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{{Short description|Pen name of Mariko Hashioka, a Japanese writer}}
{{Infobox writer 
| name = Natsuo Kirino
| awards = [[Naoki Prize]]
| pen_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1951|10|7|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Kanazawa, Ishikawa|Kanazawa]], [[Ishikawa Prefecture]], Japan
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = [[Novelist]]
| period =
| genre = Thriller, [[Hardboiled]], [[Social mystery]]
| subject =
| movement =
| notable_works = [[Out (novel)|Out]]
| influences =
| influenced =
| website =
| image = Natsuo Kirino.jpg
| caption = Natsuo Kirino reading from Swallows at Edinburgh International Book Festival (2026)
}}
{{nihongo|'''Natsuo Kirino'''|桐野夏生|Kirino Natsuo}} (born October 7, 1951, in [[Kanazawa, Ishikawa|Kanazawa]], [[Ishikawa Prefecture]]) is the pen name of '''Mariko Hashioka''',<ref name=Scalise>{{cite web|last=Scalise|first=Paul|title=Interview|url=http://www.japanreview.net/interview_Natsuo_Kirino.htm|work=JapanReview.Net|publisher=JapanReview.Net|accessdate=4 November 2013|date=Summer 2003|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130220125455/http://japanreview.net/interview_Natsuo_Kirino.htm|archivedate=20 February 2013}}</ref> a [[Japanese people|Japanese]] novelist and a leading figure in the recent boom of female writers of [[Japanese detective fiction]].<ref name=Lutz />

==Biography==
Kirino was born in 1951 and is the middle child of three. She has two brothers, one who is six years older and one who is five years younger. Their father was an architect and the family often visited many different cities due to his work. Kirino was raised predominantly in [[Sendai]] and [[Sapporo]], before she moved to Tokyo at fourteen. Since then, she has continued to live in Tokyo and got married in 1975.<ref name=Lutz /><ref name="Bubblonia">{{cite web|last=Kirino|first=Natsuo|title=About Her|url=http://www.kirino-natsuo.com/eng/|work=Bubblonia|publisher=Natsuo Kirino|accessdate=4 November 2013|year=2009|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072213/http://www.kirino-natsuo.com/eng/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1981 she gave birth to her daughter.<ref name=Bubblonia />

She earned a law degree in 1974 from [[Seikei University]], and she dabbled in many fields of work before settling on being a writer.<ref name=Bubblonia /><ref name="Lutz" /> Kirino worked at the Iwanami Hall movie theater in her early twenties.<ref name=Nagai>{{cite journal|last=Nagai|first=Mariko|title=An Interview with Natsuo Kirino|journal=Chattahoochee Review|year=2008|volume=28|issue=1|pages=98–119}}</ref> She soon discovered it wasn't right for her and just before her thirteenth birthday she started taking scriptwriting classes. It wasn't until she was in her thirties that she began to seriously think about becoming a writer, and it wasn't until her forties that she became popular as a writer.<ref name="Nagai" /><ref name=Davis>{{cite journal|last=Davis|first=J. Madison|title=Unimaginable Things: The Feminist Noir of Natsuo Kirino|journal=World Literature Today|date=January–February 2010|volume=84|issue=1|pages=9–11}}</ref>

==Literary career==
Kirino began her writing career in 1984, when she started composing novels in the romantic genre.<ref name=Indiebound>{{cite web|last=Duncan|first=Andrew|title=Natsuo Kirino Interview|url=http://www.indiebound.org/author-interviews/kirinonatsuo|work=Indiebound|accessdate=21 November 2013}}</ref> However, these types of novels were not popular in Japan, so she found it difficult to make a living while writing them.<ref name=Indiebound /> She also did not have a passion for writing romance novels and wanted to concentrate on works focusing on the psychological aspect of crimes.<ref name=Indiebound /> She then turned her focus towards writing mystery novels in the early 1990s.<ref name=Indiebound /> To date, she has written several short story collections and many novels,<ref name=Harrison /> and is now one of Japan's most popular writers.<ref name=Seaman>{{cite journal|last=Seaman|first=Amanda C.|title=Inside OUT: Space, Gender, and Power in Kirino Natsuo|journal=Japanese Language and Literature|year=2006|volume=40|issue=2|pages=197–217|jstor=30198010|doi=10.2307/30198010|doi-access=free}}</ref>

