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Futaro Yamada

やまだ ふうたろう

Yamada Fūtarō

Pen Names: Futaro Yamada（Primary pen name used after debut; derived from the token "wind" used among friends in middle school.）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1922-01-04 （Sekimiya, Yabu District, Hyōgo Prefecture (now Yabu)）
Died
2001-07-28 （Tama, Tokyo, Japan） age 79
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
novelist
Active Years
1947-2001
Influenced By
Edogawa Rampo, Classical fantastic literature (e.g. Nansō Satomi Hakkenden, Water Margin)
Influenced
Ryū Keichirō, Wider popular works in the "ninjutsu/ ninja fantasy" vein and related manga/anime creators (e.g., Shirato Sanpei, Yokoyama Mitsuteru, Segawa Masaki)

Education

Tokyo Medical University (formerly Tokyo Medical College)
Faculty of Medicine / Department of Medicine
Degree: 医学士
Period: 1944-1950
Year of Graduation: 1950
Country: Japan
Entered when the school was Tokyo Medical College. After graduation he did not pursue a medical career and devoted himself to writing.

Awards

Detective Writers' Club Award (short story)
1949
Work: Ganchū no Akuma / Kyozō Inraku
Organization: Detective Writers' Club
Result: 受賞
Kikuchi Kan Prize
1997
Organization: Kikuchi Kan Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Japan Mystery Literature Award
2000
Organization: Japan Mystery Literature Award Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Kōga Ninpōchō

1958 Period fiction / fantastical historical fiction

The opening work of the Ninpōchō series depicting the clash of Kōga and Iga ninja; a representative work combining mass-circulation adventure with imaginative supernatural elements.

ninja artsloyalty and betrayalhistorical what-if
Adaptations
  • [film] Kōga Ninpōchō (film adaptations)

Makai Tenshō

1967 Fantastical period fiction

A representative novel famed for its bold premise of resurrecting historical swordsmen and samurai to fight—melding wild imagination and swordplay.

resurrectionperverted samurai ethoshistorical alteration
Adaptations
  • [film] Makai Tenshō (1981 film, etc.) / 深作欣二 (1981)

Senchū-ha Fusennikki (War‑time diary)

Non-fiction / diary

A collection of his wartime diaries around the end of World War II; his wartime experiences strongly influenced his later work.

war experiencepersonal views on life and deathrecord and reminiscence

Adaptations

  • Makai Tenshō (film adaptations 1981, 2003, etc.)
  • Kōga Ninpōchō / Iga Ninpōchō etc. (film, TV, direct-to-video adaptations)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
popular-entertainment prose, acerbic humor, blend of history and the fantastical
Recurring Motifs
ninja arts / magical techniqueshistorical what‑ifs (intersection of fact and fiction)supernatural / uncannyhuman vice and views on life and death

Health

  • cataracts
    Vision decline made writing more difficult.
  • diabetes
    Affected general health and limited activity in later years.
  • Parkinson's disease
    Progressed in later life and made continued writing difficult.

Legacy

Recognized as one of postwar Japan's leading popular fiction writers, Yamada's extensive multi-genre oeuvre and unique historical perspective continue to be reappraised. The Yamada Futarō Prize was established in 2010 and a memorial museum was opened in his hometown, preserving his legacy.

Museums

  • Yamada Fūtarō Memorial Museum Yabu, Hyōgo Prefecture (site of former Sekimiya Elementary School) Opened in 2003

Archives

  • Yamada Fūtarō Memorial Museum archives

In Popular Culture

  • Numerous film and TV adaptations; the Ninpōchō series influenced manga and anime.

Quotes

  • 'Writing novels shortens one's life by that much.'
    Source: Statement (late‑life remark) (1991)

Trivia

  • He reportedly burned many original manuscripts; only a few autograph manuscripts survive.
  • He drank large amounts of whisky nightly and jokingly called himself an 'alcohol‑Alzheimer'.
  • Anecdotes remain of his culinary habit—e.g. a family dish nicknamed 'cheese meat toro' served to guests.
  • His day of death coincides with the death day of his mentor Edogawa Rampo.
  • A memorial museum dedicated to him opened in his hometown in 2003.