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Masaki Tsuji

つじ まさき

Tsuji Masaki

Aliases: 牧 薩次 / 桂 真佐喜
Pen Names: Maki Satsuji（An anagram pen name used for some published works）, Katsura Masaki（Alternate pen name used on some works）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1932-03-23 （Nagoya, Aichi, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
screenwriter, mystery novelist, manga original writer, critic, essayist, professor emeritus
Active Years
1954-
Affiliations
Digital Hollywood University (Professor Emeritus), Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan (honorary member), Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan (former chairman)
Memberships
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan (honorary member), Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan (former chairman), Mystery Writers of Japan (associated)
Influenced By
Edogawa Rampo, Osamu Tezuka, Go Nagai

Education

Nagoya University
Faculty of Letters
Year of Graduation: 1954
Country: Japan
Graduation year inferred from career timeline; sources vary

Awards

Animage Anime Grand Prix (screenplay)
1979
Category: 脚本部門
Organization: Animage (Tokuma Shoten)
Result: 第1位
Animage Anime Grand Prix (screenplay)
1980
Category: 脚本部門
Organization: Animage (Tokuma Shoten)
Result: 第1位
Animage Anime Grand Prix (screenplay)
1981
Category: 脚本部門
Organization: Animage (Tokuma Shoten)
Result: 第1位
Animage Anime Grand Prix (screenplay)
1982
Category: 脚本部門
Organization: Animage (Tokuma Shoten)
Result: 第1位
Japan Mystery Writers Association Award (long novel)
1981
Work: Murder in Alice's Country
Category: 長編
Organization: Mystery Writers of Japan
Result: 受賞
Hasegawa Shin Award
2004
Organization: Hasegawa Shin Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Chunichi Cultural Award
2008
Organization: Chunichi Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Animation Kobe Award (Special Award)
2008
Category: 特別賞
Organization: Animation Kobe Executive Committee
Result: 受賞
Japan Media Arts Festival Achievement Award
2008
Category: 功労賞
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs
Result: 受賞
Honkaku Mystery Award (novel)
2009
Work: Perfect Love
Category: 小説部門
Organization: Honkaku Mystery Writers Club
Result: 受賞
Japan Mystery Literature Award
2019
Organization: Japan Mystery Literature Award Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Murder in Alice's Country

1981 mystery novel

An experimental long-form mystery incorporating visual effects into the book's structure; an all‑star style intersecting characters from multiple series.

detective fictionmetafictionall‑star crossover

Perfect Love

2008 mystery novel

Published under the pen name Maki Satsuji; a honkaku mystery focused on human relationships and crime.

lovelocked‑room / classic puzzle

It's Just a Murder? Detective Fiction of 1949 (Showa 24)

2020 mystery (historical)

A detective novel set in the early postwar period; a late‑career work that received high rankings in mystery lists.

Showa era historymysteryperiod detail

Collected: Youth Murder Cases

1990 juvenile / mystery

A collected volume of the early youth 'trilogy'; notable for experimental devices such as meta declarations about the culprit.

youthmeta‑mystery

Bibliography

  • Murder in Alice's Country
  • Perfect Love
  • Collected: Youth Murder Cases
  • The Great Deductions of Lupin the Lost Dog
  • It's Just a Murder? Detective Fiction of 1949 (Showa 24)

Adaptations

  • Honeymoon Murder Case (TV drama adaptation)
  • Lost Dog Lupin (TV special / drama adaptations)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
humorous mysteryclassic puzzle‑mystery structuretravel mysterymetafictional techniques
Recurring Motifs
travel and trainsgatherings of detectives (common venues like snack bars)Showa‑era life depictionparody and tribute

Health

  • neuralgia
    2016-現在
    Neuralgia has limited some outings and long stays in places like manga cafés, but reading and writing activities have continued.

Legacy

Renowned both as a screenwriter for anime and tokusatsu and as a prolific mystery novelist across many subgenres. Known for rapid drafting, metafictional experiments, and a string of major awards; even late‑career works received critical recognition.

Academic Societies

  • Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan
  • Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan

Archives

  • National Diet Library

In Popular Culture

  • Significant influence in the anime industry as a screenwriter; credited on numerous series

Quotes

  • If you have 15 minutes, a person can do many things.
    Source: Interview (recounting an anecdote from his NHK years) (2014)

Trivia

  • Famous for rapid writing; once reportedly wrote a full episode script during a meeting at a café.
  • The pen name 'Maki Satsuji' is an anagram of his name.
  • In 2017 he worked as a seller at Comiket.