She is most famous for her 1997 novel, ''[[Out (novel)|Out]]'', which received the [[Mystery Writers of Japan Award]], Japan's top mystery award, and was a finalist (in English translation) for the 2004 [[Edgar Award]].<ref name=Lutz>{{cite book|last=Lutz|first=R.C.|title=Critical Survey of Mystery & Detective Fiction|year=2008|publisher=Salem Press|location=Pasadena, CA|edition=Revised|editor=Carl Rollyson|chapter=Natsuo Kirino}}</ref> In addition, Kirino received the 1993 [[Edogawa Rampo Prize]] for [[mystery fiction]] for her [[debut novel]], ''Kao ni Furikakaru Ame'' (Rain Falling on My Face), and the 1999 [[Naoki Prize]] for her novel ''Yawarakana hoho'' (Soft Cheeks).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=[Tokyo International Literary Festival] Asia Session 1Female Writers Challenging Social Taboos: Transcending Gender, Religion, and Community |url=https://www.i-house.or.jp/eng/programs/bungei1/ |access-date=2026-02-24 |website=IHJ Programs |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Bubblonia" /> In 2008, Kirino won the [[Tanizaki Prize]] for her novel ''Tokyo Island.<ref name=":0" />''

So far, four of her novels (''[[Out (novel)|Out]]'', ''[[Grotesque (novel)|Grotesque]]'', ''[[Real World (novel)|Real World]]'', and ''[[The Goddess Chronicle]]'', the last of which was written for the [[Canongate Myth Series]]) have been translated into English.<ref name=Harrison>{{cite news|last=Harrison|first=Sophie|title=Memoirs of a Geisha's Sister|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/books/review/Harrison2.t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|accessdate=1 November 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=15 April 2007}}</ref> A further novel, ''Swallows'' is scheduled for publication in 2025.

In spite of writing in stories in the genre, Kirino does not particularly like mysteries. For influential books from her childhood, Kirino cites ''[[Two Years' Vacation]]'', ''[[The Three Musketeers]]'', and ''[[Little Women]]'' as favorites.<ref name=Scalise />

Many critics challenged and criticized Kirino for her storylines, especially for ''[[Out (novel)|Out]]'', by saying women should only be writing love stories.<ref name=Nagai /> In fact, one male radio host refused to talk with her because of the fact she wrote about a husband being murdered by his own wife.<ref name=Davis /> However, her fiction has been mirrored by reality with an increasing number of bizarre murders in Japan such as the woman who in 2007 murdered her husband, dismembered his body, and dumped the parts across Tokyo.<ref name=Lutz />

==Writing style and themes==
Kirino's works, such as ''[[Out (novel)|Out]]'', ask the reader what they would do if something awful happened to them.<ref name=Nagai /> By writing novels that people can relate to, Kirino hopes her novels can help her readers through hard times and be comforted.<ref name=Nagai /> She has apparently been successful in reaching readers emotionally; for example Kirino was approached by a woman who thanked her for the liberation she felt after reading ''[[Out (novel)|Out]]''.<ref name=Nagai />

