City Phantom
Organization:
Honkaku Mystery Writers Club
Result:
次点（受賞ならず）
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Tokyo Zodiac Murders
1981 Mystery (honkkaku/classic mystery)Shimada's debut featuring detective Mitarai; a long-form locked-room mystery with intricate puzzle-like tricks and classic honkaku elements.
locked-roomtrick-based puzzleshomage to classical detective fiction
Translations
- The Tokyo Zodiac Murders (translated by Ross & Shika Mackenzie, 2004)
Murder in the Crooked House
1982 MysteryA house-based puzzle mystery emphasizing logical tricks; one of the early Mitarai works.
mansion/house mysterylogical tricks
Hoshikago no Umi
2013 Mystery (adapted to film)A Mitarai novel set in Fukuyama, written for a local centennial project; later adapted into a feature film.
local settinglinks between past and crime
Adaptations
- [Film] The Detective Mitarai's Casefile: Hoshikago no Umi (film) / 和泉聖治 (2016)
Bibliography
- The Tokyo Zodiac Murders
- Murder in the Crooked House
- The Towering City Phantom
- Hoshikago no Umi
Adaptations
- The Detective Mitarai's Casefile: Hoshikago no Umi (film adaptation)
- The Woman Who Folds an Umbrella (TV special, Fuji TV, 2015)
- Yoshishiki Takeshi series (police drama adaptation on TBS)
Translations of Works
- The Tokyo Zodiac Murders (English translation)
- Murder in the Crooked House (English translation)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Honkkaku-style mystery (emphasis on locked-room and trick puzzles)Detailed depiction of tricks and logical exposition
- Recurring Motifs
- locked-room scenariosart and visual motifsreferences to classical detective fiction
Legacy
A leading writer of locked-room puzzles and honkaku mysteries. The Mitarai series has a large domestic readership, has been translated overseas and adapted for screen, and Shimada has supported discovering new mystery writers in Japan and Asia.
In Popular Culture
- Known through TV drama and film adaptations; the character Mitarai appears as a lead in screen adaptations.
Trivia
- Released an LP titled 'LONELY MEN' in 1976 under the name 'Shimada Soji'.
- 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murders' was ranked high in The Guardian's 2014 list of top locked-room mysteries.
- Often called the 'uncrowned king' of mystery; ended that reputation after receiving the Japan Mystery Literature Award.