Futaro Yamada

Futaro Yamada (山田 風太郎 Yamada Fūtarō, January 4, 1922 – July 28, 2001) was the pen name of Seiya Yamada (山田 誠也 Yamada Seiya), a Japanese author. He was born in Yabu, Hyogo. In 1947, he wrote a mystery novel Daruma-tōge no Jiken (達磨峠の事件, lit. "The Incident on Dharma Pass") and was awarded a prize by a novel magazine Houseki (宝石). He was discovered by Edogawa Rampo and became a novelist. He wrote many ninja (忍法帖 Ninpōchō series) and mystery stories. Many of his works have been adapted for film, TV, manga, and anime.

Awards

• 1949, the 2nd Detective Story Writers' Club Award
• 1997, the 45th Kikuchi Kan Prize
• 2000, the 4th Japan Mystery Award
• 2004, the Kodansha Manga Award for general manga for Basilisk, the manga adaptation of The Kouga Ninja Scrolls^[1]

Selected works

Ninja stories ("Ninpōchō" series)

• The Kouga Ninja Scrolls (甲賀忍法帖 Kōga Ninpōchō, 1959)^[2] - adapted to film in 2005.
• Edo Ninpōchō (江戸忍法帖, 1960) - adapted to film in 1963, and as a TV series in 1966.
• Gunkan Ninpōchō (軍艦忍法帖, 1961)
• Kunoichi Ninpōchō (くノ一忍法帖, 1961) - adapted to film twice in 1964 and 1991.
• Gedō Ninpōchō (外道忍法帖, 1962) - adapted to film twice in 1964 and 1992.
• Ninja Tsukikageshō (忍者月影抄, 1962) - adapted to film in 1963, 1996, and 2011.
• Ninpō Chūshingura (忍法忠臣蔵, 1962) - adapted to film in 1965, 1983 (TV), and 1994.
• Iga Ninpōchō (伊賀忍法帖, 1964) - adapted to film in 1982 and to manga in 2004.
• Ninpō Hakkenden (忍法八犬伝, 1964)
• Fūrai Ninpōchō (風来忍法帖, 1964) - adapted to film in 1965 and 1968.
• Yagyū Ninpōchō (柳生忍法帖, 1964) Yagyū Jūbei Trilogy #1 - adapted to film in 1998 and to manga in 2005.
• Ninpō Sōden 73 (忍法相伝73, 1965) - adapted to film in 1969.
• Jiraiya Ninpōchō (自来也忍法帖, 1965) - adapted to film in 1995.
• Maten Ninpōchō (魔天忍法帖, 1965)
• Shingen Ninpōchō (信玄忍法帖, 1967)
• Makai Tenshō (魔界転生, 1967) Yagyū Jūbei Trilogy #2 - adapted to film in 1981, 1996, 1998 (anime), and 2003.
• Shinobi no Manji (忍びの卍, 1967) - adapted to film in 1968.
• Ninpō Kenshiden (忍法剣士伝, 1968)
• Ginga Ninpōchō (銀河忍法帖, 1968)
• Higisho Sōdatsu (秘戯書争奪, 1968) - adapted to film in 1993.
• Ninpō Fūin Ima Yaburu (忍法封印いま破る, 1969)
• Ninja Kokubyaku Zōshi (忍者黒白草紙, 1969)
• Ninpō Sōtō no Washi (忍法双頭の鷲, 1969)
• Uminari Ninpōchō (海鳴り忍法帖, 1971)

Other fiction

• Ganchū no Akuma (眼中の悪魔, 1948)
• Kyozō Inraku (虚像淫楽, 1948) - adapted to manga in 1978.
• Akuryō no Mure (悪霊の群, 1955) with Akimitsu Takagi - adapted to film in 1956.
• Jūsankaku Kankei (十三角関係, 1956)
• Idaten Hyakuri (いだ天百里, 1957) - adapted to manga in 2006.
• Onna Rō Hishō (おんな牢秘抄, 1960) - adapted to film in 1995 and to manga in 2006.
• Kan no Naka no Etsuraku (棺の中の悦楽, 1962) - adapted to film in 1965.
• Taiyō Kokuten (太陽黒点, 1963)
• Keishichō Sōshi (警視庁草紙, 1975) - adapted to TV series in 2001.
• Gentō Tsujibasha (幻燈辻馬車, 1976)
• Basara (婆沙羅, 1990)
• Yagyū Jūbei Shisu (柳生十兵衛死す, 1992) Yagyū Jūbei Trilogy #3 - adapted to manga in 2000.

References

1. Joel Hahn. "Kodansha Manga Awards". Comic Book Awards Almanac. Archived from the original on 2007-08-16. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
2. "Shinobi: Heart Under Blade". (January 2007) Newtype USA. Volume 6, Number 1, page 23.

External links

• Futarou Yamada Museum　(Japanese)
• Permanent display in the Hyogo Net Museum of Literature (Japanese)
• Futaro Yamada at J'Lit Books from Japan (English)
• Synopsis of The Story of the Eight Dog Warriors (Hakkenden) at JLPP (Japanese Literature Publishing Project) (English)
• The War Generation's Genius - comic about Futaro Yamada's early life