Taku Mayumura ( Mayumura Taku, 20 October 1934 – 3 November 2019) was a Japanese novelist, science fiction writer(ja) Nihon Gensō Sakka Jiten, pp.648-649. and haiku poet. He won the Seiun Award for Novel twice. His novel Shiseikan (, Administrator, one story of the "Shiseikan series"), written in 1974, was translated into English by Daniel Jackson in 2004. Mayumura was also a young adult fiction writer whose works have been adapted into TV drama, film, and anime. Mayumura was an honorary member of the SFWJ (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan).
Biography Mayumura was born as Murakami Takuji (), at Osaka city, Osaka Prefecture in 1934. He graduated from Osaka University in 1957 with a degree in economics, as well as a judo competition career at the Nanatei league. After graduation, he joined a company. While working at this company, he wrote short novels and submitted them to contests in commercial literary magazines.
He started professionally as a copywriter.
In 1960, he joined the SF fanzine Uchūjin. In 1961, he won the Best Story prize in the 1st Kūsō-Kagaku Shōsetsu Contest (later the Hayakawa SF Contest) for his novel Kakyū Aidea-man (Junior Idea-Man) and made his debut in the S-F Magazine with this work.
In 1965, he retired from the company and started working as an independent writer. Mayumura's first book, the science fiction novel Moeru Keisha (), was published by Tōto Shobo in the same year.
In 1976, his book Psychic School Wars was released, and was later adapted into both live action and anime versions.
In 1979, he won the seventh Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature and the Seiun Award for his novel Shōmetsu no Kōrin, which is the representative work in his "Shiseikan series". In 1996, he won his second Seiun Award for another entry in the Shiseikan series, the long novel Hikishio no Toki.
His story Toraerareta School Bus inspired the 1986 anime film Toki no Tabibito - Time Stranger.
Mayumura was also a well-known young adult fiction writer. His representative works in this field were Nazo no Tenkousei and Nerawareta Gakuen etc. These works were adapted into TV Drama series by NHK, and adapted into Cinema too. Other juvenile fictions by Mayumura were adapted into the anime Toki no Tabibito.
In 2002, his wife died of cancer. Mayumura had been writing a very short story every day for his wife, who was in the hospital bedridden since the cancer had been diagnosed. When his stories, which were written each day and numbered, reached to 1778, his wife died. These stories were compiled and published. The film Boku to Tsuma no 1778 no Monogatari, based on this true story, was released in 2011.
In 2004, he work Administrator was published in English.
As of 2008, Mayumura was a professor of the Graduate School of Osaka University of Arts.
In 2012, an anime film adaptation was being created of his science fiction children's novel Nerawareta Gakuen, which is a set in a prep school. At that time, the book had also inspired four live-action TV adaptations, and two live-action films.
In 2020, he was posthumously awarded the Meritorious Service Award in its 40th Nihon SF Taishō Awards by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of Japan (SFWJ).
Haiku poetry Mayumura was also a haiku poet. He was a member of the haiku club in his high school. He posted his haiku work to the haiku coterie magazine Ashibu () which Shūōshi Mizuhara (JA) presided over. Mayumura has been a coterie membera of the haiku magazine "Uzu" (). In 2009, he published a Haiku book "Kiri wo yuku" ().
Style of writings As a literary theorist, he advocated the "Insider Bungaku-ron" (Theory of Literature by Insiders).Mayumura considered that literature was traditionally created by, and written from the view point of, artists who stood outside of the common society; in contrast, his literary theory insisted on the necessity of the "insiders", necessity of literature written from the common man's point of view. Consistent with this theme, his novels frequently tackle the issues of problematic relations between individuals and the corporate or bureaucratic organizations to which they belong.
Mayumura wrote various stories. His stages of the fictions range from the ordinary life scenes of common people to the fantastic worlds hidden back in the daily life, to the inter-stellar federation of far future.
