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Science fiction is an important genre of modernJapanese literature that has strongly influenced aspects of contemporary Japanese pop culture, includinganime,manga,video games,tokusatsu, andcinema.
Both Japan's history of technology andmythology play a role in the development of its science fiction. Some early Japanese literature, for example, contain elements of proto-science fiction. The earlyJapanese tale of "Urashima Tarō" involvestraveling forwards in time to a distant future,[1] and was first described in theNihongi (720).[2] It was about a young fisherman named Urashima Taro who visits an undersea palace and stays there for three days. After returning home to his village, he finds himself three hundred years in the future, where he is long forgotten, his house in ruins, and his family long dead.[1] The 10th-century Japanese narrativeThe Tale of the Bamboo Cutter may also be considered proto-science fiction. The protagonist of the story, Kaguya-hime, is a princess from the Moon who is sent to Earth for safety during a celestial war, and is found and raised by a bamboo cutter in Japan. She is later taken back to the Moon by her realextraterrestrial family. A manuscript illustration depicts a round flying machine similar to aflying saucer.[3]
Science fiction in the standard modern sense began with theMeiji Restoration and the importation of Western ideas. The first science fiction of any influence to be translated into Japanese were the novels ofJules Verne.[4] The translation ofAround the World in Eighty Days - of which part of the plot is set in Japan - was published in 1878–1880, followed by his other works with immense popularity. The wordkagaku shōsetsu (科学小説) was coined as a translation of "scientific novel" as early as 1886.[5]
Shunrō Oshikawa is generally considered as the ancestor of Japanese science fiction. His debut workKaitei Gunkan (Undersea warship), published in 1900, describedsubmarines and predicted a comingRusso-Japanese war.
During the period between the world wars, Japanese science fiction was more influenced by American science fiction. A popular writer of the era wasJūza Unno, sometimes called "the father of Japanese science fiction." The literary standards of this era, and the previous, tended to be low. Prior toWorld War II, Japanese rarely if ever saw science fiction as worthwhile literature. Instead, it was considered a form of trivial literature for children.
A character considered to be the first full-fledgedsuperhero is the JapaneseKamishibai characterŌgon Bat, who debuted in 1930, eight years beforeSuperman. Another similar Japanese Kamishibai superhero was Prince of Gamma (ガンマ王子) , who debuted in the early 1930s, also years before Superman.[6]
Manga artistOsamu Tezuka, who debuted in 1946, was a major influence on the later science fiction authors.Lost World (1948),Metropolis (1949), andNextworld (1951) are known as Tezuka's early SF trilogy.
Avant-garde authorKōbō Abe wrote works that are within science fiction genre, and he later had close relationship with SF authors.[5] HisInter Ice Age 4 (1958–1959) is considered the first Japanese full-length science fiction novel.[7]
The era of modern Japanese science fiction began with the influence of paperbacks that the USoccupation army brought to Japan afterWorld War II. The firstscience fiction magazine in Japan,Seiun (星雲), was created in 1954 but was discontinued after only one issue. Several short-lived magazines followedSeiun in the Japanese market, but none experienced great success.
Science fiction in Japan gained popularity in the early 1960s. Both theHayakawa's S-F Magazine (S-Fマガジン) (since 1959) and the science fiction coterie magazineUchūjin (1957–2013) began publication in this decade. The firstJapan SF Convention was held in 1962. A writers' association,Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan (SFWJ) was formed in 1963 with eleven members.
Notable authors likeSakyo Komatsu,Yasutaka Tsutsui,Taku Mayumura,Ryo Hanmura and Aritsune Toyota debuted at theHayakawa SF Contest (1961–1992, restarted since 2012). Other notable authors, such asShinichi Hoshi,Ryu Mitsuse,Kazumasa Hirai, Aran Kyodomari andYoshio Aramaki, were also published.[8] Though influenced by theWest, their work was distinctively Japanese. For example, Kazumasa Hirai, Aritsune Toyota andTakumi Shibano wrote novels as well as plots forSF-anime andSF-manga, which are some of the most prominent examples of Japanese contributions to the genre of science fiction.
The contributions of excellent translators such asTetsu Yano, Masahiro Noda, Hisashi Asakura andNorio Ito introduced English science fiction to readers in Japan, and greatly influenced public opinion of science fiction.SF Magazine's first editor,Masami Fukushima was also an excellent novelist and translator.
In visual media genre, film studioToho spawned theKaiju film genre in 1954 withGodzilla.Eiji Tsuburaya who directed the special effects for Toho's film formed his ownstudio and createdUltraman in 1966. Tezuka's mangaAstro Boy (1952–1968) becamethe first Japanese TV animation series in 1963.
Public interest in science fiction had risen notably in Japan byExpo '70. Komatsu'sNihon Chinbotsu (akaJapan Sinks, 1973) was a best-seller.Uchū Senkan Yamato (akaSpace Battleship Yamato), a work ofanime placed in a science fiction setting, was aired, andStar Wars was screened in Japan in the late 1970s. The change in the nature of the science fiction genre in Japan that resulted from these events is often called "Infiltration and Diffusion" (浸透と拡散Shintō to Kakusan).
