Kanae Minato Explained

Kanae Minato
Birth Place:	Innoshima, Hiroshima, Japan
Occupation:	Writer
Language:	Japanese
Period:	2007–present
Genre:	Crime fiction, thriller
Awards:	Japanese Booksellers Award (2009) Mystery Writers of Japan Award (2012)

is a Japanese writer of crime fiction and thrillers. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of Japan and the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan.^{[1] [2]} She is a 2015 recipient of the Alex Awards.

Life

She started writing in her thirties. Her first novel Confessions became a bestseller and won the Japanese Booksellers Award.

In youth she was an avid fan of mystery novels of Edogawa Ranpo, Maurice Leblanc, Agatha Christie, Keigo Higashino, Miyuki Miyabe and Yukito Ayatsuji.^[3]

She has been described in Japan as "the queen of iyamisu."^[4] Iyamisu (eww mystery) is a subgenre of mystery fiction which deals with grisly episodes and the dark side of human nature. The term was created in 2006 by the mystery critic Aoi Shimotsuki.^[5] There has been an iyamisu boom in Japan since around 2012. Kanae Minato, Mahokaru Numata and Yukiko Mari are regarded as representatives of the genre in Japan.^{[6] [7]} The back cover blurb of the Japanese edition of Gone Girl, published in June 2013, was "One of the best iyamisu novels from overseas."

The English edition of Minato's Confessions, published in August 2014, was described by a critic as "the Gone Girl of Japan."^[8]

Wall Street Journal selected Confessions as one of the 10 best mysteries of 2014.^[9]

Works in English translation

• Confessions (original title: Kokuhaku), trans. Stephen Snyder (Mulholland Books, 2014),
• Penance (original title: Shokuzai), trans. Philip Gabriel (Mulholland Books, 2017),

Awards and nominations

Japanese Awards

• 2007 – Shosetsu Suiri New Writers Prize: "The Priest"^[10]
• 2009 – Japanese Booksellers Award: Confessions^[11]
• 2012 – Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Best Short Story: "Umi no Hoshi"^[12]

U.S. Awards

• 2015 – Alex Award:^[13] Confessions
• 2015 – Nominee for Strand Critics Award for Best First Novel:^[14] Confessions
• 2015 – Nominee for Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel:^[15] Confessions

Bibliography

Standalone novels

• , 2008 (Confessions)
• , 2009 (Girls)
• , 2009 (Expiation)
• , 2010 (For N)
• , 2010 (The Night Ferris Wheel)
• , 2011 (The Chain of Flowers)
• , 2011 (Circumstances)
• , 2012 (The Snow White Murder Case)
• , 2012 (Motherhood)
• , 2013 (An Entrance Examination for a High School)
• , 2014 (Sleep on a Bean)
• , 2014 (Mountain Woman Diary)
• , 2014 (The End of the Story)
• , 2015
• , 2015 (Reverse)
• , 2015
• , 2018 (Future)
• , 2018
• , 2019 (Sunset)
• , 2020 (Fragment)
• , 2023^[16]

Short story collections

• , 2010 (Round Trip Letter)
• , 2012 (Sapphire)
• , 2013 (Thoughts of Home)
• , 2016

TV and film adaptations

Japanese films

• Confessions (2010)
• Kita no Kanaria tachi (2012) (Based on her short story Niju nen go no Shukudai 二十年後の宿題)
• The Snow White Murder Case (Shirayukihime Satsujin Jiken) (2014)
• Night's Tightrope (Shōjo) (2016)
• Bokyo (Based on her short story “夢の国 Yume no Kuni” Dreamland and “光の航 Hikari no koro” Light Route)(2017)
• Motherhood (2022)^[17]

