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Yasumi Tsuhara

つはら やすみ

Tsuhara Yasumi

Aliases: 津原 やすみ
Pen Names: Yasumi Tsuhara（Pen name used early in career for girls' novels (hiragana form)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1964-09-04 （Koi, Nishi-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan）
Died
2022-10-02 （Japan） age 58
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Novelist
Active Years
1989-2022
Influenced By
Jonathan Carroll
Nominations
56th Mystery Writers of Japan Award — Long work/short-story collection nominee (Shonen Trochia), Seiun Award — Nominee in Japanese long-form and short-story categories (multiple years), Oda Sakunosuke Prize — Finalist (Hikki-Hikki Shake)

Education

Aoyama Gakuin University
Faculty of International Politics and Economics
Country: Japan
Member (and president) of the mystery fiction study group while enrolled

Awards

Twitter Literature Award
2012
Work: 11 eleven
Result: 国内部門1位
Japan Media Arts Festival — Manga Division Grand Prize
2014
Work: Goshiki no Fune (manga adaptation)
Category: マンガ部門
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs
Result: 大賞（原作も評価）
Nihon SF Taisho Award — Achievement Award
2023
Category: 功績賞
Organization: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Kitan-shu (Collection of Strange Tales)

2004 Short story collection (fantasy/horror)

A collection of fantastic and uncanny short stories showing wide stylistic range; contains many representative early works.

fantasyhorrormemorythe everyday and the uncanny

Brass Band

2006 Youth novel, ensemble drama

A novel about youth and brass band life, based on the author's high-school wind ensemble experience; became a bestseller.

youthmusicfriendshipcoming of age

Ballet Mechanic

2009 Fantasy novel with SF elements

A long-form novel with fantastic setting mixing SF and uncanny elements; received critical attention.

fantasyartphysicality

11 eleven

2011 Short story collection (mystery/fantasy)

A collection of varied short stories; includes 'Goshiki no Fune' which was later adapted to manga, and received wide readership.

fantasymysterynostalgia
Adaptations
  • [Manga] Goshiki no Fune (manga by Youko Kondo) (2014)

Hikki-Hikki Shake

2016 Entertainment novel with fantasy elements

A highly entertaining novel with fantastic elements; was shortlisted for several domestic awards.

entertainmentfantasysatire

Bibliography

  • Kitan-shu (2004)
  • Brass Band (2006)
  • Ballet Mechanic (2009)
  • 11 eleven (2011)
  • Hikki-Hikki Shake (2016)

Adaptations

  • Goshiki no Fune (manga adaptation by Youko Kondo, 2014)

Translations of Works

  • Le storie del negozio di bambole — Italian edition
  • Akai Koto (Korean edition)
  • Various works (translated into Chinese and Korean)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Varied prose style tailored to each work (from first-person girl's voice to dense third-person)Experimental use of line breaks and layout
Recurring Motifs
musicfantasyyouthhorror

Health

  • undergoing medical treatment / illness
    長期（没年2022）
    After a prolonged illness he died in 2022. The illness affected his activities and public appearances.

Legacy

A writer known for combining fantasy and horror with musical and youth motifs across a wide range of works. Highly regarded for both short and long fiction; several works have been translated and adapted into manga.

Archives

  • Held in the National Diet Library collection

Quotes

  • All of it is, broadly speaking, fantasy fiction.
    Source: Interviews / public statements

Trivia

  • He performed as vocalist of the amateur band 'Radio Depart', active since university days.
  • Early in his career he wrote girls' novels under the hiragana pen name 'つはら やすみ'.
  • He worked briefly in a printing company and often took part in book design.