Edogawa Rampo
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

, better known by the
pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...
was a
Japanese author This is an alphabetical list of writers who are Japanese, or are famous for having written in the Japanese language. Writers are listed by the native order of Japanese names, family name followed by given name to ensure consistency although some ...
and
critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...
who played a major role in the development of Japanese
mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...
and thriller fiction. Many of his novels involve the detective hero
Kogoro Akechi is a fictional private detective created by Japanese mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo. Overview Akechi first appeared in the story in January 1925 and continued to appear in stories for a quarter of a century. Edogawa Ranpo (a pseudonym for Tarō ...
, who in later books was the leader of a group of boy detectives known as the . Ranpo was an admirer of Western
mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...
writers, and especially of
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
. His pen name is a rendering of Poe's name. Other authors who were special influences on him were
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for '' A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
, whom he attempted to translate into Japanese during his days as a student at
Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...
, and the Japanese mystery writer Ruikō Kuroiwa.


Biography


Before World War II

Tarō Hirai was born in
Nabari is a Cities of Japan, city located in central Mie Prefecture, Japan, bordering on Nara Prefecture to the west. , the city had an estimated population of 77,022 in 34,658 households and a population density of 590 persons per km². The total are ...
,
Mie Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture to ...
in 1894, where his grandfather had been a
samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
in the service of
Tsu Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Ise Province and in Iga Province in what is part of now modern-day Tsu, Mie. It was centered around Tsu Castle. Tsu Domain was controlled the '' tozama'' Tōdō cla ...
. His father was a merchant, who had also practiced law. The family moved to what is now
Kameyama, Mie 260px, Seki-juku (Tōkaidō) is a city located in northern Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 49,457 in 21,745 households and a population density of 260 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geograp ...
, and from there to
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...
when he was age two. At the age of 17, he studied economics at
Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...
in Tokyo starting in 1912. After graduating in 1916 with a degree in economics, he worked a series of odd jobs, including newspaper editing, drawing cartoons for magazine publications, selling
soba Soba ( or , "buckwheat") is a thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat. The noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or hot in a noodle soup. The variety ''Nagano soba'' includes wheat flour. In Japan, soba noodles can be found i ...
noodles as a street vendor, and working in a used bookstore. In 1923, he made his literary debut by publishing the mystery story under the pen name "Edogawa Ranpo" (pronounced quickly, this humorous pseudonym sounds much like the name of the American pioneer of detective fiction,
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
, whom he admired). The story appeared in the magazine ''
Shin Seinen Shin may refer to: Biology * The front part of the human leg below the knee * Shinbone, the tibia, the larger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates Names * Shin (given name) (Katakana: シン, Hiragana: しん), a Japanese ...
'', a popular magazine written largely for an adolescent audience. ''Shin Seinen'' had previously published stories by a variety of Western authors including Poe,
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
, and
G. K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English writer, philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox". Of his writing style, ''Time'' observed: "Wh ...
, but this was the first time the magazine published a major piece of mystery fiction by a Japanese author. Some, such as James B. Harris (Ranpo's first translator into English), have erroneously called this the first piece of modern mystery fiction by a Japanese writer, but well before Ranpo entered the literary scene in 1923, a number of other modern Japanese authors such as Ruikō Kuroiwa,
Kidō Okamoto was a Japanese author. His real name was . His best known work is the Shin Kabuki play Bancho Sarayashiki. Kido was born in the district of Shiba Takanawa, a neighbourhood in Minato Ward, Tōkyō Family Kido’s father, Okamoto Keinosuke ( ...
,
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work ranges from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle por ...
, Haruo Satō, and
Kaita Murayama was a Japanese writer and artist. One of his self-portraits appears in the Mie Prefectural Art Museum in Tsu, Mie, Tsu Mie Prefecture, Japan (not pictured here). He trained at the Fine Arts Academy in Tokyo and was influenced by Western art style ...
had incorporated elements of sleuthing, mystery, and crime within stories involving adventure, intrigue, the bizarre, and the grotesque. What struck critics as new about Ranpo’s debut story "The Two-Sen Copper Coin" was that it focused on the logical process of ratiocination used to solve a mystery within a story that is closely related to Japanese culture. The story involves an extensive description of an ingenious code based on a Buddhist chant known as the "
nenbutsu Nianfo (, Japanese: , , vi, niệm Phật) is a term commonly seen in Pure Land Buddhism. In the context of Pure Land practice, it generally refers to the repetition of the name of Amitābha. It is a translation of Sanskrit '' '' (or, "recolle ...
" as well as Japanese-language
Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...
. Over the course of the next several years, Edogawa went on to write a number of other stories that focus on crimes and the processes involved in solving them. Among these stories are a number of stories that are now considered classics of early 20th-century Japanese popular literature: , which is about a woman who is killed in the course of a
sadomasochistic Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...
extramarital affair, , which is about a man who kills a neighbor in a Tokyo boarding house by dropping poison through a hole in the attic floor into his mouth, and , which is about a man who hides himself in a chair to feel the bodies on top of him.Translated in Edogawa, ''Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination''.
Mirror A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...
s,
lenses A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...
, and other
optical devices An optical instrument (or "optic" for short) is a device that processes light waves (or photons), either to enhance an image for viewing or to analyze and determine their characteristic properties. Common examples include periscopes, microscopes ...
appear in many of Edogawa's other early stories, such as "The Hell of Mirrors". Although many of his first stories were primarily about sleuthing and the processes used in solving seemingly insolvable crimes, during the 1930s, he began to turn increasingly to stories that involved a combination of sensibilities often called "
ero guro nansensu is a specific set of cultural trends that arose during the era in Japan. is a word derived from the English words ''erotic'', ''grotesque'', and ''nonsense''. Overview Apt to its namesake, this period of time in Japan saw a large increase ...
", from the three words "eroticism, grotesquerie, and the nonsensical". The presence of these sensibilities helped him sell his stories to the public, which was increasingly eager to read his work. One finds in these stories a frequent tendency to incorporate elements of what the Japanese at that time called . For instance, a major portion of the plot of the novel , serialized from January 1929 to February 1930 in the journal , involves a
homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
doctor and his infatuation for another main character. By the 1930s, Edogawa was writing regularly for a number of major public journals of popular literature, and he had emerged as the foremost voice of Japanese mystery fiction. The detective hero
Kogorō Akechi is a fictional private detective created by Japanese Mystery fiction, mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo. Overview Akechi first appeared in the story in January 1925 and continued to appear in stories for a quarter of a century. Edogawa Ranpo (a pse ...
, who had first appeared in the story "The Case of the Murder on D. Hill" became a regular feature in his stories, a number of which pitted him against a dastardly criminal known as the , who had an incredible ability to disguise himself and move throughout society. (A number of these novels were subsequently made into films.) The 1930 novel introduced the adolescent as Kogoro's sidekick, and in the period after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Edogawa wrote a number of novels for young readers that involved Kogoro and Kobayashi as the leaders of a group of young sleuths called the . These works were wildly popular and are still read by many young Japanese readers, much like the
Hardy Boys The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in several mystery series for children and teens. The series revolves around teenagers who are amateur sleuths, solving cases that stumped their adult counterpa ...
or
Nancy Drew Nancy Drew is a Fictional character, fictional character appearing in several Mystery fiction, mystery book series, movies, and a TV show as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwriter, ghostwritten by a number of authors and published ...
mysteries are popular mysteries for adolescents in the English-speaking world.