Especially, strange and fantastic aspects of the reality, adjacent to the ordinary life are the essence of his fantastic stories.(ja) Nihon Gensō Sakka Jiten, p.649.
Personal life He died early in the morning (at 04:01 AM in JST) of November 3, 2019 due to aspiration pneumonia作家、眉村卓さん死去 85歳 「ねらわれた学園」「妻に捧げた1778話」、本紙「朝晴れエッセー」選考委員も in Osaka. His family stated he had been dealing with cancer for several years, and had been hospitalized on October 8, continuing to write in his bed until his death.
Awards Prize at the 1st Kūsōkagaku Shōsetsu Contest for Kakyū Aidea-man () 1961 Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature (JA) for Shōmetsu no Kōrin () 1979 Seiun Award for Shōmetsu no Kōrin 1979 Seiun Award for Hikishio no toki () 1996
Works in English translation Administrator (Kurodahan Press, 2004) "Fnifmum" (The Best Japanese Science Fiction Stories, Dembner Books, 1989 / Barricade Books, 1997) "I'll Get Rid of Your Discontent" (Speculative Japan, Kurodahan Press, 2007)
Works Novels Novels and Collections of novelettes and short stories, or Collection of short short stories."shōto shōto (short short)" is the Japanese genre name of stories. "very short story". There is no corresponding term in English. Moeru Keisha () 1963, Touto Shobou Gen'ei no Kōsei () 1966, Hayakawa Shobou EXPO' 87 () 1968, Hayakawa Shobou Wa ga Sexoid () 1969, Rippu Shobou Techunit () 1969, San'ichi Shobou Jun B-kyū Shimin () 1966, Hayakawa Publishing, Hayakawa SF Series Bankokuhaku ga Yattekuru () 1968, Hayakawa Publishing, Hayakawa SF Series Niji wa Kieta () 1969, Hayakawa Publishing, Hayakawa SF Series Toki no Odysseus () 1971, Hayakawa Publishing, Hayakawa SF Series C-seki no Kyaku () 1971, Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha, 1973, Kadokawa Bunko Karera no Naka no Umi () 1973, Hayakawa Publishing Kiga Rettō () 1974, Hayakawa Publishing, (collaboration with Masami Fukushima) Salon wa Owatta () 1974, Hayakawa Bunko JA Shiseikan (, Administrator) 1974, Hayakawa Publishing Ano Shinju-iro no Asa wo... () 1974, Kadokawa Bunko Kimyōna Tsuma () 1975, Hayakawa Publishing, 1978 Kadokawa Bunko Ikyō Henge () 1976, Kadokawa Bunko Nubatama no... () 1978, Koudansha Shōmetsu no Kōrin () 1979, Hayakawa Publishing Bokutachi no Pocket () 1980, Kadokawa Bunko Nagai Akatsuki () 1980, Hayakawa Publishing Pocket no ABC () 1982, Kadokawa Shoten Pocket no XYZ () 1982, Kadokawa Shoten Futsū no Kazoku () 1984, Kadokawa Bunko Meikyū Monogatari () 1986, Kadokawa Shoten Futeiki Esper () 1–8, 1988–1990, Tokuma Shoten Hikishio no Toki () 1–5, 1988-1995 Hayakawa Publishing Wonder Tea Room () 1992, Jitsugyō no nihon Higawari Ichiwa, Book 1, Book 2 () 1998, Shuppan Geijutsusha Tsuma ni Sasageta 1778-wa (, 1,778 Stories dedicated to My Wife, [Tsuma ni Sasageta Sen Nana-hyaku Nana-jū Hachi-wa]) 2004 etc.
