Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Suchi Tokuhei

すち とくへい

Suchi Tokuhei

Aliases: 須知 茂 / Suchi Shigeru
Pen Names: Sagawa Shigeru（Pen name used for early works and at time of an award）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1921-07-28 （Iwate Prefecture, Japan）
Died
2009-03-17 age 87
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Children's writer, Secondary school teacher, University professor
Active Years
1945-2006
Affiliations
Morioka University (Professor)

Education

Kokugakuin University
Specialized Department
Country: Japan
Listed as graduate of the specialized department in sources

Awards

Kodansha Children's Literature Newcomer Award (3rd)
1962
Work: Miruna no Zashiki
Organization: Kodansha
Result: Winner
Yoshikawa Eiji Prize (1st)
1963
Work: Spring Comes the Demon
Organization: The Mainichi Newspapers
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Miruna no Zashiki

1962 Children's literature

A children's work and one of the author's early pieces; it won the Kodansha Children's Literature Newcomer Award.

Coming of ageImaginationFolkloric elements
Adaptations
  • [Television drama] Miruna no Zashiki (NHK Children's Drama Series) (1972)

Spring Comes the Demon

1963 Novel

Published in 1963 and later adapted into a film; contains elements of the uncanny and human drama.

HorrorHuman relationshipsLocal color
Adaptations
  • [Film] Spring Comes the Demon (film) (1963)

Akka's Leaning Tower

1964 Horror/Weird fiction

A short work with strong elements of the uncanny and horror.

The uncannyFantasy

Bibliography

  • Miruna no Zashiki
  • Spring Comes the Demon
  • Akka's Leaning Tower
  • The Doll Was Watching
  • Hey, Teacher
  • The Serow Class
  • The Old Japan That Had an Elephant
  • Scary Stories of Japan
  • Terrifying Stories of Japan
  • The Tragedy of the Inca Empire
  • Kappa Tales of Japan
  • Lincoln
  • Ghost and Monster Tales (including Konjaku Monogatari)
  • Collection of Japanese Myths
  • Kawataro All Alone
  • Noguchi Hideyo
  • Ishikawa Takuboku
  • Japan's Hidden Regions
  • The Roots of the Japanese
  • Miyazawa Kenji
  • Toyotomi Hideyoshi
  • Marco Polo
  • Minamoto no Yoritomo
  • The Very Long-Bearded Country
  • The Life of Nitobe Inazō
  • Fukuzawa Yukichi
  • Nitobe Inazō and Bushido
  • Yukara Tales
  • Ask and Ye Shall Receive: Religious and Thought Leaders
  • The Horse that Guards the North
  • Yesterday, In the Forest Shade
  • Legends of Iwate (co-authored)

Adaptations

  • Spring Comes the Demon (film adaptation)
  • Miruna no Zashiki (NHK children's drama)

Translations by Author

  • Daté Disturbance (translation)
  • Bushido (translation of Nitobe Inazō)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Weird/horror-tinged proseChildren-oriented narrationBiographical narrative
Recurring Motifs
The uncanny and monstersFolktales and legendsHistorical figures

Health

  • Heart failure
    2009
    Died of heart failure on 2009-03-17

Legacy

A writer of horror-tinged fiction, children's literature and biographies for young readers. He won the Kodansha Children's Literature Newcomer Award and the 1st Yoshikawa Eiji Prize; his contributions to regional storytelling and children's literature are recognized.

Archives

  • Held by the National Diet Library (Japan)
  • Authority data such as VIAF and ISNI

In Popular Culture

  • Film adaptation of Spring Comes the Demon
  • NHK children's drama adaptation of Miruna no Zashiki

Trivia

  • Real name: Suchi Shigeru.
  • Used the pen name Sagawa Shigeru when winning the Kodansha Children's Literature Newcomer Award.
  • Known for early works in weird/horror fiction and later for children's biographies.