During World War II

In 1939, two years after the
Marco Polo Bridge Incident The Marco Polo Bridge Incident, also known as the Lugou Bridge Incident () or the July 7 Incident (), was a July 1937 battle between China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army. Since the Japanese invasion of Manchuria ...
and the outbreak of the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
in 1937, Edogawa was ordered by government
censors Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
to drop his story , which he had published without incident a few years before, from a collection of his short stories that the publisher ''Shun'yōdō'' was reprinting. "The Caterpillar" is about a
veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...
who was turned into a
quadriplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or t ...
and so disfigured by war that he was little more than a human "
caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
", unable to talk, move, or live by himself. Censors banned the story, apparently believing that the story would detract from the current war effort. This came as a blow to Ranpo, who relied on
royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...
from reprints for income. (The short story inspired director
Kōji Wakamatsu was a Japanese film director who directed such ''pinku eiga'' films as and . He also produced Nagisa Ōshima's controversial film ''In the Realm of the Senses'' (1976). He has been called "the most important director to emerge in the pink film ...
, who drew from it his movie ''
Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
'', which competed for the
Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The winn ...
at the
60th Berlin International Film Festival The 60th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 21 February 2010, with Werner Herzog as President of the Jury. The opening film of the festival was Chinese director Wang Quan'an's romantic drama ''Apart Together'', in comp ...
.) Over the course of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, especially during the full-fledged war between Japan and the US that began in 1941, Edogawa was active in his local neighborhood organization, and he wrote a number of stories about young detectives and sleuths that might be seen as in line with the war effort, but he wrote most of these under different pseudonyms as if to disassociate them with his legacy. In February 1945, his family was evacuated from their home in
Ikebukuro is a commercial and entertainment district in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. Toshima ward offices, Ikebukuro station, and several shops, restaurants, and enormous department stores are located within city limits. It is considered the second largest ...
,
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
to
Fukushima may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture ** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan ***Fukushima University, national university in Japan *** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...
in northern Japan. Edogawa remained until June, when he was suffering from
malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...
. Much of
Ikebukuro is a commercial and entertainment district in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. Toshima ward offices, Ikebukuro station, and several shops, restaurants, and enormous department stores are located within city limits. It is considered the second largest ...
was destroyed in
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
air raids and the subsequent fires that broke out in the city, but the thick, earthen-walled warehouse which he used as his studio was spared, and still stands to this day beside the campus of
Rikkyo University , also known as Saint Paul's University, is a private university, in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan. Rikkyo is known as one of the six leading universities in the field of sports in Tokyo (東京六大学 "Big Six" — Rikkyo University, University of ...
.


Postwar

In the postwar period, Edogawa dedicated a great deal of energy to promoting mystery fiction, both in terms of the understanding of its history and encouraging the production of new mystery fiction. In 1946, he put his support behind a new journal called dedicated to mystery fiction, and in 1947, he founded the , which changed its name in 1963 to the . In addition, he wrote a large number of articles about the history of Japanese, European, and American mystery fiction. Many of these essays were published in book form. Other than essays, much of his postwar literary production consisted largely of novels for juvenile readers featuring
Kogorō Akechi is a fictional private detective created by Japanese Mystery fiction, mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo. Overview Akechi first appeared in the story in January 1925 and continued to appear in stories for a quarter of a century. Edogawa Ranpo (a pse ...
and the Boy Detectives Club. In the 1950s, he and a bilingual translator collaborated for five years on a translation of Edogawa's works into English, published as ''Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination'' by Tuttle. Since the translator could speak but not read Japanese, and Edogawa could read but not write English, the translation was done aurally, with Edogawa reading each sentence aloud, then checking the written English. Another of his interests, especially during the late 1940s and 1950s, was bringing attention to the work of his dear friend Jun'ichi Iwata (1900–1945), an
anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
who had spent many years researching the history of
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
in Japan. During the 1930s, Edogawa and Iwata had engaged in a light-hearted competition to see who could find the most books about erotic desire between men. Edogawa dedicated himself to finding books published in the West and Iwata dedicated himself to finding books having to do with Japan. Iwata died in 1945, with only part of his work published, so Edogawa worked to have the remaining work on queer historiography published. In the postwar period, a large number of Edogawa's books were made into films. The interest in using Edogawa's literature as a departure point for creating films has continued well after his death. Edogawa, who suffered from a variety of health issues, including
atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis in which the wall of the artery develops abnormalities, called lesions. These lesions may lead to narrowing due to the buildup of atheroma, atheromatous plaque. At onset there are usu ...
and
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
, died from a
cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...
at his home in 1965. His grave is at the
Tama Cemetery in Tokyo is the largest municipal cemetery in Japan. It is split between the cities of Fuchu and Koganei within the Tokyo Metropolis. First established in April 1923 as , it was redesignated Tama Cemetery in 1935. It is one of the largest green a ...
in
Fuchu Fuchu, King of Chu (), clan name Xiong, () was from 227 to 223 BC the last king of the state of Chu during the late Warring States period of ancient China (though sources argue that Lord Changping was the last king of Chu). Fuchu was his give ...
, near Tokyo. The
Edogawa Rampo Prize The , named after Edogawa Rampo, is a Japanese literary award which has been presented every year by the Mystery Writers of Japan since 1955.Fukue, Nastuko,Literary awards run spectrum, ''Japan Times'', 14 February 2012, p. 3. Though its name is si ...
(江戸川乱歩賞 Edogawa Ranpo Shō?), named after Edogawa Rampo, is a Japanese literary award which has been presented every year by the
Mystery Writers of Japan is an organization for mystery writers in Japan. The organization was founded on 21 June 1947 by Edogawa Rampo. It is currently chaired by Bin Konno and claims about 600 members. It presents the Mystery Writers of Japan Award to writers every yea ...
since 1955. The winner is given a prize of ¥10 million with publication rights by Kodansha.


