Yasutaka Tsutsui (筒井 康隆, Tsutsui Yasutaka; born September 24, 1934 in Osaka) is a Japanese novelist, science fiction author, and actor. His Yumenokizaka bunkiten won the Tanizaki Prize in 1987. He has also won the 1981 Izumi Kyoka award, the 1989 Kawabata Yasunari award, and the 1992 Nihon SF Taisho Award.
Contents
Biography
Born at Senba (船場, traditional name of central Osaka area), Osaka in 1934, Tsutsui is a son of zoologist Yoshitaka Tsutsui. In his elementary school days, his IQ was 187, thereby he got education for genius child. Tsutsui graduated from the department of literature, Doshisha University, where he had great interesting in Freudian psychology and theater. He joined the theater troupe Aoneko-za and performed on stage. After working at an industrial design company, he founded and managed the Null-Studio, commercial design company. In 1960, Tsutsui published the sci-fi coterie magazine NULL with his brothers etc. Edogawa Ranpo evaluated his short story Otasuke, which appeared in the NULL, and Tsutsui debuted in magazine Hoseki by this story. Tsutsui wrote short short stories in the Hoseki, S-F Magazine, and Kagaku Asahi etc.
Writing style
His work is known for its dark humor and satirical content. He has often satirized Japanese taboos such as disabilities and the Tenno system, and has been subject to much criticism as a result. His works are seen as the basis for Japan's postmodern science-fiction. Features of his work include psychoanalysis and surrealism, which were themes of his 1957 master's thesis. He has dealt with themes such as time-travel in The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (1965), a massively multiplayer online game's virtual world in Gaspard in the Morning (1992), and dream worlds in Paprika (1993).
Awards
1962 Fine Entry in the second Hayakawa SF Contest for Muki Sekai e (無機世界へ)
1970-08 Seiun Award for Reichōrui Minami e (霊長類南へ)
1971-08 Seiun Award for Vitamin (ビタミン)
1974-08 Seiun Award for Nihon igai Zenbu Chinbotsu (日本以外全部沈没)
1975-08 Seiun Award for Ore no Chi wa Tanin no Chi (おれの血は他人の血)
1976-08 Seiun Award for Nanase Futatabi (七瀬ふたたび)
1977-08 Seiun Award for Metamorphoses Guntō (メタモルフォセス群島)
1981-10 Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature for Kyojin-tachi (虚人たち)
1987 Tanizaki_Prize for Yumenoki-zaka Bunkiten (夢の木坂分岐点)
1989-04 Kawabata Kōsei Prize (ja) for Yoppa-dani eno Kōka (ヨッパ谷への降下)
1992-10 Nihon SF Taisho Award for Asa no Gaspard (朝のガスパール)
2000-02 Yomiuri Prize for Watashi no Grandpa (わたしのグランパ)
2010-10 Kikuchi Kan Prize for the 50th Anniversary of Literature activities
2017-01 Mainichi Arts Prize (ja) for Monade no Ryōiki (モナドの領域)
2019-07 Seiun Award for Tsutsui Yasutaka, Jisaku o Kataru (筒井康隆、自作を語る)
2022-03 Japan Art Academy Prize (ja)
Distinction
1997 Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Chevalier)
2002 Medal of Honor, Purple ribbon (紺綬褒章)
2024 Member of Japan Art Academy
English translations
The novel What the Maid saw, translated by Adam Kabat, was published by Kodansha America Inc. (USA) in 1990, and again by Alma Books (UK) as The Maid in 2010.
Salmonella Men on Planet Porno, a collection of short stories translated by Andrew Driver, was published by Alma Books (UK) in October 2006 and again by Pantheon Books (USA) in 2008.
The novel Hell, translated by Evan Emswiler, was published by Alma Books in October 2007.
The novel Paprika, translated by Andrew Driver, was published by Alma Books in April 2009 and again by Vintage Contemporaries (USA) in 2013.
The novella The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, translated by David Karashima, was published by Alma Books in April 2011.
The Bullseye! collection of short stories, translated by Andrew Driver, was published in July 2017 by Kurodahan Press.
Works
Besides numerous film and TV acting credits, Yasutaka Tsutsui has published dozens of novels and short story collections, and records in Japan.
