is a Japanese writer of mystery novels and historical fiction as well as a historical researcher. He was formerly a news reporter for TBS and since April 2012 has worked as a visiting professor at

Shuchiin University is a private university in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea ...

Career and writings

Motohiko Izawa graduated from Chitose Tokyo Metropolitan High School, now Roka Tokyo Metropolitan High School, and from the faculty of law 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 ...

. While he was in university his story ''Tōsaku no Hōfuku'' ("Retaliation for Perversion") was a candidate for 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 ...

. After graduation he joined TBS as a news reporter. In 1980, at the time he was working at the politics section of the news bureau, his novel ''Sarumaru Genshi-ko'' ("Illusionary Travel Around Sarumaru") won the 26th Edogawa Rampo Prize. ''Sarumaru Genshi-ko'' is a both detective fiction and a historical novel in which the protagonist mentally travels in time under the influence of medications and, in a science-fiction style twist, amalgamates with the mind of

Shinobu Orikuchi , also known as , was a Japanese ethnologist, linguist, folklorist, novelist, and poet. As a disciple of Kunio Yanagita, he established an original academic field named , which is a mixture of Japanese folklore, Japanese classics, and Shintō. He ...

and solves crimes in Orikuchi's time as well as unravelling the mystery of the

Heian-era The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

iroha The is a Japanese poem. Originally the poem was attributed to the founder of the Shingon Esoteric sect of Buddhism in Japan, Kūkai, but more modern research has found the date of composition to be later in the Heian period (794–1179). The f ...

and the relationship of the poets Sarumaru no Taifu and

Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (柿本人麻呂 or 柿本人麿; – ) was a Japanese ''waka'' poet and aristocrat of the late Asuka period. He was the most prominent of the poets included in the ''Man'yōshū'', the oldest ''waka'' anthology, but ap ...

. In 1985 Izawa left TBS to become a full-time writer. Most of Izawa's novels are on the plane of what he calls historical mysteries, in which he ties modern-day murders into his detective fiction while taking the mysteries of history as his themes. In addition, he also works on pure historical fiction, and he develops his own unique theories on history, particularly since 1992 in the successive instalments of his popular series of non-fiction history books, ''Gyakusetsu no Nihonshi'' ("Paradoxical Japanese History"). In his early days he also wrote

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

and the novelization of the

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

game

Dragon Buster is a platform, action role-playing dungeon crawl game developed by Namco and released in 1984. It runs on Namco Pac-Land hardware, modified to support vertical scrolling. In Japan, the game was ported to the Family Computer (Famicom), MSX, an ...

. Recently he has turned his attention outside of Japanese history and has released books such as a series of “intensive courses” on the religions of Buddhism, Shintoism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Views on Japanese history

Izawa has a strong command of diverse historical materials and treats the society and history of Japan from an original point of view. He sees as the animating undercurrents of Japan the unconscious faith of the Japanese people in

kotodama refers to the Japanese belief that mystical powers dwell in words and names. English translations include "soul of language", "spirit of language", "power of language", "power word", "magic word", and "sacred sound". The notion of ''kotodama'' ...

, onryo,

kegare is the Japanese term for a state of pollution and defilement, important particularly in Shinto as a religious term. Typical causes of ''kegare'' are the contact with any form of death, childbirth (for both parents), disease, and menstruation, an ...

, and wa, or harmony. Izawa thinks highly of and has been heavily influenced by Shunshin Chin and Takeshi Umehara. He reveres Umehara, a pioneer of the view that Japanese history has been shaped by the fear of onryo, as being “someone who is like a beloved teacher to me”. The theories about Kakinomoto no Hitomaro's life espoused in his book ''Sarumaru Genshi-ko'' are taken from Umehara's ''Minasoko no Uta''. His style of writing history takes into account his thorough dissection and criticism of “the three great flaws of the study of history”, which include the “authoritarianism” of professional historical societies, an excessively empirical reliance on historical documents as opposed to the unsaid or unconscious factors of history, and the ignoring or belittling of mystical and religious aspects. He is vocal about problems with the way Japanese people perceive their history centering on

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 ...

and frequently contributes articles on the subject to journals of opinion such as the biweekly magazine SAPIO. He is critical of the stance of the mass media towards history including the

Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...

which he blasted in a book co-written with

Yoshinori Kobayashi is a Japanese manga artist known for his controversial political commentary manga '' Gōmanism Sengen''. Life A student of French literature from Fukuoka University, Kobayashi published his first manga, ''Tōdai Itchokusen'' (東大一直 ...

