Writer Hisashi Inoue dies at 75

Author and playwright Hisashi Inoue died of lung cancer on Friday night. He was 75. Inoue had been receiving medical treatment since the cancer was discovered last October.

While studying at Sophia University during the 1950s, Inoue became a member of the France-za theater troupe and began his writing career. He started being widely noticed after his involvement in “Hyokkori Hyotanjima,” a puppet show that aired on NHK from 1964 to 1969. In 1972, his play “Dougen no Bouken” won the Kunio Kishida Drama Award, while his novel “Tegusari Shinju” won the Naoki Prize.

Inoue’s plays earned him critical acclaim both domestically and overseas. He launched the Komatsuza troupe in 1984, and one of the troupe’s best known works was “Chichi to Kuraseba” (also known as “The Face of Jizo”). That piece was adapted in 2004 as a movie by director Kazuo Kuroki, starring Rie Miyazawa, Yoshio Harada, and Tadanobu Asano.

Besides novels and plays, the prolific Inoue also wrote screenplays, essays, and song lyrics. Over the years, he received countless other awards and honors, including the Eiji Yoshikawa Prize and the Kan Kikuchi Prize.

Source:
Sponichi Annex