Shūhei Fujisawa
Shuhei Fujisawa (26 December 1927 – 26 January 1997) was a Japanese author, whose real name was Tomeji Kosuge. Over fifty of his books were published through the course of his lifetime, including both full-length novels and short story anthologies. The focus of his writing was historical fiction.
Also recorded as Fujisawa Shūhei · Shuhei Fujisawa · Fujisawa Shuhei · Fujisawa, Shūhei
Shūhei Fujisawa
- Born
- 1927 · Tsuruoka.
- Died
- 1997 · Tokyo.
- Nationality
- Japan · Empire of Japan
- Occupation
- novelist · writer · journalist
- Fields
- historical fiction
- Education
- Yamagata University
- Honours
- Kikuchi Kan Prize · Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for Literature · Asahi Prize
- Languages
- Japanese
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Shuhei Fujisawa (26 December 1927 – 26 January 1997) was a Japanese author, whose real name was Tomeji Kosuge. Over fifty of his books were published through the course of his lifetime, including both full-length novels and short story anthologies. The focus of his writing was historical fiction.
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Note VALÉORINE
Shūhei Fujisawa (1927–1997) was a Japanese and Japanese journalist, novelist and writer. Born in Tsuruoka, the journalist died in Tokyo.
Shūhei Fujisawa studied at Yamagata University. The journalist was active in historical fiction.
Languages used include Japanese. Shūhei Fujisawa received Asahi Prize, Kikuchi Kan Prize and Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for Literature.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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wikidata · Q1397543 · wikipedia · Shuhei Fujisawa
In this article
Historical setting
Historical setting
The Bamboo Sword and Other Samurai Tales, a collection of eight short stories, is a work of historical fiction. The stories are set in Edo period Japan (1603-1867) and depict the lives of people from all walks of life, but revolve mainly around samurai characters. The Edo Period (1603-1867) was a 264 year period of relative peace in Japanese history. This historical period was full of political upheaval and intrigue, rivalry and betrayals. During this time, the samurai struggled to retain their sense of pride and meaning in life as they attempted to settle into mundane jobs and family life. This struggle can be seen throughout The Bamboo Sword and Other Samurai Tales and other works by Fujisawa, who always highlighted the humanity of his characters in his stories. His stories, thus, offer the reader a means to understand Japanese history and culture in a more real sense and through unflowery prose.
Identity
Identity
Shūhei Fujisawa is recorded with the occupation journalist. Recorded with the occupation novelist. Recorded with the occupation writer. Recorded as novelist, writer and journalist.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1927
Shūhei Fujisawa was born on 26 December 1927.
1997
Shūhei Fujisawa died on 26 January 1997.
Places
Named by the record
Places
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Tsuruoka.
Birth place
Tokyo.
Death place
Published works
Before he became an author, he had been a business journalist and before that a high school teacher.
Over 23 million of his paperbacks have been printed. His work has been adapted for both television and film. Five recent full-length films have been based on his work. Three of them directed by Yoji Yamada are • The Twilight Samurai (2002) • The Hidden Blade (2004) • Love and Honor (2006). In addition, Hana no Ato (2010) was turned into a movie and directed by Kenji Nakanishi. Kikyō was also adapted into a movie (2019).
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Documents and archives
reference work
- “Shuhei Fujisawa”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1397543: Shūhei Fujisawa
General reference · Wikidata
Awards
In 1973, Fujisawa received the 69th Naoki Prize (1973上) for Ansatsu no Nenrin (Annals of Assassination). He would go on to win six further literary awards, among them the Asahi Prize in 1994. The Twilight Samurai (2002), which was in part based on the title story, The Bamboo Sword and Other Samurai Tales, won the 2003 Japanese Academy Awards. It was also nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
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Cited by Wikipedia
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Bibliography printed in the source article · 1
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General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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