Her work is reminiscent of American [[hardboiled]] detective stories, but her use of multiple narratives and perspectives provide "no authoritative master narrative . . . that finally reassures the reader which of the many voices one is to trust".<ref name=Lutz /> Her prose style has been described as "flat," "functional," and "occasionally illuminated by a strange lyricism."<ref name=Poole /> Unlike most [[hardboiled]] fiction, Kirino's novels often feature a female protagonist such as her detective Miro Murano, who complicates the typical [[hardboiled]] role of females by becoming both detective and victim.<ref name=Copeland>{{cite journal|last=Copeland|first=Rebecca|title=Woman Uncovered: Pornography and Power in the Detective Fiction of Kirino Natsuo|journal=Japan Forum|year=2004|volume=16|issue=2|pages=249–69|doi=10.1080/0955580042000222673}}</ref> By doing this, Kirino "implicates [the reader] in the voyeuristic pleasure of the detective genre by making [the reader] conscious of [the] act of watching."<ref name=Copeland /> Kirino said she is fascinated by human nature and what makes someone with a completely clean record suddenly turn into a criminal.

In addition to comparisons with [[hardboiled]] crime fiction, Kirino's work has been compared with [[horror fiction]] (the gruesome dismemberment scenes in ''[[Out (novel)|Out]]'', for example) and [[proletarian literature]] such as ''[[Kanikōsen]]''.<ref name=Seaman />

Kirino has noted that her work can be viewed as a portrait of contemporary Japanese life, contrasting it with the work of [[Haruki Murakami]], who she feels writes more for a global audience, calling his work "global literature."<ref name=Nagai /> Critic Sophie Harrison has argued that Kirino presents a less-sanitized version of Japan, far from the stereotypical images of cherry blossoms and [[Hello Kitty]], and deals with sordid subjects such as crime and prostitution in her work.<ref name=Harrison />

Loneliness often seems to be a theme in her work, as is the idea that materialism and money have corrupted modern Japanese life, especially where family and romantic relationships are concerned.<ref name=Lutz /> In fact, ''[[Out (novel)|Out]]'' has been interpreted as "a cautionary tale of personal finance"<ref name=Poole /> and "a grim portrayal of Japan's underclasses, of its female characters' lives, and of the social, sexual, and economic injustice that they face."<ref name=Seaman />

Most of Kirino's novels center upon women and crime. Typically, in her novels, such as ''[[Out (novel)|Out]]'', Kirino mainly focuses on women who do unimaginable things, which is why her books can be considered as “feminist noir.”<ref name=Davis /> She writes in a convincing, realistic type of way, which leads to the greatness of her work stemming from "her ability to put us inside the skins of these women.”<ref name=Davis /> This focus on more realistic portrayals of Japanese women seems to be a trademark of her work, found in many of her novels such as [[Grotesque (novel)|''Grotesque'']].<ref name=Harrison /> She is also committed to giving women recognition in Japanese literature, where they are often resigned to sexual and domestic roles. The author recounts how a young man once told her that until he read ''[[Out (novel)|Out]]'', he “never realized that regular middle aged women actually had a life.”<ref name=Scalise /> Society, she says, takes advantage of powerless women and it is her goal to create empowered female characters to show readers the power of the “weaker sex.”<ref name=Scalise /> For these reasons, she has been called the "queen of Japanese crime."<ref name=Poole>{{cite news|last=Poole|first=Stephen|title=Murder Sushi Wrote|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/nov/27/featuresreviews.guardianreview18|accessdate=12 December 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=26 November 2004}}</ref> In fact, the plot of ''[[Out (novel)|Out]]'' has been described as a framework for her critique of "the problems of ordinary women in contemporary Japanese society."<ref name=Poole />

==Works in English translation==
;Crime/thriller novels
*''[[Out (novel)|Out]]'' (original title: ''Auto''), trans. Stephen Snyder (New York: [[Kodansha]], 2003; New York: [[Vintage Books|Vintage]], 2005)

Significance of Title –
Kirino explains that the title ''[[Out (novel)|Out]]'' has many meanings attached to it—out as in “off the path” or “exit,” out as in “no good,” and out as in “outside.”<ref name=Scalise /> She believes there is “a certain kind of freedom in being completely ‘out.’ If you go out one exit, there's another door, and if you open that, you don't know what awaits you"<ref name=Scalise /> When asked about the broken bonds in the story, the author says she believes there is no such thing as society and that we are essentially solitary creatures. This becomes clear when people unconsciously release their true nature by committing deviant acts. The book's title clearly conveys the experience of being on the outside of social groups.

