Genzō Murakami

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Genzō Murakami (1910–2006) was a Japanese writer known for historical novels and for helping revive popular literature after World War II. He was born in Korea while Japan ruled the peninsula. His first novel, Tone no Kawagiri, received an honorable mention. In 1940 he won the Naoki Prize for Kazusa Fudoki (Kazusa Topography).

During the American occupation of Japan, Murakami wrote a novel about the famous swordsman Sasaki Kojirō. It was serialized in the Asahi Shimbun and later made into a film in 1950, notable for surviving the era’s strict censorship. He became a leading figure in postwar popular literature. His later works include Mito Kōmon and Katsu Kaishū. His portrayal of Minamoto no Yoshitsune was turned into NHK’s year-long Taiga drama. He received the Purple Ribbon Medal in 1974 and the Order of the Sacred Treasures in 1981. He died of heart failure in a Tokyo hospital on April 3, 2006, at age 96.