is a Japanese novelist born in

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...

, Japan.

Biography

Best known for his humorous mysteries, Akagawa's first short story, "Ghost Train", was published in 1976 and went on to win the annually granted All Yomimono New Mystery Writers' Prize by

Bungeishunjū is a Japanese publishing company known for its leading monthly magazine '' Bungeishunjū''. The company was founded by Kan Kikuchi in 1923. It grants the annual Akutagawa Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Japan, as well a ...

, a Japanese literary publishing company. Other works of his, and , were later made into

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

, while was made into a popular live action movie. His most recognized works to date pertain to his Mike-neko (or

Calico cat A calico cat is a domestic cat of any breed with a tri-color coat. The calico cat is most commonly thought of as being 25% to 75% white with large orange and black patches; however, they may have other colors in their patterns. Calico cats are a ...

) Holmes series. He is extremely prolific; as of 2013, he had written more than 560 novels in the course of his thirty-year career, over 300 million individual published volumes.

Works in English translation

;Mystery novel * '' Three Sisters Investigate'' (original title: ''San Shimai Tanteidan''), trans. Gavin Frew (

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

International, Kodansha English Library, 1985) ;Short story collection * '' Midnight Suite'' (original title: ''Mayonaka no tame no Kumikyoku''), trans. Gavin Frew (Kodansha International, Kodansha English Library, 1984) ** ** ** ** ** ;Short story * Beat Your Neighbor Out of Doors (''

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' is a bi-monthly American digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction, and mystery fiction. Launched in fall 1941 by Mercury Press, ''EQMM'' is named after the fic ...

'', March 1992) ;Essay * ''My Favourite Mystery, "

And Then There Were None ''And Then There Were None'' is a mystery fiction, mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, who described it as the most difficult of her books to write. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 N ...

" by

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

'' ( Mystery Writers of Japan, Inc.br>

Awards and nominations

* 1976 – All Yomimono New Mystery Writers' Prize (for unpublished short stories): "Ghost Train" (short story) * 1979 – Nominee for

Mystery Writers of Japan Award The are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of Japan. They honor the best in crime fiction and critical/biographical work published in the previous year. MWJ Award for Best Novel winners (1948–1951, 1976–present) MWJ Award for Be ...

for Best Novel: ''Himatsubushi no Satsujin'' * 1979 – Nominee for

for Best Short Story: "Zennin Mura no Mura Matsuri" * 1980 – Kadokawa Novel Prize: ''Akusai ni Sasageru Rekuiemu'' (novel) * 1980 – Nominee for Naoki Prize: "Uwayaku no Inai Getsuyobi", "Kinshu no Hi" and "Toho Jugo fun" (three short stories) * 1980 – Nominee for Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Writers: ''Mike-neko Homuzu no Kaidan'' (novel) * 1982 – Nominee for

for Best Short Story: "Kaidan" * 2006 – Japan Mystery Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement

Main works

Calico Cat Holmes

*Novels *#, 1978 *#, 1979 *#, 1980 *#, 1981 *#, 1981 *#, 1982 *#, 1983 *#, 1985 *#, 1986 *#, 1987 *#, 1988 *#, 1990 *#, 1990 *#, 1991 *#, 1991 *#, 1992 *#, 1993 *#, 1994 *#, 1995 *#, 1995 *#, 1996 *#, 1997 *#, 1998 *#, 2000 *#, 2001 *#, 2002 *#, 2003 *#, 2005 *#, 2006 *#, 2007 *#, 2008 *#, 2009 *#, 2011 *#, 2012 *#, 2013 *Short story collections *#, 1983 *#, 1984 *#, 1984 *#, 1986 *#, 1988 *#, 1989 *#, 1992 *#, 1993 *#, 1996 *#, 1997 *#, 1998 *#, 1999 *#, 2002 *#, 2009

Three Sisters Investigate

* Novels *#, 1982 (English translation: '' Three Sisters Investigate''.

