Japanese author 3: Asada Jiro
Asada Jiro is the president of The Japan P.E.N Club and has written picaresque novels, period novels, and historical novels. He was born in 1951 in Tokyo. When he was born, his family was wealthy, but it bankrupted when he was 9 years old. Then he became a member of the Self-Defense Forces. After discharge, he began to write novels while he managed other business. He loves gambles, and especially he earned his main income by horse races for a period of time.
However, this profile is his “official” profile. According to his essay, he seemed to work as sort of mafia. At least, his boss and co-worker seemed to belong to underground organizations. I don’t know whether it is fiction or not. At least, his official profile didn’t mention its detail until he became an author. What I can say is only that his experience is quite unique and the essay is realistic and extremely interesting.
He is such kind of person while he creates heavy historical novels. Actually, he is still alive and it might be controversial to call him a national author. Still, I am sure he is one of them. Many of his novels are cinematized. This fact suggests his novels have been accepted nationally. In general, his novels don’t have any political assertion. It seems to reflect the people enjoying their life in the postwar period.