Works in English translation

;Books * Edogawa Rampo (1956), ''Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination'', translated by James B. Harris. 14th ed. Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Company. . * Edogawa Ranpo (1988), ''The Boy Detectives Club'', translated by Gavin Frew. Tokyo: Kodansha. . * Edogawa Rampo (2006), ''The Black Lizard and Beast in the Shadows'', translated by Ian Hughes. Fukuoka: Kurodahan Press. . * Edogawa Rampo (2008), ''The Edogawa Rampo Reader'', translated by Seth Jacobowitz. Fukuoka: Kurodahan Press. . Contains many of Rampo's early short stories and essays. * Edogawa Rampo (2009), ''Moju: The Blind Beast'', translated by Anthony Whyte. Shinbaku Books. . * Edogawa Rampo (2012), ''The Fiend with Twenty Faces'', translated by Dan Luffey. Fukuoka: Kurodahan Press. . * Edogawa Ranpo (2013), ''Strange Tale of Panorama Island'', translated by Elaine Kazu Gerbert. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press. . * Edogawa Rampo (2014), ''The Early Cases of Akechi Kogoro'', translated by William Varteresian. Fukuoka: Kurodahan Press. . * Edogawa Rampo (2019), ''Gold Mask'', translated by William Varteresian. Fukuoka: Kurodahan Press. . ;Short stories * Edogawa Ranpo (2008), "The Two-Sen Copper Coin," translated by
Jeffrey Angles (born 1971) is a poet who writes free verse in his second language, Japanese. He is also an American scholar of modern Japanese literature and an award-winning literary translator of modern Japanese poetry and fiction into English. He is a pro ...
, ''Modanizumu: Modernist Fiction from Japan, 1913–1938,'' ed. William Tyler. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. . pp. 270–89. * Edogawa Ranpo (2008), "The Man Traveling with the Brocade Portrait," translated by Michael Tangeman, ''Modanizumu: Modernist Fiction from Japan, 1913–1938,'' ed. William Tyler. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. . pp. 376–393. * Edogawa Ranpo (2008), "The Caterpillar," translated by Michael Tangeman, ''Modanizumu: Modernist Fiction from Japan, 1913–1938,'' ed. William Tyler. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. . pp. 406–422.


