Japanese detective fiction (Kanji: 推理小説, romaji: suiri shōsetsu, literally: deductive reasoning fiction), is a popular genre of Japanese literature. It is generally called "Suiri shōsetsu" (推理小説) in Japan.
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Name
When Western detective fiction spread to Japan, it created a new genre called detective fiction (Tantei shōsetsu (探偵小説)) in Japanese literature. After World War II the genre was renamed deductive reasoning fiction (Suiri shōsetsu (推理小説)). A loosely defined term mystery is often used instead, although this genre includes non-detective fiction as well.
Development
Edogawa Rampo is the first Japanese modern mystery writer and the founder of the Detective Story Club in Japan. Rampo was an admirer of western mystery writers. He gained his fame in early 1920s, when he began to bring to the genre many bizarre, erotic and even fantastic elements. This is partly because of the social tension before World War II. In 1957, Seicho Matsumoto received the Mystery Writers of Japan Award for his short story The Face (顔, kao). The Face and Matsumoto's subsequent works began the "social school" (社会派, shakai ha) within the genre, which emphasized social realism, described crimes in an ordinary setting and sets motives within a wider context of social injustice and political corruption. Since the 1980s, a "new orthodox school" (新本格派, shin honkaku ha) has surfaced. It demands restoration of the classic rules of detective fiction and the use of more self-reflective elements. Famous authors of this movement include Soji Shimada, Yukito Ayatsuji, Rintaro Norizuki, Alice Arisugawa, Kaoru Kitamura and Taku Ashibe.
Quotation
Seichō Matsumoto. Zuihitsu Kuroi Techō (Essays on the Mystery Novel). 1961. pp.18 - 25.Yukito Ayatsuji. The Decagon House Murders. 1987. pp.1.Japanese mystery awards
Top book lists of mystery fiction published in Japan
Aozora Bunko
Listed below are Japanese mystery writers whose works are available in Aozora Bunko, a Japanese digital library.
Ruiko Kuroiwa's short story Muzan (1889)[1], which is also available in Aozora Bunko, is one of the earliest Japanese detective stories.