is a Japanese writer of

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

and

thrillers Thriller is a genre of fiction, having numerous, often overlapping subgenres. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. Suc ...

. She is a member of 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 ...

and the

Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan is a Japan-based organization for mystery writers who write ''honkaku'' (i.e. authentic, orthodox) mystery. The organization was founded on 3 November 2000 by Yukito Ayatsuji, Natsuhiko Kyogoku, Hiroko Minagawa, Kaoru Kitamura, Tetsuya Ayukawa ...

. She is a 2015 recipient of the

Alex Awards The Alex Awards annually recognize "ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults ages 12 through 18". Essentially, the award is a listing by the American Library Association parallel to its annual Best Books for Young A ...

Life

She started writing in her thirties. Her first novel '' Confessions'' became a bestseller and won the Japanese Booksellers Award. In youth she was an avid fan of mystery novels of

Edogawa Ranpo , better known by the pen name was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery and thriller fiction. Many of his novels involve the detective hero Kogoro Akechi, who in later books was the le ...

Maurice Leblanc Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc (; ; 11 December 1864 – 6 November 1941) was a French novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsène Lupin, often described as a French c ...

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

Keigo Higashino is a Japanese author chiefly known for his mystery novels. He served as the 13th President of Mystery Writers of Japan from 2009 to 2013. Higashino has won major Japanese awards for his books, almost twenty of which have been turned into films an ...

Miyuki Miyabe is a Japanese writer of genre fiction. She has won numerous Japanese literary awards, including the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Writers, the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for Literature, the Shiba Ryotaro Prize, the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize, and the Na ...

and

Yukito Ayatsuji , who writes under his pen name , is a Japanese writer of mystery and horror. He is one of the founders of Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan and one of the representative writers of the new traditionalist movement in Japanese mystery writing ...

. She has been described in Japan as "the queen of ''iyamisu''." ''Iyamisu'' (eww mystery) is a subgenre of mystery fiction which deals with grisly episodes and the dark side of human nature. The term was created in 2006 by the mystery critic Aoi Shimotsuki. There has been an ''iyamisu'' boom in Japan since around 2012. Kanae Minato,

Mahokaru Numata is a Japanese crime fiction and horror writer. There has been an iyamisu (eww mystery) boom in Japan since around 2012. Iyamisu (eww mystery) is a subgenre of mystery fiction which deals with grisly episodes and the dark side of human nature. R ...

and Yukiko Mari are regarded as representatives of the genre in Japan. The back cover blurb of the Japanese edition of '' Gone Girl'', published in June 2013, was "One of the best ''iyamisu'' novels from overseas." The English edition of Minato's ''Confessions'', published in August 2014, was described by a critic as "the ''Gone Girl'' of Japan." ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' selected ''Confessions'' as one of the 10 best mysteries of 2014.

Works in English translation

*'' Confessions'' (original title: ''Kokuhaku''), trans. ''Stephen Snyder'' (

Mulholland Books Mulholland Books (US) is an imprint of Little, Brown and Company, a division of the Hachette Book Group. It specializes in publishing mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels. History Little, Brown and Company announced the creation of Mulholl ...

, 2014) , *''Penance'' (original title: ''Shokuzai''), trans. ''Philip Gabriel'' (

, 2017) ,

Awards and nominations

;Japanese Awards * 2007 – Shosetsu Suiri New Writers Prize: "The Saint" (The first chapter of her novel ''Confessions'') * 2009 – Japanese Booksellers Award: ''Confessions'' * 2012 –

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 Best ...

for Best Short Story: "Umi no Hoshi" ;U.S. Awards * 2015 –

Alex Award The Alex Awards annually recognize "ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults ages 12 through 18". Essentially, the award is a listing by the American Library Association parallel to its annual Best Books for Young A ...