Major works


Private Detective Kogoro Akechi series

*Short stories ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** *Novels ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** *Juvenile novels ** **


Standalone mystery novels and novellas

*Available in English translation ** ** ** ** *Novels and novellas which have not been translated into English ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** Based on the adaptation of the Meiji-period adaptation of
Alice Muriel Williamson Alice Muriel Williamson (8 October 1858 – 24 September 1933), who published chiefly under names the "C. N. and A. M. Williamson" and "Mrs. C. N. Williamson," was an American-English author. Biography She was born 8 October 1858 to parents Mar ...
's ''A Woman in Grey'' by . ** ** **


Short stories

*Available in English translation ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** * Short stories which have not been translated into English ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **


Adaptations of Western mystery novels

* Adaptation of ''
The Red Redmaynes ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
'' by
Eden Phillpotts Eden Phillpotts (4 November 1862 – 29 December 1960) was an English author, poet and dramatist. He was born in Mount Abu, India, was educated in Plymouth, Devon, and worked as an insurance officer for ten years before studying for the stage a ...
* Adaptation of '' The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien'' by
Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Early life and education ...
* Adaptation of ''Murder among the Angells'' by Roger Scarlett


Essays

*"The Horrors of Film" (1925) *"Spectral Voices" (1926) *"Confessions of Rampo" (1926) *"The Phantom Lord" (1935) *"A Fascination with Lenses" (1936) *"My Love for the Printed Word" (1936) *"Fingerprint Novels of the Meiji Era" (1950) *"Dickens vs. Poe" (1951) *"A Desire for Transformation" (1953) *"An Eccentric Idea" (1954) These ten essays are included in ''The Edogawa Rampo Reader''.


