Motohiko Izawa
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Motohiko Izawa | |
---|---|
Born | Nagoya, Japan | February 1, 1954
Occupation | Writer, researcher of history |
Nationality | Japanese |
Period | 1980–present |
Genre | historical novels |
Notable works | Sarumaru Genshi-ko Gyakusetsu no Nihonshi |
Notable awards | Edogawa Rampo Prize (1980) |
Motohiko Izawa (井沢 元彦, Izawa Motohiko, born February 1, 1954,
Career and writings
Motohiko Izawa graduated from Chitose Tokyo Metropolitan High School, now
Most of Izawa's novels are on the plane of what he calls historical mysteries, in which he ties modern-day murders into his detective fiction while taking the mysteries of history as his themes. In addition, he also works on pure historical fiction, and he develops his own unique theories on history, particularly since 1992 in the successive instalments of his popular series of non-fiction history books, Gyakusetsu no Nihonshi ("Paradoxical Japanese History").
In his early days he also wrote fantasy and the novelization of the Nintendo game Dragon Buster. Recently he has turned his attention outside of Japanese history and has released books such as a series of “intensive courses” on the religions of Buddhism, Shintoism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Views on Japanese history
Izawa has a strong command of diverse historical materials and treats the society and history of Japan from an original point of view. He sees as the animating undercurrents of Japan the unconscious faith of the Japanese people in
Izawa thinks highly of and has been heavily influenced by Shunshin Chin and Takeshi Umehara. He reveres Umehara, a pioneer of the view that Japanese history has been shaped by the fear of onryo, as being “someone who is like a beloved teacher to me”. The theories about Kakinomoto no Hitomaro's life espoused in his book Sarumaru Genshi-ko are taken from Umehara's Minasoko no Uta.
His style of writing history takes into account his thorough dissection and criticism of “the three great flaws of the study of history”, which include the “authoritarianism” of professional historical societies, an excessively
He is vocal about problems with the way Japanese people perceive their history centering on the
Criticism
After the Chuo Gishi Kai, a group dedicated to studying the
In a 12 December 2007 column for the magazine SAPIO he attacked Kenzaburō Ōe’s 1970 essay Okinawa Note but when quoting similar criticism by Ayako Sono from a 28 November column in the same magazine he conspicuously fixated on Sono’s infamous misreading[4] by swapping her use of kyokai (巨魁 meaning ringleader) with the correct kyokai (巨塊 meaning colossal mass).
TV appearances
He has made appearances on many television programs including "Takajin no Sokomade Itte Iinkai" and "Wake up!" on Yomiuri TV and "Koko ga Hen da yo Nihonjin" on TBS, and is the Monday commentator on "Yoshida Terumi Soko daiji na Koto" on NCB. He has also served as a regular commentator on the TV show “Historical Discoveries” on NHK.
In recent years his TV appearances in Tokyo have been scarce but he continues to appear in
Other views and activities
He advocates democratic fundamentals in both Japanese society and politics. In January 2012 he went to work at the headquarters of the Chūkyō Dokuritsu Senryaku Honbu which seeks to abolish
In 2010 Izawa also worked on a committee to commemorate the 1300th anniversary of the moving of the Japanese capital to
He loves baseball and partly because of his Nagoya origins, he is also a fan of the Chunichi Dragons.
See also
References
- ^ Tokushi Kasahara, “Higashinakano Osamichi: The Last Word in Denial,” in The Nanking Atrocity, 1937-38: Complicating the Picture, ed. Bob Tadashi Wakabayashi (New York: Berghahn Books, 2008), 307.
- ^ "Supreme Court sides with revisionist authors over library's trashing of texts | The Japan Times Online". Japantimes.co.jp. 2005-07-15. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
- ^ "逆説の日本史(忠臣蔵の謎)への反論、批判". Archived from the original on 2012-01-26. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
- ^ "Misreading, Espionage and "Beautiful Martyrdom": On Hearing the Okinawa 'Mass Suicides' Suit Court Verdict. UPDATE". JapanFocus. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
External links
- Motohiko Izawa’s Study – official website and e-mail newsletter (in Japanese)
- Weekly Column by Motohiko Izawa (in Japanese)