: ''Confessions'' * 2015 – Nominee for Strand Critics Award for Best First Novel: ''Confessions'' * 2015 – Nominee for

Shirley Jackson Award The Shirley Jackson Awards are literary awards named after Shirley Jackson in recognition of her legacy in writing. These awards for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and the dark fantastic are presented ...

for Best Novel: ''Confessions''

Bibliography

Standalone novels

* , 2008 (''Confessions'') * , 2009 (''Girls'') * , 2009 (''Expiation'') * , 2010 (''For N'') * , 2010 (''The Night Ferris Wheel'') * , 2011 (''The Chain of Flowers'') * , 2011 (''Circumstances'') * , 2012 (''The Snow White Murder Case'') * , 2012 (''Motherhood'') * , 2013 (''An Entrance Examination for a High School'') * , 2014 (''Sleep on a Bean'') * , 2014 (''Mountain Woman Diary'') * , 2014 (''The End of the Story'') * , 2015 *, 2015 (Reverse) *, 2015 *, 2018 (Future) *, 2018 *, 2019 (Sunset) *, 2020 (Fragment)

Short story collections

* , 2010 (''Round Trip Letter'') * , 2012 (''Sapphire'') * , 2013 (''Thoughts of Home'') *, 2016

TV and film adaptations

;Japanese films * '' Confessions'' (2010) * ''Kita no Kanaria tachi'' (2012) (Based on her short story Niju nen go no Shukudai 二十年後の宿題) * ''

The Snow White Murder Case is a 2014 Japanese mystery thriller film directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura. Plot Yuji Akahoshi (Gou Ayano) receives a phone call from an old high school friend, Risako Kano (Misako Renbutsu). She tells him that her co-worker at a cosmetics company ...

'' (''Shirayukihime Satsujin Jiken'') (2014) * ''

Night's Tightrope ''Night's Tightrope'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese film directed by Yukiko Mishima, based on author Kanae Minato's novel of the same name. The theme song was written and performed specifically for the film by the rock band Glim Spanky at ...

'' (''Shōjo'') (2016) * ''Bokyo'' (Based on her short story “夢の国 Yume no Kuni” Dreamland and “光の航 Hikari no koro” Light Route)(2017) * ''Motherhood'' (2022) ;Japanese TV Movies and Series * ''Kyōgū (TV Movie)'' (2011) * ''

Penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox s ...

'' (2012) (''Shokuzai'') * ''Kōkō Nyūshi (TV Series)'' (2012) * ''Yakō Kanransha (TV Series)'' (2013) * ''Hana no Kusari (TV Movie)'' (2013) * ''N no Tame ni (TV Series)'' (2014) * Josei Sakka Mysteries Utsukushiki Mitsu no Uso (TV Movie 女性作家ミステリーズ美しき三つの嘘 Only Episode 1 Based on her short story “Moonstone” from short story “Sapphire”) (2016) * Bokyo TV Movie Special (Based on her short story “みかんの花 Mikan no hana” Orange Flowers, “海の星 Umi no hoshi” Sea Stars and “雲の糸 Kumo no ito” Cloud Thread)(2016) * Ōfuku shokan ~ Junen go-nen-go no hōshu (TV Movie Based on her short story 往復書簡～十五年後の補習) (2016) * Yamaonna Nikki ~ Onnatachi wa itadaki wo mezashite (TV Series 山女日記～女たちは頂きを目指して～) (2016) * ''Reverse (TV Series) '' (2017) * Poison Daughter Holy Mother (TV Series) (2019) * ''

Lupin the 3rd Part 6 is a Japanese anime television series produced at TMS Entertainment, directed by Eiji Suganuma, and written by Takahiro Ōkura and Shigeru Murakoshi. Part of the ''Lupin III'' franchise, it is the seventh anime television adaptation of the ' ...

'' (TV Anime Series) (2021)

References

Profile
at J'Lit Books from Japan
Profile and the synopsis of ''Confessions''
at Mulholland Books {{DEFAULTSORT:Minato, Kanae 1973 births 20th-century Japanese novelists 21st-century Japanese novelists Japanese women short story writers Japanese mystery writers Japanese crime fiction writers Mystery Writers of Japan Award winners Japanese screenwriters Women mystery writers Japanese women novelists Living people Writers from Hiroshima Prefecture 21st-century Japanese women writers 21st-century Japanese writers 20th-century Japanese women writers 20th-century Japanese short story writers 21st-century Japanese short story writers