Japanese TV Movies and Series

• Kyōgū (TV Movie) (2011)
• Penance (2012) (Shokuzai)
• Kōkō Nyūshi (TV Series) (2012)
• Yakō Kanransha (TV Series) (2013)
• Hana no Kusari (TV Movie) (2013)
• N no Tame ni (TV Series) (2014)
• Josei Sakka Mysteries Utsukushiki Mitsu no Uso (TV Movie 女性作家ミステリーズ 美しき三つの嘘 Only Episode 1 Based on her short story “Moonstone” from short story “Sapphire”) (2016)
• Bokyo TV Movie Special (Based on her short story “みかんの花 Mikan no hana” Orange Flowers, “海の星 Umi no hoshi” Sea Stars and “雲の糸 Kumo no ito” Cloud Thread)(2016)
• Ōfuku shokan ~ Junen go-nen-go no hōshu (TV Movie Based on her short story 往復書簡～十五年後の補習) (2016)
• Yamaonna Nikki ~ Onnatachi wa itadaki wo mezashite (TV Series 山女日記 ～女たちは頂きを目指して～) (2016)
• Reverse (TV Series) (2017)
• Poison Daughter Holy Mother (TV Series) (2019)
• Lupin the 3rd Part 6^[18] (TV Anime Series) (2021)
• Sunset (TV Series) (2023)^[19]

See also

• Japanese detective fiction

References

• Profile at J'Lit Books from Japan
• Profile and the synopsis of Confessions at Mulholland Books

Notes and References

1. Web site: Kanae Minato (List of members). Mystery Writers of Japan, Inc.. August 13, 2015. Japanese.
2. Web site: Members of the Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. Honkaku Mystery Writers Club of Japan. August 13, 2015. Japanese.
3. Web site: http://www.webdoku.jp/rensai/sakka/michi113_minato/. ja:作家の読書道 第113回：湊かなえさん - 作家の読書道. WEB 本の雑誌. March 3, 2014. Japanese.
4. Web site: http://ddnavi.com/news/69490/. ja:“イヤミス”の女王 湊かなえの『贖罪』文庫が大人気. Da Vinci News. February 13, 2015. Japanese.
5. Shimotsuki . Aoi . January 2007 . Kono iyamisu ni furuero! . ja:このイヤミスに震えろ！ . Hon No Zasshi. Japanese. 32. 1. 0385-4612.
6. Web site: Yukiko Mari. J-Lit Center. February 13, 2015.
7. Web site: http://bookstand.webdoku.jp/news/2012/02/23/100000.html. ja:いや～な汗をかく小説「イヤミス」の魅力とは？. Bookstand. February 13, 2015. Japanese.
8. Cha . Steph . August 8, 2014 . Kanae Minato's 'Confessions' hits its mark with a vengeance . Los Angeles Times.
9. December 4, 2014 . Best Books of 2014 . Wall Street Journal.
10. Web site: Kanae Minato: Futabasha Official Site. Futabasha. June 1, 2024. ja.
11. Web site: 2009年本屋大賞結果発表. Announcing the 2009 Booksellers' Award results. Honya Taisho. June 1, 2024. ja.
12. Web site: 2012年 第65回 日本推理作家協会賞 短編部門. 2012 65th Mystery Writers of Japan Award, Short Story category. Mystery Writers of Japan. June 1, 2024. ja.
13. http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2015/02/yalsa-announces-2015-alex-awards YALSA announces 2015 Alex Awards | News & Press Center | American Library Association
14. http://www.mysterycenter.com/2015/03/26/Strand-Critics-Award-Nominees-Are-Announced Strand Critics Award Nominees Are Announced... | Mystery Center
15. http://www.shirleyjacksonawards.org/nominees/ The Shirley Jackson Awards » 2014 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners
16. Web site: 人間標本. 31 October 2024. Kadokawa.
17. Web site: 母性. November 4, 2022. eiga.com.
18. Web site: Lupin III Part 6 Anime Teases Sherlock Holmes Plot, Writer Mamoru Oshii, October 9 Debut.
19. Web site: 北川景子と吉岡里帆が初共演、湊かなえの「落日」WOWOWでドラマ化 監督は内田英治. May 31, 2023. Natalie.