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Randy Taguchi

たぐち らんでぃ

Taguchi Randi

Pen Names: Randy Taguchi（Pen name (real name Keiko Taguchi)）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1959-10-03 （Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Tokyo, Japan → Chikusei, Ibaraki, Japan

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Essayist, Writer, Freelance writer
Active Years
1996-
Affiliations
Red Circle Authors
Memberships
Red Circle Authors
Nominations
Naoki Prize candidate, 2nd half 2000 (Concent), Naoki Prize candidate, 1st half 2001 (Mosaic), Naoki Prize candidate, 2004 (Fuji)

Awards

Fujin Koron Literary Award
2001
Work: I Want to Live Without Getting Angry, If Possible
Organization: Fujin Koron (magazine)
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Concent

2000 Novel

Published in 2000. A novel incorporating sexual-occult elements that established Taguchi as a novelist; depicts urban life and dark human relationships.

sexual occultismhuman relationshipspsychological suspense
Adaptations
  • [Film] Concent

Antenna

2000 Novel

One of her early novels alongside Concent. Contains sexual-occult motifs. After publication it faced plagiarism allegations and was temporarily out of print; a revised edition was later released.

occultsexual themeshuman desire
Adaptations
  • [Film] Antenna

Mosaic

2001 Novel

Published in 2001. Part of her early representative works (with Concent and Antenna); was a Naoki Prize candidate.

sexual occultismidentityurban loneliness

I Won't Forget! Vietnam

1996 Essay / Travel writing

An essay published in 1996 based on stays and reports in Vietnam; a mix of personal essay and reportage.

travelmemorycross-cultural understanding

To Have Roots, To Have Wings

2001 Essay

An essay collection about views on life and ways of living; written in an accessible voice and popular with a wide readership.

ways of livingself-reflectionrelationships

Fuji

2004 Novel

Published in 2004. A story revolving around Mount Fuji as nature and symbol; was a Naoki Prize candidate.

naturesymbolismrenewal

Bibliography

  • I Won't Forget! Vietnam
  • Healing Forest: Yakushima
  • To Her for Whom Consumption Is No Longer Pleasure
  • Secret Life Under the Skirt
  • Foolish Men Are the Most Adorable
  • Midnight Call
  • Concent
  • Antenna
  • I Want to Live Without Getting Angry, If Possible
  • To Have Roots, To Have Wings
  • Mosaic
  • Fuji
  • Maria of the Atomic Bomb
  • Cure
  • Papillon

Adaptations

  • Concent (film adaptation)
  • Antenna (film adaptation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
sensational prose incorporating sexual-occult elementssometimes blends essayistic narration with fictionmodern voice depicting contemporary urban life
Recurring Motifs
occultismsexualitydeath and rebirthurban loneliness

Legacy

Randy Taguchi is a Japanese female writer who gained attention in the late 1990s and early 2000s, known for works featuring sexual-occult elements as well as essays. Her trilogy (Concent, Antenna, Mosaic) was widely read and parts were adapted to film. Her career has also been marked by controversies over plagiarism that affected the publication status of some works.

In Popular Culture

  • Concent and Antenna were adapted into theatrical films

Trivia

  • Real name: Keiko Taguchi.
  • Debuted as an essayist in 1996 with 'I Won't Forget! Vietnam', and as a novelist in 2000 with 'Concent'.
  • 'Concent', 'Mosaic' and 'Fuji' were nominated for the Naoki Prize.
  • Several works were accused of plagiarism; 'Antenna' and 'Mosaic' were temporarily out of print but later released in revised paperback editions.