was a Japanese novelist and historical writer. He was born February 1, 1892, in

Atsuta, Hokkaido was a List of villages in Japan, village located in Atsuta District, Hokkaido, Atsuta District, Ishikari Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. The village was situated on the west coast of Hokkaido on Route 231 between Ishikari, Hokkaido, Ishikari City ...

, and died July 19, 1968. Sometimes his name is spelled ''Kan Shimosawa'' (in ''

New Tale of Zatoichi ''The New Tale of Zatoichi'' ( ja, 新・座頭市物語 ''Shin Zatoichi monogatari'') is a 1963 Japanese film and the third entry from the popular Zatoichi series completing the trilogy. The film is the first Zatoichi film to be in colour. Plot ...

'', ''

Zatoichi the Fugitive is a 1963 Japanese Chambara film directed by Tokuzō Tanaka starring Shintaro Katsu as the blind masseur Zatoichi, originally released by the Daiei Motion Picture Company (now known as Kadokawa Pictures). ''Zatoichi: The Fugitive'' is the fourth ...

''). His real name was Umetani Matsutaro.

Works

He is the creator of several fictional works. Many of which have been adapted into movies. These include: * Shinsengumi Monogatari *1962's

Zatoichi is a fictional character created by Japanese novelist Kan Shimozawa. He is an itinerant blind masseur and swordsman of Japan's late Edo period (1830s and 1840s). He first appeared in the 1948 essay , part of Shimozawa's ''Futokoro Techō'' se ...

TV series and films *1962: ''

The Tale of Zatoichi is a 1962 Japanese '' chanbara'' film directed by Kenji Misumi and based on the 1948 essay of the same name by Kan Shimozawa. It is the first installment in a long-running '' jidaigeki'' film series starring Shintaro Katsu as the blind sword ...

'' *1962: ''

The Tale of Zatoichi Continues is a 1962 Japanese film directed by Kazuo Mori and starring Shintaro Katsu as Zatōichi the blind swordsman, a character created by Kan Shimozawa. ''The Tale of Zatoichi Continues'' is the second entry in the popular, long-running ''Zatoichi'' s ...

'' *1963: ''

'' *1963: '' Zatoichi: The Fugitive'' *1963: '' Zatoichi: On the Road'' *1970: ''Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo'' *1971: ''

Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman , also known as ''Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman'' and ''The Blind Swordsman Meets His Equal'', is a 1971 Japanese-Hong Kong '' chambara'' / ''wuxia'' crossover by Japanese film director Kimiyoshi Yasuda and Chinese film director Hsu Tse ...

'' *2003: '' Zatōichi'' *2008: ''

Ichi The International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI) is a system of classifying procedure codes being developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is currently available as a beta 3 release. The components for clinical documentat ...

Historical figures

He has written several historical figures into his works, including: *

Takeda Kanryūsai Takeda Kanryūsai (武田観柳斎, 1830 or 1834 – died June 22, 1867) was the captain of the fifth unit of the Shinsengumi, a special police Special police usually describes a police force or unit within a police force whose duties and respo ...

Yamazaki Susumu was a Shinsengumi officer and spy, otherwise known as a . He was a ''rōnin'' (masterless samurai) from Osaka and an expert in ''Katori Ryu''. In 1863, he officially joined the Shinsengumi and in 1864, Yamazaki and Shimada Kai were assigned by ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shimozawa, Kan Japanese historical novelists 1892 births 1968 deaths 20th-century novelists Writers from Hokkaido