. Izawa is affiliated with the

Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform The is a group founded in December 1996 to promote a nationalistic view of the history of Japan. Productions and views The group was responsible for authoring a history textbook published from Fusōsha (扶桑社), which was heavily criticised ...

and is an active denier of the

Nanjing massacre The Nanjing Massacre (, ja, 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the Ba ...

. As a member of this society, his books were among those owned by Nishi Library in

Funabashi is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 644,668 in 309,238 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . It is the Greater Tokyo Area's 7th most populated city (after p ...

which were destroyed in 2001 by the librarians. In 2005 the Supreme Court ordered the library to pay compensation for the loss.

Criticism

After the Chuo Gishi Kai, a group dedicated to studying the

47 ronin 47, 47 or forty-seven may refer to: *47 (number) *47 BC * AD 47 *1947 * 2047 *'47 (brand), an American clothing brand * ''47'' (magazine), an American publication * 47 (song), a song by Sidhu Moose Wala *47, a song by New Found Glory from the alb ...

, wrote a detailed and scathing criticism of one volume in his ''Gyakusetsu no Nihonshi'' subtitled “The Mystery of Chushingura”, it became clear that Izawa was not at all able to read old Japanese documents. The late historian Eiichi Matsushima who was a professor at Waseda University criticized him on this matter and at one point Izawa changed his views, though he retracted his change of heart after Matsushima's death. In a 12 December 2007 column for the magazine SAPIO he attacked

Kenzaburō Ōe is a Japanese writer and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His novels, short stories and essays, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issues, i ...

’s 1970 essay Okinawa Note but when quoting similar criticism by

Ayako Sono is a Japanese writer. Life She went to the Catholic Sacred Heart School in Tokyo after elementary school. During World War II, she evacuated to Kanazawa. After writing for the fanzines ''La Mancha'' and ''Shin-Shicho'' (新思潮: "New Thought" ...

from a 28 November column in the same magazine he conspicuously fixated on Sono’s infamous misreading by swapping her use of ''kyokai'' (巨魁 meaning ringleader) with the correct ''kyokai'' (巨塊 meaning colossal mass).

TV appearances

He has made appearances on many television programs including "

Takajin , often referred to as simply , (5 October 1949 – 3 January 2014) was a Japanese singer and television personality. Born in Nishinari-ku, Osaka, Japan, to a Zainichi-issei Korean father Gonzaburou ( ) and a Japanese mother Mitsuko Yashiki ( ja, ...

no Sokomade Itte Iinkai" and "Wake up!" on

Yomiuri TV JOIX-DTV (channel 10), branded as , is the Kansai region flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned by the subsidiary of the eponymous Yomiuri Shimbun#Yomiuri Group, Yomi ...

and "

Koko ga Hen da yo Nihonjin was a Japanese TV show that was broadcast weekly from 1998 to 2002 on TBS. It consisted of two panels: One was a group of Japanese celebrities notably consisting of Takeshi Kitano, Konishiki, Rui Ramos and Terry Ito. The other panel was a pool ...

" on TBS, and is the Monday commentator on "Yoshida Terumi Soko daiji na Koto" on NCB. He has also served as a regular commentator on the TV show “Historical Discoveries” on

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestri ...

. In recent years his TV appearances in Tokyo have been scarce but he continues to appear in

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

, including several times on "Be-bop High Heel" on

Asahi TV JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...

. He even appeared on " Hikari Ota's If I Were Prime Minister... Secretary Tanaka" in which he analyzed the Japanese people's religious outlook and belief in

and a lively debate ensued based on his cherished theories.

