is an organization for mystery writers in

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 of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The organization was founded on 21 June 1947 by

Edogawa Rampo , 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 ...

. It is currently chaired by Bin Konno and claims about 600 members. It presents the

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 ...

to writers every year. It also presents 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 ...

to amateur writers who has had few or no novels published commercially.

History

On 21 June 1947,

founded the , which was based in

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 ...

. In 1954, the Club merged with the , the counterpart based in

Kansai region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolita ...

, and changed its name to the . On 31 January 1963, the club changed its name to .

Awards

The MWJ presents two annual awards. * Mystery Writers of Japan Award (since 1948) ** Best Novel ** Best Short Story ** Best Critical/Biographical Work * Edogawa Rampo Prize (since 1955): sponsored by

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

and

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 ...

, open to anyone who has had few or no novels published commercially. The winner receives a small bust of Edogawa Rampo and a prize of 10,000,000

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...

. The novel of the winner is published by Kodansha. The members of the selection committee of 2012 are

Natsuo Kirino (born October 7, 1951, in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture) is the pen name of Mariko Hashioka, a Japanese novelist and a leading figure in the recent boom of female writers of Japanese detective fiction. Biography Kirino is the middle child of th ...

Natsuhiko Kyogoku is a Japanese mystery writer, who is a member of Ōsawa Office. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of Japan and the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. Three of his novels have been turned into feature films; ''Mōryō no Hako'', which w ...

Ira Ishida is a Japanese novelist and TV commentator. After graduating from Seikei University, he worked for a number of different advertising production companies and as a freelance copywriter. In 1997, he published his first short story collection, '' ...

, Bin Konno ( ja) and

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 ...

Presidents

* Detective Fiction Writers Club (of Japan) *#

(1947–1952) *# Udaru Oshita (1952–1954) ( :ja:大下宇陀児) *# Takataro Kigi (1954–1960) ( :ja:木々高太郎) *#

Keisuke Watanabe Keisuke (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese general *, Japanese mixed martial artist *, Japanese footballer * ...

(1960–1963) ( :ja:渡辺啓助) * Mystery Writers of Japan *#

(1963) *#

Seichō Matsumoto was a Japanese writer, credited with popularizing detective fiction in Japan. Matsumoto's works broke new ground by incorporating elements of human psychology and ordinary life. His works often reflect a wider social context and postwar nihil ...

(1963–1971) *# Kazuo Shimada (1971–1973) ( :ja:島田一男) *# Yo Sano (1973–1979) ( :ja:佐野洋) *#

Toru Miyoshi Toru Miyoshi ( ja, 三好達 ''Miyoshi Tōru''; 31 October 1927 – 6 March 2023) was a Japanese judge and political activist. He served as Chief Justice of Japan from 1995 to 1997. Miyosi served as the third president and honorary Chairman of N ...

(1979–1981) ( :ja:三好徹) *# Masao Yamamura (1981–1985) ( :ja:山村正夫) *#

Kawataro Nakajima was a Japanese researcher of Japanese popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or m ...

(1985–1989) *# Jiro Ikushima (1989–1993) ( :ja:生島治郎) *# Takashi Atoda (1993–1997) ( :ja:阿刀田高) *#

Kenzo Kitakata is a Japanese novelist, especially known for his hardboiled novels. He studied law at Chuo University in the early 1970s. He served as the 10th President of the Mystery Writers of Japan from 1997 to 2001. Works in English translation ;Hardboile ...

(1997–2001) *# Go Osaka (2001–2005) ( :ja:逢坂剛) *#

Arimasa Osawa is a Japanese writer of hardboiled fiction and thrillers. He served as the 12th President of the Mystery Writers of Japan from 2005 to 2009. Works in English translation ;Detective Samejima series (Shinjuku Shark series) * ''Shinjuku Shark'' (o ...

(2005–2009) ( :ja:大沢在昌) *#

(2009–2013) *# Bin Konno (2013– ) ( :ja:今野敏) J'Lit , Authors : Bin Konno , Books from Japan

Anthologies

The MWJ started compiling the annual anthology of members in 1948. * ''The Best Mysteries 2001'' (

, 2001, ) * ''The Best Mysteries 2002'' (Kodansha, Tokyo, 2002, ) * ''The Best Mysteries 2003'' (Kodansha, Tokyo, 2003, ) * ''The Best Mysteries 2004'' (Kodansha, Tokyo, 2004, ) * ''The Best Mysteries 2005'' (Kodansha, Tokyo, 2005, ) * ''The Best Mysteries 2006'' (Kodansha, Tokyo, 2006, ) * ''The Best Mysteries 2007'' (Kodansha, Tokyo, 2007, ) * ''The Best Mysteries 2008'' (Kodansha, Tokyo, 2008, ) * ''The Best Mysteries 2009'' (Kodansha, Tokyo, 2009, ) * ''The Best Mysteries 2010'' (Kodansha, Tokyo, 2010, ) * ''The Best Mysteries 2011'' (Kodansha, Tokyo, 2011, ) * ''The Best Mysteries 2012'' (Kodansha, Tokyo, 2012, )

References

* Shimpo, Hirohisa (2000), "Nihon Suiri Sakka Kyōkai". Nihon Misuteri Jiten(日本ミステリー事典),

Shinchosha is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in Yaraichō, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinchosha is one of the sponsors of the Japan Fantasy Novel Award. Books * Haruki Murakami: ''Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World'' (1985), ...

External links