In popular culture

*Director
Teruo Ishii was a Japanese film director best known in the West for his early films in the ''Super Giant'' series, and for his films in the ''ero guro'' ("erotic-grotesque") subgenre of ''pinku eiga'' such as ''Shogun's Joy of Torture'' ( 1968). He also dire ...
's ''
Horrors of Malformed Men is a 1969 Japanese horror film directed by Teruo Ishii, who also co-wrote the film. It is based on the novels and by Edogawa Rampo. Plot Hirosuke (Teruo Yoshida), a medical student with almost no recollection of his past, is trapped in an as ...
'' from 1969 incorporates plot elements from a number of Ranpo stories.
Noboru Tanaka was a Japanese film director known for his ''Roman Porno'' films, including three critically respected films known as the ''Showa trilogy'': '' A Woman Called Sada Abe'' (''aka'' ''Sada Abe: Docu-Drama'') (1975), ''Watcher in the Attic'' (1976), ...
filmed ''
Watcher in the Attic ''aka'' ''Stroller in the Attic'', ''Edogawa Rampo Theater: Walker in the Attic'' and ''Walker in the Attic'' is a 1976 Japanese film in Nikkatsu's ''Roman porno'' series, directed by Noboru Tanaka and starring Junko Miyashita. Plot In 1923 To ...
'' as part of
Nikkatsu is a Japanese entertainment company known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio, founded in 1912 during the silent film era. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally ...
's ''
Roman porno in its broadest sense includes almost any Japanese theatrical film that includes nudity (hence 'pink') or deals with sexual content. This encompasses everything from dramas to action thrillers and exploitation film features. The Western equiv ...
'' series in 1976. *The manga group CLAMP used Edogawa as one of the inspirations for the series '' Man of Many Faces'' (1990–1991). *
Akio Jissoji (March 29, 1937 – November 29, 2006) was a Japanese Television in Japan, television and film director best known outside Japan for the 1960s TV series ''Ultraman'' and ''Ultra Seven, Ultraseven'', as well as for his Auteur theory, auteur E ...
's films ''
Watcher in the Attic ''aka'' ''Stroller in the Attic'', ''Edogawa Rampo Theater: Walker in the Attic'' and ''Walker in the Attic'' is a 1976 Japanese film in Nikkatsu's ''Roman porno'' series, directed by Noboru Tanaka and starring Junko Miyashita. Plot In 1923 To ...
'' (1992) and ''
Murder on D Street is a 1998 Japanese film directed by Akio Jissoji based on a novel by Edogawa Rampo. Cast * Hiroyuki Sanada as Seiichiro Fukiya * Kyūsaku Shimada as Kogoro Akechi * Yumi Yoshiyuki Reception Awards 20th Yokohama Film Festival * Won: Best Sup ...
'' (1998) are both adaptations of Ranpo's works. In both these movies
Kogorō Akechi is a fictional private detective created by Japanese Mystery fiction, mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo. Overview Akechi first appeared in the story in January 1925 and continued to appear in stories for a quarter of a century. Edogawa Ranpo (a pse ...
is played by actor
Kyūsaku Shimada is a Japanese actor. History Shimada was originally part of the Tokyo Grand Guignol Theater group, formed by artist Norimizu Ameya. He stayed with the group until its dissolution in 1986. One of the productions the group undertook was an adaptat ...
. *In 1994, a film entitled '' Rampo'' inspired by Ranpo's works was released in Japan (The film was retitled ''The Mystery of Rampo'' for its American release). Ranpo himself is the lead character of the film and is portrayed by actor
Naoto Takenaka is a Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and director from Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, affiliated with From First Production. He is married to idol singer and actress Midori Kinouchi. He is also known as the voice of Samuel L. Jac ...
. *The 1999 film ''
Gemini Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Northern ...
'' by
Shinya Tsukamoto is a Japanese people, Japanese filmmaker, film producer, screenwriter, Film editing, editor, Film director, director, cinematographer, art director, production designer and actor. With a considerable cult following both domestically and abroad ...
is based on an Edogawa Ranpo story. *Some of Ranpo's stories were later turned into short films in the 2005 compilation ''
Rampo Noir is a 2005 Japanese anthology film consisting of four segments based on works by Edogawa Ranpo. Synopsis Mars Canal A story told without speaking. It tells the story of a naked man who wanders through a depressing and desolate landscape recallin ...
,'' starring the well-known actor