At this time, Hanmura'sDenki SF (伝奇SF; literally "mythology-based SF") series and Hirai'sWolf Guy series became prototypes of later Japaneselight novels through the works ofHideyuki Kikuchi,Baku Yumemakura, andHaruka Takachiho. In addition, new science fiction magazines such asKisō Tengai (奇想天外),SF Adventure (SFアドベンチャー) andSF Hōseki (SF宝石) were founded. A number of notable authors debuted in eitherSF Magazine or one of these new publications:Akira Hori,Jun'ya Yokota, Koji Tanaka,Masaki Yamada,Musashi Kanbe,Azusa Noa,Chōhei Kanbayashi,Kōshū Tani,Mariko Ohara, Ko Hiura, Hitoshi Kusakami,Motoko Arai,Baku Yumemakura,Yoshiki Tanaka andHiroe Suga.
In the 1980s, theaudio-visual side of the Japanese science fiction genre continued to develop.Hayao Miyazaki'sKaze no Tani no Naushika (a.k.a.Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind) andMamoru Oshi'sUrusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer were first screened. OnTV,real robot anime series, starting withMobile Suit Gundam, were aired, and the science fiction artist groupStudio Nue joined the staff ofThe Super Dimension Fortress Macross.AnimatorsHideaki Anno,Yoshiyuki Sadamoto,Takami Akai, andShinji Higuchi, who had attracted attention by creating anime that had been exhibited atDaicon III and Daicon IV, established StudioGainax.
Literary science fiction magazines started to disappear in the late 1980s when public attention increasingly switched to audio-visual media. The Hayakawa science fiction contest was also discontinued, removing a major outlet for the work of many writers. A number of science fiction andspace opera writers, includingHosuke Nojiri, Hiroshi Yamamoto, Ryuji Kasamine, andYuichi Sasamoto, began writing "light novel" genre paperback science fiction and fantasy novels, which are primarily marketed to teenagers. This period, during which literary science fiction declined, has been labeled "the Wintery Age" (冬の時代Fuyu no Jidai). In the mainstream of science fiction,Yoshiki Tanaka publishedGinga Eiyu Densetsu (a.k.a.Legend of the Galactic Heroes) series.
The boundary between science fiction novels and light novels was blurred in the 1990s. AlthoughHiroyuki Morioka'sSeikai no Monshou series is considered to be in the vein of the light novel, the series was published by Hayakawa Shobo as part of the mainstream science fiction world. On the other hand, light novel writers like Sasamoto and Nojiri have also publishedhard SF novels.
As a continuation of infiltration and diffusion of science fiction into mainstream literature,Kenzaburō Ōe, who later receivedNobel Prize in Literature, wrote two science fiction novels in 1990–1991.Haruki Murakami receivedWorld Fantasy Award forKafka on the Shore in 2006, and his 2009 novel1Q84 was a bestseller.
Meanwhile, in visual fields, the new Gamera series (1995,1996,1999) directed byShusuke Kaneko with visual effects byShinji Higuchi, renewed thekaiju genre film. An anime television seriesNeon Genesis Evangelion (1995–1996), directed byHideaki Anno, got phenomenal popularity.
The 2000s (decade) saw a recovery in the market for literary SF. Science fiction books had solid sales compared to the overall decline of the publishing industry.[9] SFWJ andTokuma Shoten began theJapan SF Budding Writer Award [ja] contest in 1999, and Tokuma launched the quarterly magazine,SF Japan, in 2000 (ceased in 2011). Hayakawa started a new label,J Collection [ja], in 2002. Kadokawa Haruki Corporation conductedKomatsu Sakyō Award [ja] contest in 2000 (ceased in 2009). A newYear's-Best anthology series [ja], edited byNozomi Ohmori [ja] andSanzō Kusaka [ja], started in 2008 byTōkyō Sōgensha (ceased in 2019), and, from it, theSogen SF Short Story Prize contest spun off in 2010.
Among the finalists for the Komatsu Sakyō Award and debuting fromJ Collection,Project Itoh left a strong impression in his short career before dying of cancer in 2009.Toh Enjoe, crossing into mainstream literature, was nominated for theAkutagawa Prize, and eventually won it in 2012.Yūsuke Miyauchi [ja], who was a jury's special citation for the Sogen SF Short Story Prize in 2010, was nominated for theNaoki Award and won theNihon SF Taisho in 2012 for his debut collection,Dark Beyond the Weiqi (盤上の夜,Banjō no yoru).Other authors from the Sogen SF Short Story Prize include the 2010 runner-upHaneko Takayama and the 2011 winnerDempow Torishima.
65th World Science Fiction Convention was jointly held with the 46thNihon SF Taikai in Yokohama, Japan, in 2007.
Taiyo Fujii, who debuted by self-published e-book in 2012, quickly stood out in the field, and he served as the chairperson of SFWJ in 2015–2018.
During 2010s, translator and reviewerNozomi Ohmori continued to work actively. He edited an original anthology seriesNOVA (first series 2009–2013, second series since 2019). Ohmori andHiroki Azuma began the Genron Ohmori Science Fiction Writers' Workshop (since 2016).
User-generatedweb novel platforms likeShōsetsuka ni Narō orKakuyomu [ja] gained popularity during the decade, mostly inlight novel genre.
In visual media,Your Name (2016) andWeathering with You (2019), written and directed byMakoto Shinkai, were the top-grossing films of the respective years.Shin Godzilla (2016), directed byHideaki Anno with visual effects byShinji Higuchi, was a major hit.
Kamishibai is a form of street theater where oral storytellers illustrate their stories with painted art, which was popular in 1930s Japan. There were a variety of popular stories and themes inkamishibai, which are now seen in contemporarymanga andanime.[10][11] This includes one of the firstsuperheroes,Ōgon Bat (Golden Bat), who debuted in 1931. Another early kamishibai superhero wasPrince of Gamma, who debuted in the early 1930s and anticipated elements ofSuperman, including a secret identity (his alter ego was a street urchin) and an extraterrestrialorigin story. Both these early Japanese superheroes predate popular American superheroes such as Superman (1938 debut) andBatman (1939 debut).[12][6]
Tokusatsu (Japanese: 特撮, "special filming") is a Japanese term forlive actionfilm ortelevision drama that makes heavy use ofspecial effects.Tokusatsu entertainment often deals with science fiction.
Tokusatsu has several sub-genres:
Mecha (Japanese:メカ,Hepburn:meka) refers to science fictiongenres that center on giant robots or machines (mechs) controlled by people. In Japan,mecha anime (also called "robot anime" in Japan) is one of the oldest genres inanime.[13]
There are two major sub-genres ofmecha anime and manga:
Some mecha anime (like the popular 1995 animeNeon Genesis Evangelion) are a cross of sub-genres in between the super robot sub-genre and the real robot sub-genre. It falls under the sub-genre of super real robot, where super robots are used by a military faction for some hidden agenda.[citation needed]
Japanese cyberpunk has roots inunderground music culture, specifically the Japanesepunk subculture that arose from theJapanese punk music scene in the 1970s. The filmmakerSogo Ishii introduced this subculture toJapanese cinema with hispunk filmsPanic High School (1978) andCrazy Thunder Road (1980), which portrayed the rebellion and anarchy associated with punk, and went on to become highly influential inunderground film circles.Crazy Thunder Road in particular was an influentialbiker film, with a punkbiker gang aesthetic that paved the way forKatsuhiro Otomo's influentialcyberpunk franchiseAkira.[17] The Japanese cyberpunk subgenre began in 1982 with the debut of themanga seriesAkira, with its1988 anime film adaptation later popularizing the subgenre.Akira inspired a wave of Japanese cyberpunk works, including manga andanime series such asGhost in the Shell (1989),Battle Angel Alita (1990),Cowboy Bebop (1997) andSerial Experiments Lain (1998).[18]
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Japanesesteampunk consists of steampunk manga comics and anime productions from Japan.[19] Steampunk elements have consistently appeared in mainstream manga since the 1940s, dating back toOsamu Tezuka's epic science-fiction trilogy consisting ofLost World (1948),Metropolis (1949) andNextworld (1951). The steampunk elements found in manga eventually made their way into mainstream anime productions starting in the 1970s, including television shows such asLeiji Matsumoto'sSpace Battleship Yamato (1974) and the 1979 anime adaptation ofRiyoko Ikeda's mangaRose of Versailles (1972).[20] The most influential steampunk animator wasHayao Miyazaki, who was creating steampunk anime since the 1970s, starting with the television showFuture Boy Conan (1978).[20] His mangaNausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1982) and its1984 anime film adaptation also contained steampunk elements. Miyazaki's most influential steampunk production was theStudio Ghibli anime filmLaputa: Castle in the Sky (1986), which became a major milestone in the genre and has been described byThe Steampunk Bible as "one of the first modern steampunk classics."[21] The success ofLaputa inspired a wave of Japanese steampunk works, such asNadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990),[20][22]Porco Rosso (1992),[19]Sakura Wars (1996),[20]Fullmetal Alchemist (2001),[19]Howl's Moving Castle (2004)[20] andSteamboy (2004).[22]
Examples of Japanesedieselpunk includeHayao Miyazaki's mangaNausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1982) and its1984 anime film adaptation, the anime filmLaputa: Castle in the Sky (1986) by Miyazaki andStudio Ghibli,[23] andSquaresoft'sJapanese role-playing gameFinal Fantasy VII (1997).[23][24][25]
Isekai (Japanese:異世界;transl. "different world") is asubgenre of Japaneselight novels,manga,anime andvideo games that revolve around a normal person from Earth being transported to, reborn or trapped in aparallel universe. While many isekai involve afantasy world, a number ofisekai instead involve avirtual world. TheDigimon Adventure (1999 debut)[26] and.hack (2002 debut) franchises were some of the first works to present the concept ofisekai as a virtual world (inspired byvideo games), withSword Art Online (also 2002 debut) following in their footsteps.[27] Someisekai are set in a formerly virtual world that turns into a real one, such as inLog Horizon (2010 debut) andOverlord (2010 debut).
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