Series
Nanase Trilogy
家族八景 Kazoku Hakkei (Eight Family Scenes/What The Maid Saw) (1972)
七瀬ふたたび Nanase Futatabi (Nanase Once More) (1975)
エディプスの恋人 Edipusu no Koibito (Oedipus’ Lover) (1977)
Novels
48億の妄想 48 Oku no Mōsō (4.8 Billion Delusions) (1965)
馬の首風雲録 Umanokubi Fuunroku (Chronicle of the Horse’s Head Crisis) (1967)
時をかける少女 Toki o Kakeru Shōjo (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) (1967)
霊長類、南へ Reichōrui, Minami-e (1969)
緑魔の町 Ryokuma no Machi (Green Devil Town) (1970)
脱走と追跡のサンバ Dassō to Tsuiseki no Samba (Samba of Running and Chasing) (1971)
俗物図鑑 Zokubutsu Zukan (Picture Book of Vulgarity) (1972)
男たちのかいた絵 Otoko Tachi no Kaita E (Tale of Two Men) (1974)
俺の血は他人の血 Ore no Chi wa Tanin no Chi (My Blood is the Blood of Another) (1974)
富豪刑事 Fugō Keiji (Millionaire Detective) (1978)
大いなる助走 Oi Naru Josō (The Great Approachway) (1979)
美藝公 Bigeikō (1981)
虚人たち Kyojin Tachi (Virtual Men) (1981)
虚航船団 Kyokō Sendan (Fleet of Fantasy) (1984)
イリヤ・ムウロメツ Ilya Muromets (1985)
旅のラゴス Tabi no Ragosu (Lagos on a Journey) (1986)
歌と饒舌の戦記 Uta to Jōzetsu no Senki (War Chronicles of Song and Loquacity) (1987)
夢の木坂分岐点 Yumenokizaka Bunkiten (Dreamtree Hill Junction) (1987)
Short stories (collections)
東海道戦争 Tōkaidō Sensō (The Tōkaidō War) (1965)
ベトナム観光公社 Betonamu Kankō Kōsha (Vietnam Tourist Bureau) (1967)
アルファルファ作戦 Arufarufa Sakusen (The Alfalfa Strategy) (1968)
幻想の未来・アフリカの血 Gensō no Mirai/Afurika no Chi (Fantasy Future/African Blood) (1968)
にぎやかな未来 Nigiyaka na Mirai (A Bright Future) (1968)
アフリカの爆弾 Afurika no Bakudan (African Bomb) (1968)
筒井順慶 Tsutsui Junkei (1969)
わが良き狼 Waga Yoki Ōkami (My Good Old Wolf) (1969)
心狸学・社怪学 Shinrigaku, Shakaigaku (Psychology, Sociology) (1969)
ホンキイ・トンク Honky Tonk (1969)
欠陥大百科 Kekkan Ōhyakka (Encyclopedia of Defects) (1970)
母子像 Boshizō (Mother and Child Portrait) (1970)
馬は土曜に蒼ざめる Uma wa Doyō ni Aozameru (Horses Turn Pale on Saturdays) (1970)
発作的作品群 Hossa-teki Sakuhingun (Spasmodic Group of Works) (1971)
日本列島七曲り Nihon Rettō Nanamagari (Eight Bends on the Japanese Archipelago) (1971)
将軍が目覚めた時 Shōgun ga Mezameta Toki (When the Shogun Awoke) (1972)
農協月へ行く Nōkyō Tsuki-e Iku (Co-op Goes To The Moon) (1973)
Collected Works
Collected Works by Tsutusi Yasutaka, 24 volumes, 1983 - 1985, Shinchosha
Discography
with Kosuke Ichihara, Masahiko Sato, Dema (デマ, Rumour) (CBS/Sony, 1973)
with Yōsuke Yamashita, Ie (家) (Frasco, 1976) – recorded in 1975-76
with Yasutaka Tsutsui, Yasutaka Tsutsui - Bunmei (筒井康隆文明) (Victor/Super Fuji Discs, 1978)
The Inner Space Of Yasutaka Tsutsui (Shinchosha, 1985)
Adaptations
One of Tsutsui's first novels, Toki o Kakeru Shōjo (1967), has been adapted into numerous media including film, television, and manga. Another novel, Paprika (1993), was adapted into an animated film by the director Satoshi Kon in 2006. Many other works, including the four-part novel Fugō Keiji (Millionaire Detective), have been dramatized on Japanese television.
Others
Tsutsui has gained sensationalism for his humor and views against the social common senses and propagada. On April 4, 2017, Tsutsui was criticized for posting a tweet referring to the Statue of Peace, stating, "That girl is cute. Everyone, let's go and ejaculate in front of her and shower her with semen", on his Twitter.The tweet has long since been deleted.
References and notes
References
Masao Azuma and Ran Ishido The Dictionary of Japanese Fantasy Writers (2009), 東雅夫＆石堂藍編『日本幻想作家事典』国書刊行会（2009）ISBN 978-4-336-05142-4 pp.459 - 463