Tadanobu Asano , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor. He is known for his roles as Dragon Eye Morrison in ''Electric Dragon 80.000 V'', Kakihara in ''Ichi the Killer'', Mamoru Arita in '' Bright Future'', Hattori Genosuke in ''Zatoichi'', Kenj ...
. *
Barbet Schroeder Barbet Schroeder (born 26 August 1941) is an Iranian-born Swiss film director and producer who started his career in French cinema in the 1960s, working with directors such as Jean-Luc Godard and Jacques Rivette. Since the late 1980s, he has dire ...
's 2008 film '' Inju: The Beast in the Shadow'' is an adaptation of Ranpo's 1928 short story. *The horror manga artist
Suehiro Maruo (born January 28, 1956 in Nagasaki, Japan) is a Japanese manga artist, illustrator, and painter. Biography Maruo graduated from junior high school in March 1972 but dropped out of senior high school. At the age of 15, he moved to Tokyo and began ...
has adapted two of Ranpo's stories: ''The Strange Tale of the Panorama Island'' (2008) and "The Caterpillar" (2009). *In 2009 the Japanese Google homepage displayed a logo commemorating his birthday on October 21. *The manga and anime series ''
Detective Conan ''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective fiction, detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' ...
'' (Meitantei Conan) has the main character's alias as 'Edogawa Conan', created from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Edogawa Ranpo's names. The detective that he lives with is called Mouri Kogoro, and Conan is part of a children's detective group called the Detective Boys (Shonen Tantei Dan); all apparent homages to the late Ranpo. *The video game
Persona 5 is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by Atlus. It takes place in modern-day Tokyo and follows a high school student known by the pseudonym Joker who transfers to a new school after being falsely accused of assault and put on probation. ...
has a detective character named Akechi Goro, which is a reference to Ranpo's character Akechi Kogoro. *The anime and manga '' Bungo Stray Dogs'' has a character named Edogawa Ranpo, who is incredibly talented at solving crimes the police have trouble with and other mysteries. He claims to have a skill called "Super Deduction", but in reality, he is one of the few members of the Armed Detective Agency ''not'' to have a special ability. *The last two episodes (10 and 11) of the 2013
Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially b ...
(フジテレビ)series, ''
Biblia Koshodō no Jiken Techō is a Japanese television drama that aired on Fuji Television Monday nights at 9 pm from January 14 to March 25, 2013. It is based on a light novel series by En Mikami, which also inspired a manga in '' Altima Ace'', later moved to '' Monthly Asuka ...
'' (ビブリア古書堂の事件手帖 Antiquarian Bookseller Biblia’s Case Files), are constructed around two Edogawa Ranpo works, ''Boys Detective Club'' and ''The Man Traveling with the Brocade Portrait'' (translated as “The Traveler with the Pasted Rag Picture”). *The online game ''Bungou to Alchemist'' featured Ranpo as one of the writers the player can get. In the game, he is portrayed as an eccentric man who hates mainstream things and enjoys creating new tricks, non-malicious pranks, and ways to defeat the enemy. *The 2015 anime '' Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace'' was inspired by the works of Edogawa and commemorates the 50th anniversary of his death. *The 2016 anime " Trickster: From Edogawa Ranpo's "The Boy Detectives Club" takes Ranpo's characters and sets them in the 2030s. An unusual twist is that Kobayashi is not a boy detective, but instead a character with a supernatural power that keeps him from being killed or dying - but that also keeps him isolated and longing for death. *The Japanese heavy metal band
Ningen Isu is a Japanese heavy metal band formed in Hirosaki in 1987. The band's current line-up consists of co-founders Shinji Wajima (guitar, vocals) and Ken-ichi Suzuki (bass, vocals) alongside Nobu Nakajima (drums, vocals), who joined in 2004. All thre ...
is named after the
short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
of the same name. *The 2021 video game
Lost Judgment ''Lost Judgment'' is an action-adventure The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems f ...
features a 'detective dog' named after the author. In the game, Ranpo is an intelligent
Shiba Inu The is a breed of hunting dog from Japan. A small-to-medium breed, it is the smallest of the six original and distinct spitz breeds of dog native to Japan. Its name literally translates to "firewood dog". A small, alert, and agile dog that c ...
who finds clues by smell.


