Akira Yoshimura

Akira Yoshimura (吉村 昭 Yoshimura Akira, May 1, 1927; † July 31, 2006) was a prize-winning Japanese writer.

He was the president of the Japanese writers' union and a PEN member. He published over 20 novels, of which On Parole and Shipwrecks are internationally known and have been translated into several languages. In 1984 he received the Yomiuri Prize for his novel Hagoku (破獄, Prison Break) based on the true story of Yoshie Shiratori.

Books

• Hagoku (破獄)
• Yami ni hirameku (闇にひらめく, 1997)
• Shipwrecks (破船, Hasen). Harvest Books 1996, ISBN 0-15-600835-1
• On Parole Harvest Books 2000, ISBN 978-0-15-601147-1, loosely adapted into a movie as The Eel
• One Man’s Justice. Canongate 2004, ISBN 978-1-84195-479-0
• Higuma arashi (『羆嵐』 1982)(shinchosha)

Awards and Honors

• 1966 - Dazai Osamu Prize
• 1973 - Kikuchi Kan Prize
• 1985 - Yomiuri Prize
• 1997 - Japan Art Academy member
• 2006 - Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class

References

• Review of On Parole at salon.com
• Review of Shipwrecks at the New York Times
• Review of Shipwrecks at asianreviewofbooks.com