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323:, 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,
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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
434:”, it became clear that Izawa was not at all able to read old Japanese documents. The late historian Eiichi Matsushima who was a professor at Waseda University criticized him on this matter and at one point Izawa changed his views, though he retracted his change of heart after Matsushima's death.
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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
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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
342:. 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.
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is a both detective fiction and a historical novel in which the protagonist mentally travels in time under the influence of medications and, in a science-fiction style twist, amalgamates with the mind of
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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
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and frequently contributes articles on the subject to journals of opinion such as the biweekly magazine SAPIO. He is critical of the stance of the mass media towards history including the
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is a
Japanese writer of mystery novels and historical fiction as well as a historical researcher. He was formerly a news reporter for
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which were destroyed in 2001 by the librarians. In 2005 the
Supreme Court ordered the library to pay compensation for the loss.
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as opposed to the unsaid or unconscious factors of history, and the ignoring or belittling of mystical and religious aspects.
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from a 28 November column in the same magazine he conspicuously fixated on Sono’s infamous misreading by swapping her use of
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In 2010 Izawa also worked on a committee to commemorate the 1300th anniversary of the moving of the
Japanese capital to
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618:"Misreading, Espionage and "Beautiful Martyrdom": On Hearing the Okinawa 'Mass Suicides' Suit Court Verdict. UPDATE"
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as a news reporter. In 1980, at the time he was working at the politics section of the news bureau, his novel
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and elevate Nagoya to metropolis-level status as Tokyo already is. He expressed his sympathy to
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He is vocal about problems with the way
Japanese people perceive their history centering on the
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In recent years his TV appearances in Tokyo have been scarce but he continues to appear in
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He loves baseball and partly because of his Nagoya origins, he is also a fan of the
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and solves crimes in
Orikuchi's time as well as unravelling the mystery of the
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Motohiko Izawa graduated from
Chitose Tokyo Metropolitan High School, now
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292:("Illusionary Travel Around Sarumaru") won the 26th Edogawa Rampo Prize.
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and on the occasion argued for a reappraisal of his political record.
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In a 12 December 2007 column for the magazine SAPIO he attacked
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Motohiko Izawa’s Study – official website and e-mail newsletter
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He has made appearances on many television programs including "
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from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially
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and a lively debate ensued based on his cherished theories.
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After the Chuo Gishi Kai, a group dedicated to studying the
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and since April 2012 has worked as a visiting professor at
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Hikari Ota's If I Were Prime
Minister... Secretary Tanaka
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Most of Izawa's novels are on the plane of what he calls
316:. In 1985 Izawa left TBS to become a full-time writer.
280:("Retaliation for Perversion") was a candidate for the
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404:Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform
465:no Sokomade Itte Iinkai" and "Wake up!" on
398:which he blasted in a book co-written with
381:empirical reliance on historical documents
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56:about living persons that is unsourced or
514:Koichi Kato when his home was burned down
449:(巨魁 meaning ringleader) with the correct
127:Learn how and when to remove this message
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276:. While he was in university his story
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270:Roka Tokyo Metropolitan High School
327:("Paradoxical Japanese History").
308:and the relationship of the poets
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272:, and from the faculty of law at
330:In his early days he also wrote
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673:21st-century Japanese novelists
668:20th-century Japanese novelists
650:Weekly Column by Motohiko Izawa
406:and is an active denier of the
402:. Izawa is affiliated with the
574:. Japantimes.co.jp. 2005-07-15
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284:. After graduation he joined
172:Writer, researcher of history
453:(巨塊 meaning colossal mass).
334:and the novelization of the
34:biography of a living person
683:Edogawa Rampo Prize winners
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61:must be removed immediately
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504:Other views and activities
471:Koko ga Hen da yo Nihonjin
430:subtitled “The Mystery of
220:Edogawa Rampo Prize (1980)
371:are taken from Umehara's
346:Views on Japanese history
242:, born February 1, 1954,
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713:Waseda University alumni
693:Japanese anti-communists
688:Nanjing Massacre deniers
678:Japanese mystery writers
388:Second Sino-Japanese War
492:. He even appeared on "
593:"逆説の日本史（忠臣蔵の謎）への反論、批判"
540:Historical revisionism
428:Gyakusetsu no Nihonshi
363:, and wa, or harmony.
325:Gyakusetsu no Nihonshi
314:Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
212:Gyakusetsu no Nihonshi
48:Please help by adding
367:espoused in his book
321:historical mysteries
54:Contentious material
698:Writers from Nagoya
400:Yoshinori Kobayashi
282:Edogawa Rampo Prize
264:Career and writings
258:Shuchiin University
210:Sarumaru Genshi-ko
369:Sarumaru Genshi-ko
294:Sarumaru Genshi-ko
290:Sarumaru Genshi-ko
310:Sarumaru no Taifu
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528:Chunichi Dragons
510:Aichi Prefecture
408:Nanjing massacre
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622:. Retrieved
620:. JapanFocus
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601:. Retrieved
597:the original
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576:. Retrieved
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43:verification
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703:1954 births
432:Chushingura
177:Nationality
662:Categories
624:2012-07-30
603:2012-06-30
578:2012-07-30
546:References
467:Yomiuri TV
443:Ayako Sono
169:Occupation
155:1954-02-01
87:newspapers
521:Heijo-kyo
418:Criticism
412:Funabashi
303:Heian-era
117:July 2012
39:citations
534:See also
498:kotodama
490:Asahi TV
424:47 ronin
353:kotodama
336:Nintendo
180:Japanese
65:libelous
463:Takajin
332:fantasy
101:scholar
486:Kansai
451:kyokai
447:kyokai
361:kegare
244:Nagoya
185:Period
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469:and "
357:onryo
338:game
306:iroha
233:井沢 元彦
193:Genre
108:JSTOR
94:books
32:This
390:and
312:and
149:Born
80:news
41:for
479:NHK
475:NCB
286:TBS
254:TBS
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