Japanese Literary Awards

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Toshihiko Yahagi

やはぎ としひこ

Yahagi Toshihiko

Pen Names: Daddy Goose（Pen name used for manga work (early career)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1950-07-18 （Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Yokohama → Tokyo

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Manga writer, Screenwriter, Film director, Essayist
Active Years
1972-
Influenced By
Jirō Ikushima, Haruhiko Ōyabu, Norio Kawano, Yasutaka Tsutsui

Education

Tokyo Kyoiku University Attached Komaba High School (now Tsukuba University Attached Komaba)
Country: Japan
Graduated after repeating a year; took four years to complete high school.

Awards

Seiun Award (Comic Division)
1982
Work: Kibun wa Mou Sensou (Feels Like War)
Category: コミック部門
Organization: Seiun Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Kadokawa Novel Award
1983
Work: Kurayami ni No-Side
Organization: Kadokawa Shoten
Result: 受賞
Bunkamura-Dumago Literary Prize
1998
Work: a-ja-pan
Organization: Bunkamura (Dumago Literary Prize)
Result: 受賞
Mishima Yukio Prize
2004
Work: Rarara Kagaku no Ko
Organization: Mishima Yukio Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Japan Adventure Fiction Association Grand Prize
2004
Work: The Wrong Good-bye / Long Goodbye
Organization: Japan Adventure Fiction Association
Result: 受賞
Falcon Prize
2005
Work: The Wrong Good-bye / Long Goodbye
Organization: Maltese Falcon Society
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Dakishimetai (I Want to Hold You)

1972 Short story

A short story published in Mystery Magazine; his debut as a fiction writer.

YouthEarly work

Message to Mike Hammer

1978 Novel (hard-boiled elements)

His first full-length novel; notable for strong hard-boiled elements and drew attention to his work in that vein.

CrimeUrban life

Manhattan Op

1981 Hard-boiled / Series

A series of linked stories; editions featured illustrations by artists such as Jirō Taniguchi.

DetectiveRevengeUrban settings

Feels Like War (Kibun wa Mou Sensou)

1982 Manga original / Fiction

A collaborative work with Katsuhiro Otomo blending manga art and novelistic storytelling; the novel served as the basis for a manga illustrated by Otomo.

ParodyPolitical satirePop culture
Adaptations
  • [Manga] Feels Like War (manga) / 大友克洋（作画） (1982)

a-ja-pan

1997 Novel

A large-scale novel set in an alternate Japan divided into communist and capitalist states; notable for its technical construction using extensive quotations, parody and intertextual play, receiving critical attention.

Political divisionMetafictionHistorical parody

Rarara Kagaku no Ko

2003 Novel

A novel incorporating motifs of science and thought; awarded the Mishima Yukio Prize in 2004.

ScienceIdeasIdentity

The Wrong Good-bye

2004 Adventure novel / Hard-boiled elements

A novel influenced by hard-boiled tradition; recipient of the Japan Adventure Fiction Association Grand Prize and the Falcon Prize.

AdventureDetective elementsHomage

Film Noir / Black Motion Picture

2014 Essays / Film criticism

A collection of essays and criticism paying homage to Nikkatsu action films and other aspects of Japanese cinema.

Film criticismHomageMedia critique

Bibliography

  • Message to Mike Hammer
  • Ringo Kid's Holiday
  • God's Pinch Hitter
  • A Convenient Day to Die
  • Bicycle of Broadway
  • Manhattan Op
  • Like a Wandering Rose
  • One More Step to Midnight
  • Those Who Steer Toward the Wind
  • Cortes' Harvest
  • Tell Yoko 'I Love You'
  • Suzuki-san's Rest and Pilgrimage
  • Tokyo Cowboy
  • Work Is Calling Me
  • The Woman Who Breathes Fire
  • Pornographia; Or Eternity in the Corner of the Corridor
  • Summer Engine
  • a-ja-pan
  • Rarara Kagaku no Ko
  • The Wrong Good-bye / Long Goodbye
  • Tragedy Week
  • Wounded Angel: A Hammer of Angels in the Demon City
  • Engine
  • Film Noir / Black Motion Picture

Adaptations

  • AGAIN (contributed to film anthology)
  • God's Pinch Hitter (directed by Yahagi, 1990)
  • The Gambler (directed by Yahagi, 1992)
  • Feels Like War (manga adaptation by Katsuhiro Otomo)

Translations of Works

  • The Wrong Good-bye

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Complex narrative with hard-boiled elementsMeta-fictional techniques using parody and extensive intertextual quotationPop-inflected style incorporating cinematic and manga imagery
Recurring Motifs
Urban settingsViolence and crimeFragments of pop-culture referencePolitical and social division

Legacy

A writer, screenwriter and film director active since the 1970s. Known for hard-boiled elements, extensive pop-culture references and cross-genre creativity; he has received critical acclaim and multiple literary prizes. He frequently collaborated with manga artists and filmmakers, maintaining a strong presence in popular culture.

Archives

  • Holdings in the National Diet Library (NDL)

In Popular Culture

  • Influenced popular culture through collaborations with manga artists (e.g. Katsuhiro Otomo) and through his own film direction.

Quotes

  • This isn't a screenplay — it's a novel.
    Source: Hiroshi Ōta, editor-in-chief of Mystery Magazine (comment when shown Yahagi's scenario) (1972)
  • I don't want to be included in an anthology with those people.
    Source: Statement at a 2014 publication event (dialogue with Jō Shishido) (2014)

Trivia

  • Legal name is not publicly disclosed.
  • Debuted as a manga artist at 17 under the pen name 'Daddy Goose'.
  • Graduated high school after repeating a year, taking four years to finish.
  • Has expressed resistance to being labeled simply as a hard-boiled writer.