Shosetsu Gendai Newcomer Award
1 appearances
Tomeo Yagiri
やぎり とめお
Yagiri Tomeo
Aliases:
矢留 節夫 (本名)
Pen Names:
Yatosetsu-o (pen name)（Used for prewar and immediate postwar adventure and detective fiction）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1914-12-22 （Nagoya (some sources state Yokohama)）
- Died
- 1987-04-28 age 72
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Nagoya (possible birthplace) → Yokohama (possible birthplace) → Yap Island (South Pacific, former mandate) → Sulawesi (former Celebes Island) → Fengtian (Manchuria; present-day Shenyang) → Hongo/Hakusan area, Tokyo
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, historical writer, translator (possible), publisher (representative), lecturer, associate professor, business owner
- Active Years
- 1931-1987
- Affiliations
- Nihon Shell Publishing (representative), Nihon University (lecturer), Meiji University (associate professor)
- Influenced By
- Itō Sei
- Influenced
- Motohiko Izawa, Ryū Ota
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nihon University, Specialized Department | — | Department of Literature (Specialized Division) | — | 〜1931年 | Japan |
Nihon University, Specialized Department
Department of Literature (Specialized Division)
Period:
〜1931年
Year of Graduation:
1931
Country:
Japan
Studied under Itō Sei
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Shosetsu Gendai Newcomer Award | Sunpo Musha | — | Shosetsu Gendai (magazine) | 受賞 |
Shosetsu Gendai Newcomer Award
1964
Work:
Sunpo Musha
Organization:
Shosetsu Gendai (magazine)
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Sunpo Musha
1964 short storyA short story published in 1964 that won the 3rd Shosetsu Gendai Newcomer Award and marked the start of Yagiri's full-time writing career.
historyhuman natureintersection of fiction and historical fact
Nobunaga's Murder: Not Mitsuhide
1967 historical essay / revisionist historyAn essay that proposes a non-Mitsuhide perpetrator for the assassination of Oda Nobunaga. A representative volume of the 'Yagiri Unexpected History' series.
Oda Nobunagarevisionist historyassassination theories
History of Japan's Indigenous Peoples
1972 historical hypothesis / speculative historyPresents hypotheses such as the Yamato people being an incoming group and that indigenous people (e.g. Sanka) had a leading role; influential in the 1970s and cited by some New Left thinkers.
indigeneitymigration of peoplesreinterpretation of Japanese history
History of the Sanka
1984 folklore studies / historyA work on the Sanka (mountain people). One of the books that contributed to Yagiri's reputation as a researcher of mountain-dwelling groups and later re-evaluation in folklore studies.
folklorehistorically discriminated groupsoral traditions
Bibliography
- Captain Nagasaki Maru
- Notes from the South
- Tales of the Greater East Asian Seas
- Youth Equatorial Festival
- Battle of the Nanban Ships
- Sunpo Musha
- Nobunaga's Murder: Not Mitsuhide
- Did Hideyoshi Kill Nobunaga?
- History of Japan's Indigenous Peoples
- Uesugi Kenshin Was a Woman
- Yagiri's 'Unexpected History' series (various titles)
- On Seppuku: Not Righteous Warriors
- History of the Sanka
- Sanka Folklore Studies
- Cruel History of Japan
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- provocativenarrative-essay style with high entertainment valuepresenting unique historical theories
- Recurring Motifs
- presentation of revisionist historyindigenous peoples / Sankareinterpretation of Sengoku warlordsmaritime / southern regionselements of adventure and detective fiction
Legacy
Although he achieved broad popular success and produced many bestsellers, Yagiri's handling of sources and methodology drew strong academic criticism. From the 2000s some re-evaluation occurred and previously out-of-print works were republished.
Academic Societies
- 'Rekishi Minzokugaku' (journal special issue)
Archives
- Tomeo Yagiri Works Collection (rekishi.info)
- National Diet Library (catalog holdings)
In Popular Culture
- The 'Yagiri Unexpected History' series became bestsellers for a time and was widely known among general readers
Quotes
-
Books are meant to be read, not for money.
Source: Colophon of Nihon Shell Publishing
Trivia
- His real name was Yadome Setsuo; he wrote under pen names including Tomeo Yagiri and Yatosetsu-o.
- He ran a small publisher in Manchuria and reportedly attempted collective suicide with a Kanto Army officer at the end of the war; the attempt was unsuccessful.
- He ran a small business manufacturing home fire extinguishers, which failed after an experiment publicized by Kurashi no Techo led to mass returns.
- He published works himself via Nihon Shell Publishing and even declared the abandonment of copyright for some works.