Reception -
''[[Out (novel)|Out]]'' had an initial print run of 500,000 in Japan.<ref name=Lutz /> Although Kirino received much criticism for her gruesome and disturbing scenes, ''[[Out (novel)|Out]]'' sold a significantly large number of copies, won the [[Mystery Writers of Japan Award]],<ref name=Scalise/> and was even made into a [[Out (2002 film)|film]] directed by [[Hideyuki Hirayama]], which was released in 2002. According to ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', [[New Line Cinema]] has purchased the rights for an American version, to be directed by [[Hideo Nakata]].<ref>{{cite news|title=New Line thrills to 'Out' with Nakata|url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117907217.html?categoryid=1238&cs=1|accessdate=2007-05-22 | work=Variety | first=Michael | last=Fleming | date=2004-06-29}}</ref>

Research -
Kirino researches her books for approximately six months. For ''[[Out (novel)|Out]]'', she visited a pathology autopsy class at a university but was not able to view a real corpse. Instead, she interviewed a pathologist and took notes on the details of their operations, such as wearing goggles while dismembering a body due to the flying shards of bone. “In terms of that dismemberment scene,” Kirino says, “I actually was thinking about cooking while I was writing. When I later heard a doctor say that the description of my novel wasn't far off from the way they do it, I was quite relieved.”<ref name=Scalise /> Regarding characters, none of hers are modeled after real people, and she stresses that her dark characters do not cast a negative light on her own personhood. Kirino also stated in an ''[[LA Weekly]]'' interview that "[While writing] Out, I wanted to understand the experience of [working] at a bento factory. An acquaintance of mine happened to know a person who worked at [one]. So for two nights, I worked the night shift. After that, I just had to escape."<ref name=Rochlin>{{cite news|last=Rochlin|first=Margy|title=Grotesque: Natsuo Kirino's Dark World|url=http://www.laweekly.com/2007-07-05/art-books/grotesque-natsuo-kirino-s-dark-world/|accessdate=20 November 2013|newspaper=LA Weekly|date=3 July 2007}}</ref>

*''[[Grotesque (novel)|''Grotesque'']]'' (original title: ''Gurotesuku''), trans. Rebecca L. Copeland (New York: [[Alfred A. Knopf|Knopf]], 2007)
*''[[Real World (novel)|Real World]]'' (original title: ''Riaru Wārudo''), trans. [[Philip Gabriel]] (New York: Knopf, 2008)
*[[Swallows (novel)|''Swallows'']] (original title: ''Tsubame wa Modotte Konai),'' trans. Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda ([[Penguin Random House]], 2022)

;Other novels
*''[[The Goddess Chronicle]]'' (original title: ''Joshinki''), trans. Rebecca Copeland (Edinburgh: [[Canongate Books]], 2013)

;Short stories
*''Tokyo Island'' (original title: ''Tōkyō-jima''), trans. [[Philip Gabriel]] ([[Granta]], No.110, 2010 Spring, p. 31-50)
*''In Goats' Eyes Is the Sky Blue?'' (original title: ''Yagi no Me wa Sora o Aoku Utsusu ka''), trans. Philip Gabriel (Granta's website, July 2010 [http://www.granta.com/New-Writing/In-Goats-Eyes-is-the-Sky-Blue] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003005032/http://www.granta.com/New-Writing/In-Goats-Eyes-is-the-Sky-Blue |date=2013-10-03 }})
*''The Floating Forest'' (original title: ''Ukishima no Mori''), trans. Jonathan W. Lawless (''Digital Geishas and Talking Frogs: The Best 21st Century Short Stories from Japan'', Cheng & Tsui Company, 2011)