See also

*
Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japanes ...
*
Japanese detective fiction , is a popular genre of Japanese literature. History Name When Western detective fiction spread to Japan, it created a new genre called detective fiction () in Japanese literature. After World War II the genre was renamed deductive reasoning fi ...
*
Japanese horror Japanese horror is horror fiction derived from popular culture in Japan, generally noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre differing from the traditional Western representation of horror. Japanese horror tends ...
*
Mystery Writers of Japan is an organization for mystery writers in Japan. The organization was founded on 21 June 1947 by Edogawa Rampo. It is currently chaired by Bin Konno and claims about 600 members. It presents the Mystery Writers of Japan Award to writers every yea ...
*
Edogawa Rampo Prize The , named after Edogawa Rampo, is a Japanese literary award which has been presented every year by the Mystery Writers of Japan since 1955.Fukue, Nastuko,Literary awards run spectrum, ''Japan Times'', 14 February 2012, p. 3. Though its name is si ...
*
Detective Conan ''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective fiction, detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' ...


References


Secondary sources

*
Leigh Blackmore Leigh (David) Blackmore (born 1959) is an Australian horror writer, critic, editor, occultist, musician and proponent of post-left anarchy. He was the Australian representative for the Horror Writers of America (1994–95) and served as the se ...
"Edogawa Rampo and The Red Chamber". Essay (liner notes) in Edogawa Rampo, ''The Red Chamber'', vinyl LP, Cadabra Records (2022). * Angles, Jeffrey (2011), ''Writing the Love of Boys: Origins of Bishōnen Culture in Modernist Japanese Literature.'' Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. . * Jacobowitz, Seth (2008), Introduction to ''The Edogawa Rampo Reader.'' Fukuoka: Kurodahan Press. . * Kawana, Sari (2008), ''Murder Most Modern: Detective Fiction and Japanese Culture.'' Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. . * Silver, Mark (2008), ''Purloined Letters: Cultural Borrowing and Japanese Crime Literature, 1868-1937.'' Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. .


External links


Edogawa Ranpo
at
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and f ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edogawa, Ranpo 1894 births 1965 deaths Japanese literary critics Japanese mystery writers Detective fiction writers Japanese crime fiction writers 20th-century Japanese novelists Mystery Writers of Japan Award winners Writers from Mie Prefecture Edgar Allan Poe Weird fiction writers 19th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers