Keigo Higashino (Japanese:東野 圭吾,Hepburn:Higashino Keigo, born February 4, 1958) is a Japanese author chiefly known for hismystery novels. He served as the 13th President ofMystery Writers of Japan from 2009 to 2013. Higashino has won major Japanese awards for his books, almost twenty of which have been turned into films and TV series.[1]
Higashino was born in theIkuno-ku ward of the city ofOsaka inOsaka Prefecture. Thelogographic letters that make up the family name were initially read as "Tono", but Keigo's father changed the reading to "Higashino".
Growing up in a working class area, Higashino's childhood was challenging because of the lower class to which his family belonged.[2] He attended Koji Elementary School, Higashi Ikuno Junior High School, and Hannan High School. During his high school years he started readingmystery fiction.
Higashino started writing while in high school and university, showing his manuscripts to friends.
In 1981, he began working as an engineer at Nippon Denso Co. (presentlyDENSO), and married a high school teacher. He continued to write in the evenings and on weekends,[3] submitting unpublished mystery novels for consideration for the annualEdogawa Rampo Prize in 1983. In 1984, his submission, which drew on his wife's occupation, reached the final round. In 1985, at the age of 27, he won the Rampo Prize for best unpublished mystery forHōkago (放課後,After School), drawing on experiences of the archery club at his former university. He resigned from DENSO in 1986 to start a career inTokyo as a full-time writer.
In 1998, Higashino publishedHimitsu (秘密,Secret), which was adapted into a feature film and won the 52ndMystery Writers of Japan Award for feature films in 1999.Secret was later translated into English by Kerim Yasar and published asNaoko in 2004, with a limited print run.[3] Higashino was inspired to write the story by reading a book in which a young child possessed the memories of someone who died nearby. He tried writing a short story featuring the implications of what would happen in such an instance, "but the ideas didn't fully materialize. Finally I presented it as a novel and it got picked up." A 1999 Japanese film,Himitsu, was based on the book, as was a 2007 English-language French remake,The Secret, starringDavid Duchovny.[2]
Higashino received the Eiji Yoshikawa Literary Prize in 2014 forInori no Maku ga Oriru Toki (祈りの幕が下りる時,When the Curtain of Prayer Descends), the 10th book[a] to feature Detective Kyoichiro Kaga. He thought that the book would be the end of the Kaga series, as he had done what he wanted to do with it.[4]
Higashino is one of the most popular authors in Asia and, reportedly, the most popular novelist in China.[5] Translation rights for his books, likeSuspect X, were sold as far afield as China, Thailand, France, Russia and Spain.[3] Both hisSuspect X andSalvation of a Saint were published in 6 languages.[6] His popularity has drawn the attention of Asian academics, with papers and master's theses on his work published in China,[7] Indonesia,[8] Malaysia,[9] and Taiwan,[10] for example, and has also stimulated United States scholars.[11]
Higashino was elected president of theMystery Writers of Japan (MWJ) in 2009, and served until 2013. From 2002 to 2007 he served on various MWJ selection committees, and fulfilled a similar role for the Edogawa Rampo Award from 2008 to 2013. In 2014, he became a selection member for the Naoki Prize.[12][13]
After theGreat East Japan Earthquake of 2011, Higashino donated the royalties of 100,000 copies of the reprint ofThe Wings of the Kirin (麒麟の翼,Kirin no Tsubasa), the sequel toNewcomer, to relief efforts in affected areas.[14]
Higashino reportedly avoids publicity, as he prefers people not to recognize him on the street.[3]
Higashino admitted in 2015 that his content and style had changed from his earlier writings, in which he treated motivation as the most important element.[4] In a 2011 interview, he stated that he wants his "readers to be continually surprised by my ideas."[3]
In addition to mystery novels, Higashino writes essays and story books for children. His style of writing the latter differs from his novels, and he does not use as many characters as in his novels.[citation needed] Higashino's works often include scientific elements, such as nuclear power generation and brain transplantation. Sports references, such as archery andkendo, ski jumping, and snowboarding, also occur often.
Suspect X inverts the classicalwhodunit structure, as the reader learns early on who the murderer is. Andrew Joyce writes inThe Wall Street Journal that Higashino explores how "feelings of loyalty and the oppressive weight of human relations" are "catalysts for murder and dark pacts between neighbors or co-workers to dispose of bodies." Higashino claims that Japanese people prefer this format, in which the effects of characters' actions and intentions, in terms of emotions such as guilt and anguish, become clearer only towards the end of the story.[3]
While Higashino admits to liking Western writers, he feels most strongly influenced by Japanese authors such asEdogawa Rampo andSeicho Matsumoto. And "so my work naturally has that Japanese sense of old-fashioned loyalty and concern for human feeling." Regarding his Western readers, Higashino wants them "to read my work and come to understand how Japanese people think, love and hate. I want them to be impressed that there is a Japanese person who came up with such unusual stories."[3]
By 2018 Higashino had published 66 novels, 20 short story collections, and one picture book. In all, there were 715 works in 8 languages by Higashino worldwide in 2020, excluding 20 which were about him.[6]
^Jie, Koik Shuh (2015).The Art of Murder: a Comparative Study of the Crime Writing of Thomas de Quincey and Keigo Higashino. Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. Universiti Sains Malaysia.
^Higashino, Keigo (2011).The Devotion of Suspect X. Detective Galileo Series. Vol. 1. Translated by Alexander O. Smith. p. 320.ISBN978-1-250-00269-3.
^Higashino, Keigo (2012).Salvation of a Saint. Detective Galileo Series. Vol. 2. Translated by Alexander O. Smith. Minotaur Books. p. 336.ISBN978-1-250-03627-8.