Shiseikan series The Shiseikan (Administrator) series is summarized as follows: In the distant future, the humans of Earth constitute the Terrestrial Federation; the Terrestrial humans have spread far across outer space and colonized numerous planets and solar systems. The Federation established local governments on those planets to establish law and order among the human settlers, and to mediate between Terrestrials and the sapient aliens who had been originally born, evolved and lived on certain of these planets before the settlers arrived. In the early period, the planets had been ruled by Federation-aligned military juntas; however, the Federation has begun to recall the military administrations and send civilian administrators to govern on their behalf. The troubles faced by these administrators constitute the stories of Shiseikan. Shiseikan (}, Administrators) 1974, Hayakawa Publishing Shōmesu no Kourin (, The Corona of the Extinction) 1979, Hayakawa Publishing, Seiun Award 1979 Nagai Akatsuki (, Long Dawn) 1980, Hayakawa Publishing Hikishio no Toki (, The Time at Low Tide) 1996, Hayakawa Publishing, Seiun Award 1996
Young adult fiction Tensai wa Tsukurareru () 1968 Maboroshi no Pen Friend () 1970, 2006 Nazo no Tenkōsei () 1972, 2004 Nejireta Machi () 1974, 2005 Sangyō Shikan Kōhosei () 1974 Jigoku no Sainō () 1975 Nerawareta Gakuen () 1976, 2003 Omoiagari no Natsu () 1977, Kadokawa Bunko (including Nagori no Yuki ) Tozasareta Jikanwari () 1977 Naitara Shi ga Kuru () 1977 Shiroi Futōshiki () 1978 Tsukurareta Asu () 1980 Toraerareta School Bus ()) 1981-1983 Kadokawa Bunko, (New title: Toki no Tabibito () Shiirareta Henshin () 1988
Historical story Cartago no Unmei () 1998, Shin Jinbutsu Ōraisha
Others or uncertain Chikyū e no Tōi Michi () 1970, Mainichi Shinbunsha Nijū-Yo-Jikan no Sinnyūsha () 1974, Akimoto Waru-nori Ryokō () 1975, Kadokawa Bunko Shin'ya Hōsō no Happening () 1977, Akimoto Mōretsu Kyōshi () 1977 Shiroi Kobako () 1977, Jitsugyou no Nihon Tōrisugita Yatsu () 1977, Ruppu Shobo Henna Otoko () 1978, Kadokawa Bunko Oshaberi Meiro () 1979, Kadokawa Shoten Gekkō no Sasu Basho () 1980 Katamuita Chiheisen () 1981, Kadokawa Bunko Sorezore no Magarikado () 1986, Kadokawa Bunko Yūyake no Kaiten Mokuba () 1986, Kadokawa Bunko Niji no Uragawa () 1994, Shuppan Geijutsusha etc.
Essays Giyaman to Kikai (, Glass and Machine) 1977, PHP Kenkyusho Teri-kageri no Fūkei - Kessaku Essay () 1981.12, Kosaido shuppan Osaka no Machikado - Mayumura Taku Semba Essay () 1995.11 San'itsu shobo
Haiku poetry Kiri wo Yuku () 2009
Works adapted into TV drama Maboroshi no Pen Friend () 1974, 2001 Nazo no Tenkōsei () 1975、2014 Nerawareta Gakuen () 1977, 1982, 1987, 1997 Jigoku no Sainō () 1977 Nagori no Yuki () 1977, 1994
Works adapted into cinema film Nerawareta Gakuen () 1981 (Director: ()), 1997 (Director: ()) Nazo no Tenkōsei () 1998 (Director: ()) Boku to Tsuma no 1778 no Monogatari () based on his life episode and short stories.
Works adapted into anime film Toki no Tabibito () 1986 (Director: Mori Masaki) Neo Tokyo (Meikyuu Monogatari) () 1987 (Directors: Rintaro, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Katsuhiro Ōtomo) Nerawareta Gakuen () 2012 (Director: Ryosuke Nakamura)
Notes and references
References (ja) Masao Azuma & Ran Ishidō Nihon Gensō Sakka Jiten, Kokusho Kankokai, (2009), pp. 648-649 The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, page 641 References in the Article in JA-Wikipedia
External links