Other views and activities

He advocates democratic fundamentals in both Japanese society and politics. In January 2012 he went to work at the headquarters of the Chūkyō Dokuritsu Senryaku Honbu which seeks to abolish

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...

and elevate Nagoya to metropolis-level status as Tokyo already is. He expressed his sympathy to Koichi Kato when his home was burned down and on the occasion argued for a reappraisal of his political record. In 2010 Izawa also worked on a committee to commemorate the 1300th anniversary of the moving of the Japanese capital to Heijo-kyo. He loves baseball and partly because of his Nagoya origins, he is also a fan of the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...

Works

Sole author

*猿丸幻視行講談社、1980　のち文庫 *本廟寺焼亡講談社 1981 のち文庫 *復活一九八五角川ノベルズ 1982　「邪神復活」文庫 *六歌仙暗殺考講談社ノベルス 1982　のち文庫 *修道士の首織田信長推理帳講談社ノベルス 1983　のち文庫 *トラップアンドエラー光風社出版 1983　「葬られた遺書」光文社文庫 *殺人ドライブ・ロード徳間ノベルス 1983 のち文庫　 *悪魔の復活角川ノベルズ 1984 のち文庫　 *陰画の構図双葉ノベルス 1984　のち文庫 *ダビデの星の暗号探偵は芥川龍之介講談社ノベルス　1985　のち文庫、角川文庫　　 *五つの首織田信長推理帳講談社ノベルス 1985　のち文庫　 *光と影の武蔵切支丹秘録実業之日本社 1985 (Joy novels) のち角川文庫、講談社文庫　　 *復活計画No3 角川ノベルズ 1985 のち文庫、「迷宮決戦」ハルキ文庫 *義経幻殺録講談社 1986　のち文庫、角川文庫　　 *叛逆王ユニカ角川文庫 1986 のちハルキ文庫　 *欲の無い犯罪者光風社出版 1986 のち講談社文庫 *暗鬼秀吉と家康の推理と苦悩光風社出版 1987　のち新潮文庫 *ドラゴンバスター角川文庫 1987 *パレスタ奪回作戦叛逆王ユニカ2 角川文庫 1987　のちハルキ文庫　 *死にたくなかった女たち双葉ノベルス 1987　のち文庫 *忠臣蔵元禄十五年の反逆新潮社 1988 (新潮ミステリー倶楽部) のち文庫　 *芭蕉魔星陣角川ノベルズ 1988　のち文庫、講談社文庫　　 *信濃戦雲録第1－4巻集英社 1988－89 のち改題「野望」祥伝社文庫　　 *邪悪のアーク角川ノベルズ 1988　「アーク殲滅」ハルキ文庫　 *マダム・ロスタンの伝言永源寺峻のミステリ・ファイル実業之日本社 1988 のち集英社文庫　 *義経はここにいる講談社 1989　のち文庫、徳間文庫 *隠された帝天智天皇暗殺事件祥伝社 1990 *七つの迷路井沢元彦ミステリーワールド阿部出版 1990　のち広済堂文庫 *降魔の帝王双葉社 1991　のち文庫　 *卑弥呼伝説地に降りた神々実業之日本社 1991　のち集英社文庫　 *信玄の呪縛天山出版 1991　のち角川文庫　 *葉隠三百年の陰謀徳間書店 1991　のち文庫 *言霊 1－2　祥伝社 1991－97　のち黄金文庫]　　 *恨の法廷日本経済新聞社 1991　のち徳間文庫 *謀略の首織田信長推理帳講談社 1992　のち講談社文庫　 *天正十二年のクローディアス井沢元彦自選歴史ミステリー集有学書林 1992　のち小学館文庫 *天皇になろうとした将軍それからの太平記/ 足利義満のミステリー小学館 1992　のち文庫　 *「言霊の国」解体新書小学館 1993　のち文庫　 *洛陽城の栄光信長秘録世界文化社 1993　のち幻冬舎文庫　 *銀魔伝　1－2 中央公論社 1993－94 のち文庫 *井沢元彦の世界宗教講座「生き方」の原理がなぜ異なるのか徳間書店 1993　のち文庫、「世界の［宗教と戦争］講座」改題文庫　 *逆説の日本史 1－17 小学館 1993‐　のち文庫、『週刊ポスト』連載中 *神霊の国日本禁断の日本史ベストセラーズ 1994　のちワニ文庫　 *黎明の叛逆者秋田書店 1994　「日本史の叛逆者私説・壬申の乱」角川文庫 *顔の無い神々スコラ 1994　のちハルキ文庫　 *穢れと茶碗日本人は、なぜ軍隊が嫌いか祥伝社 1994　のち文庫　 *覇者　信濃戦雲録第2部祥伝社 1995　のち文庫　 *歴史謎物語隠された真相を推理する広済堂出版 1995　のち文庫　 *歴史if物語何を問題として読むか広済堂出版 1995 のち文庫　 *GEN 『源氏物語』秘録角川書店 1995　のち文庫「源氏物語はなぜ書かれたのか」 *日本史再検討　1－3 世界文化社 1995－99 のち「神霊の国日本」ワニ文庫「誰が歴史を歪めたか」「誰が歴史を糺すのか」黄金文庫 *虚報の構造オオカミ少年の系譜朝日ジャーナリズムに異議あり小学館 1995 *小説「日本」人民共和国光文社 1996　のち文庫　 *だからミステリーは面白い対論集集英社文庫 1996 *歴史の森の影法師有學書林 1996　「歴史の嘘と真実」祥伝社 *日本を殺す気か! 国を壊死させる官僚の論理祥伝社 1996 (Non book)のち黄金文庫　 *魔鏡の女王読売新聞社 1996 のち集英社文庫　 *日本再発見古寺探訪ガイド角川mini文庫 1997 *歴史不思議物語日本史の闇を照射する廣済堂出版 1997 *死ぬまでの僅かな時間双葉社 1998　のち文庫　 *織田信長伝シミュレーション戦記覇望の日本編光栄 1998 「日本史の叛逆者」角川文庫　 *日本史漫遊桜桃書房 1999　「激論歴史の嘘と真実」黄金文庫、原題で小学館文庫　　 *憂国の世紀末中央公論新社 1999　 *平家物語の怪能で読み解く源平盛衰記世界文化社 1999 *一千年の陰謀平将門の呪縛角川書店 1999　のち文庫　 *「言霊の国」の掟日本社会のここがおかしい。徳間書店 2000　のち文庫　 *逆説のニッポン歴史観日本をダメにした「戦後民主主義」の正体小学館 2000　のち文庫　 *なぜ、日本では誰でも総理になれるのか!?　日本人の素朴な疑問　祥伝社、2001　 *井沢元彦の未来講座言霊社会とサイエンス徳間書店 2001 *歴史「再発見」物語意外な実相を読み解く　広済堂出版、2002　のち文庫　 *宮本武蔵・最強伝説の真実歴史よもやま話日本放送出版協会 2002　のち小学館文庫　 *知の潮流桜桃書房、2002　 *いつから日本の"水と安全"はタダでなくなったのか　日本人の素朴な疑問　祥伝社、2002　 *「拉致」事件と日本人　なぜ、長期間黙殺されたのか祥伝社、2003　 *なぜ中国人、韓国人に媚びるのか新・逆説のニッポン歴史観小学館 2003 *日本人の心をとらえる3の霊力に迫る旅行読売出版社 2003 *虚報の構造オオカミ少年の系譜朝日ジャーナリズムに異議あり　小学館文庫　2003　 *攘夷と護憲歴史比較の日本原論　徳間書店、2004　のち文庫　　 *日本史集中講義点と点が線になる祥伝社 2004　のち黄金文庫　 *英傑の日本史　新撰組・幕末編　角川書店、2004　のち文庫　 *ユダヤ・キリスト・イスラム集中講座徳間書店、2004　のち文庫　 *井沢元彦の英雄の世界史　広済堂出版、2004　のち文庫　 *「反日」日本人の正体 (小学館, 2004) *名城発見戦国武将たちの知られざる城盗り物語ベストセラーズ 2005　「封印された戦国名城史」ワニ文庫 *逆説のアジア史紀行小学館、2005 *検証もうひとつの武将列伝　実業之日本社、2005 「真説「日本武将列伝」」小学館文庫 *仏教・神道・儒教集中講座　日本人だからかえって知らない　徳間書店、2005　のち文庫　 *古寺歩きのツボ　仏像・建築・庭園を味わう角川oneテーマ21 2005 *英傑の日本史源平争乱編角川学芸出版 2006　のち文庫 *井沢式「日本史入門」講座 1－5　徳間書店 2006－08 のち文庫　 *英傑の日本史信長・秀吉・家康編角川学芸出版 2006　のち文庫　 *封印された日本史ベストセラーズ 2007 *英傑の日本史風林火山編角川学芸出版 2007 のち文庫　 *中国　地球人類の難題小学館 2007 *六点鐘は二度鳴る小学館文庫 2008 *英傑の日本史上杉越後軍団編角川学芸出版 2008 *怨霊と鎮魂の日本芸能史檜書店 2008 *新・井沢式日本史集中講座 1192(いいくに)作ろう鎌倉幕府編徳間書店 2009 *井沢元彦の戦乱の日本史小学館, 2009.12. *英傑の日本史激闘織田軍団編角川学芸出版 2009.8 *「常識」の日本史歴史の嘘と真実を見抜く PHPエディターズ・グループ 2009.7. *井沢式新ニッポン風土記旅行読売出版社, 2010.3. *英傑の日本史坂本龍馬編角川学芸出版 2010.5. *新・井沢式日本史集中講座「鎌倉新仏教」編徳間書店, 2010.1. *新・井沢式日本史集中講座「鎌倉幕府の崩壊」編 (国家を揺るがした後醍醐天皇の野望) 徳間書店, 2010.6. *人類を幸せにする国・日本 2010.11. 祥伝社新書 *井沢元彦の学校では教えてくれない日本史の授業 PHPエディターズ・グループ 2011.2 *英傑の日本史浅井三姉妹編角川学芸出版 2011.10 *小説友情無限孫文を支えた日本男児　角川書店 2011.9.

