was a Japanese

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

writer and a researcher of

Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...

cultural history. He is the winner of multiple Taisho Awards, the Ozaki Memorial Prize, and 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 Be ...

. He also used the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s 横田順弥 (same pronunciation) and .

Biography

Yokota was born 11 November 1945 in

Saga Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of roughly 780,000 and has a geographic area of . Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasaki Prefect ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. He became known for his knowledge of classic

and his use of humor and gags in his writing. Together with Shingo Aizu, he wrote '' Kaidanji Oshikawa Shunrō: Nihon SF no Oya'', the definitive work on Japanese science fiction author

Shunrō Oshikawa was a Japanese author, journalist and editor, best known as a pioneer of science fiction. Education and early career While studying law at Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō (present day Waseda University) at the turn of the century, Oshikawa published ''Ka ...

. This work won the

Nihon SF Taisho Award The is a Japanese science fiction award. It has been compared to the Nebula Award as it is given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan or SFWJ. The Grand Prize is selected from not only Science Fiction novels, but also various SF mo ...

and nominated for a

Seiun Award The is a Japanese speculative fiction award given each year for the best science fiction works and achievements during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by , the awards are given at the annual Nihon SF Taikai, Japan Science Fic ...

in 1988. His 2011 work, , won a Taisho Award, the

, and the Ozaki Hokki Memorial Popular Literature Research Prize. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan awarded him the Special Services Award for lifetime achievements in the field of science fiction in 2018. He died of heart failure on 4 January 2019 in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

, Japan. A funeral was held for close relatives. His daughter, Masako Suzuki, lead the

mourning Mourning is the emotional expression in response to a major life event causing grief, especially loss. It typically occurs as a result of someone's death, especially a loved one. The word is used to describe a complex of behaviors in which t ...

, and an open memorial services was held afterward.

Selected works

Novels

* (January 1977, Hayakawa, ) * (September 1977,

Shūeisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

, ) * (June 1978, Hayakawa) * (September 1978, Shūeisha) * (December 1978,

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 ...

) * (June 1979, Kisotengaisha) * (August 1979,

Futabasha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in , Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Futabasha is known for its manga works, and its 1967 magazine Manga Action first conceived of the manga category, decades before the other major companies tested th ...

) * (August 1980, Shūeisha) * (May 1988,

Shinchosha is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in , 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), '' Ute ...

, ) * (February 1991, Shinchosha, )

Short story collections

* (January 1981,

Tokuma Shoten is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company's product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, man ...

, ) * (March 1981,

) * (April 1981,

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines ...

) * (May 1981,

)

Nonfiction

* (Yokota Jun'ya) (May 1977, Kōsaidō) * (March 1980,

) * (Yokota Jun'ya) **Volume 1 (May 1980, Hayakawa) **Volume 2 (December 1980, Hayakawa) **Volume 3 (April 1981, Hayakawa) * (June 1980, Kodansha) * (January 1982, Tokuma Shoten, ) * (February 1982, Uraku Shuppansha) * (November 1986,

Kadokawa Kadokawa may refer to: *Kadokawa Corporation, the holding company of the Kadokawa Group **Kadokawa Content Gate and Kadokawa Mobile, both former names for BookWalker **Kadokawa Future Publishing, a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and the publis ...

, ) *'' Kaidanji Oshikawa Shunrō: Nihon SF no Oya'' with Shingo Aizu (December 1987, Pan Research Institute, ) * (January 2011, Pilar Press, ) * (March 2012, Pilar Press, )

Awards and honors

Yokota received the following awards and honors:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yokota, Jun'ya 1945 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Japanese male writers 20th-century Japanese novelists 20th-century Japanese short story writers 21st-century Japanese novelists 21st-century Japanese short story writers 21st-century Japanese writers 21st-century Japanese historians Japanese male short story writers Japanese science fiction writers Literary historians Mystery Writers of Japan Award winners Writers from Kanagawa Prefecture Writers from Saga Prefecture