International, Kodansha English Library. 1985) *#, 1985 *#, 1986 *#, 1987 *#, 1988 *#, 1989 *#, 1990 *#, 1991 *#, 1992 *#, 1993 *#, 1994 *#, 1995 *#, 1996 *#, 1997 *#, 1998 *#, 1999 *#, 2000 *#, 2002 *#, 2003 *#, 2005 *#, 2007 *#, 2011 *#, 2013

Hayakawa family series

*Novels *#, 1978 (French translation: ''Meurtres pour tuer le temps''. Philippe Picquier Publishing. , ) *#, 1987 *#, 2000

Standalone novels

* , 1978 * , 1981 (French translation: ''Le piège de la marionnette''. Philippe Picquier Publishing. , )

Film adaptations

* '' Sailor Suit and Machine Gun'' (1981) * ''

Detective Story Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

'' (1983) * '' Early Spring Story'' (1985) * '' Who Do I Choose?'' (1989) * '' Chizuko's Younger Sister'' (1991)

TV drama adaptations

* Mike-Neko Holmes Series (1979 - 1984)
Mike-Neko Holmes no Suiri
(2012)

Video game adaptations

; Majotachi no Nemuri Based on Akagawa's two thriller novels ''Majotachi no Tasogare'' and ''Majotachi no Nagai Nemuri''. * ''Akagawa Jirō: Majotachi no Nemuri'' (

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...

– 1995) * ''Akagawa Jirō: Majotachi no Nemuri: Fukkatsusai'' (PlayStation – 1999) * ''Akagawa Jirō: Majotachi no Nemuri: Kanzenban'' ( PC – 2001) ;Yasōkyoku * ''Akagawa Jirō: Yasōkyoku'' (

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

– 1998) (based on Akagawa's short story collection ''Satsujin o Yonda Hon'') * ''Akagawa Jirō: Yasōkyoku 2'' (PlayStation – 2001) * ''Akagawa Jirō Mystery: Yasōkyoku – Hon ni Manekareta Satsujin'' (

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

– 2008) ;Others * ''Akagawa Jirō no Yurei Ressha'' (

Family Computer The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the U ...

– 1991) (based on Akagawa's short story "Ghost Train") * ''Tsuki no Hikari: Shizumeru Kane no Satsujin'' (

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

– 2002) (based on Akagawa's novel ''Shizumeru Kane no Satsujin'') * ''Akagawa Jirō Mystery: Tsuki no Hikari'' (Nintendo DS – 2008) (based on Akagawa's novel ''Shizumeru Kane no Satsujin'') ;Unique Games * ''Emit Vol. 1: Toki no Maigo'' (Scenario writing by Akagawa Jirō. Also bundled in the '' Emit Value Pack'' compilation) * ''Emit Vol. 2: Inochigake no Tabi'' (Scenario writing by Akagawa Jirō. Also bundled in the '' Emit Value Pack'' compilation) * ''Emit Vol. 3: Watashi ni Sayonara o'' (Scenario writing by Akagawa Jirō. Also bundled in the '' Emit Value Pack'' compilation)

References

J'Lit , Authors : Jiro Akagawa , Books from Japan

at

GameFAQs GameFAQs is a video gaming website that hosts guides and other resources, as well as an active Internet forum, message board forum. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and has been owned by Fandom (website), Fandom, Inc. since October ...

''Akagawa Jirō no Yūrei Ressha''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

''Akagawa Jirou Majotachi no Nemuri'' (Super Famicom)
at Superfamicom.org
''Akagawa Jirō Mystery: Tsuki no Hikari – Shizumeru Kane no Satsujin''
at

''Tsuki no Hikari: Shizumeru Kane no Satsujin''
at

Gamefaqs GameFAQs is a video gaming website that hosts guides and other resources, as well as an active Internet forum, message board forum. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and has been owned by Fandom (website), Fandom, Inc. since October ...

''Emit'' series
at vndb.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Akagawa, Jiro 1948 births Living people 20th-century Japanese novelists 21st-century Japanese novelists Japanese male short story writers Japanese mystery writers Japanese horror writers Writers of young adult literature Writers from Fukuoka (city) 20th-century Japanese short story writers 21st-century Japanese short story writers 20th-century Japanese male writers 21st-century Japanese male writers