As a co-author

*（樋口清之）神道からみたこの国の心日本人の「内なる原理」を明かす徳間書店 1995　のち文庫 *（考古の森研究会）『縄文都市国家の謎古代史大推理驚異の「三内丸山遺跡」全解読』共編著スコラ 1995 *（中津文彦・高橋克彦）『歴史ミステリー講座』新人物往来社 1997 『歴史ミステリー作家養成講座』祥伝社文庫 *（小林よしのり）『朝日新聞の正義逆説の(新)ゴーマニズム宣言』小学館 1998 *（小林惠子）『記紀』史学への挑戦状現代思潮社 1998 *（藤岡信勝）『NOといえる教科書真実の日韓関係史』祥伝社 1998 *（古森義久・稲垣武）『朝日新聞の大研究』扶桑社 2002）のち文庫 *（金文学）『逆検定中国国定教科書中国人に教えてあげたい本当の中国史』祥伝社 2005　のち黄金文庫　 *（呉善花）『やっかいな隣人韓国の正体なぜ「反日」なのに、日本に憧れるのか』祥伝社 2006 *（波多野秀行漫画）『そして中国の崩壊が始まる』飛鳥新社 2006 (マンガ入門シリーズ) 「マンガ中国崩壊」ゴマ文庫 *天地人の戦国乱世名将・智将の時代火坂雅志共著ベストセラーズ, 2009.4. ワニ文庫 *朝鮮学校「歴史教科書」を読む萩原遼共著 2011.11.祥伝社新書

References

External links

Motohiko Izawa’s Study – official website and e-mail newsletter

{{DEFAULTSORT:Izawa, Motohiko 20th-century Japanese novelists 21st-century Japanese novelists Japanese mystery writers Edogawa Rampo Prize winners Nanjing Massacre deniers Japanese anti-communists People from Nagoya 1954 births Living people Waseda University alumni