==Awards and nominations==
;Japanese Awards
* 1993 – [[Edogawa Rampo Prize]]: ''Kao ni Furikakaru Ame'' (Rain Falling on My Face)
* 1998 – [[Mystery Writers of Japan Award]] for Best Novel: ''[[Out (novel)|Out]]<ref name=":0" />''
* 1998 – The Best Japanese Crime Fiction of the Year ([[Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!#1998|Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! 1998]]): ''Out''
* 1999 – [[Naoki Prize]]: ''Yawarakana Hoho'' (Soft Cheeks)<ref name=":0" />
* 2003 – [[Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature]]: ''[[Grotesque (novel)|''Grotesque'']]''
* 2004 – [[Renzaburo Shibata|Shibata Renzaburo]] Award: ''Zangyakuki''
* 2008 – [[Tanizaki Prize]]: ''Tokyo Island'' (Novel)<ref name=":0" />
* 2009 – [[Murasaki Shikibu Prize]]: ''[[The Goddess Chronicle]]''
* 2011 – [[Yomiuri Prize]]: ''Nanika Aru''
* 2015 – Japan's Government [[Medals of Honor (Japan)]] for distinguished performances and contributions to society.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Qiao |first=Mina |date=2018 |title=Introduction to the Special Section: Kirino Natsuo: A Salute to Everyday Life |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26739444 |journal=Japanese Language and Literature |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=113–126 |issn=1536-7827}}</ref>

;U.S. Awards
* 2004 – Nominee for [[Edgar Award]] for Best Novel: ''[[Out (novel)|Out]]''

==Major works==

===Detective Miro Murano series===
* Novels
** ''Kao ni furikakaru ame'' (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1993)
** ''Tenshi ni misuterareta yoru'' (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1994)
** ''Mizu no nemuri hai no yume'' (Tokyo: Bungei Shunju, 1998)
** ''Dāku'' [Dark] (Tokyo: Kodansha: 2002)
* Short story collection
** ''Rōzu gāden'' [Rose Garden] (Tokyo: Kodansha, 2000)

===Fireball Blues===
* ''Faiabōru burūsu'' [Fireball Blues] (Tokyo: Shueisha, 1995)
* ''Faiabōru burūsu 2'' [Fireball Blues 2] (Tokyo: Bungei Shunju, 2001)

===Standalone novels===
* ''Auto'' (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1997); English translation by Stephen Snyder as ''[[Out (novel)|Out]]'' (New York: Kodansha, 2003; New York: Vintage, 2005)
* ''Yawarakana hoho'' (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1999);
* ''Kogen'' (Tokyo: Bungei Shunju, 2000)
* ''Gyokuran'' (Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 2001)
* ''Riaru warudo'' (Tokyo: Shueisha, 2003); English translation by J. Philip Gabriel as ''[[Real World (novel)|Real World]]'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008)
* ''Gurotesuku'' (Tokyo: Bungei Shunju, 2003); English translation by Rebecca L. Copeland as [[Grotesque (novel)|''Grotesque'']] (New York: Knopf, 2007)
* ''Zangyakuki'' (Tokyo: Shinchosha, 2004)
* ''Aimu sōrī mama'' [I'm sorry, mama.] (Tokyo: Shueisha, 2004)
* ''Tamamoe!'' (Tokyo: Mainichi Shinbunsha, 2005)
* ''Bōken no kuni'' (Tokyo: Shinchosha, 2005)
* ''Metabora'' (Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 2007)
* ''Tōkyō-jima'' (Tokyo: Shinchosha, 2008)
* ''Joshinki'' (Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten, 2008); English translation by Rebecca L. Copeland as ''The Goddess Chronicle'' (Edinburgh: Canongate Books, 2013)
* ''In'' [In] (Tokyo: Shueisha, 2009)
* ''Nanika aru'' (Tokyo: Shinchosha, 2010)
* ''Yasashii Otona'' (Tokyo: Chuokoron-Shinsha, 2010)
* ''Poritikon'' (Tokyo: Bungei Shunju, 2011)
* ''Midori no doku'' (Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten, 2011)
* ''Hapinesu'' [Happiness] (Tokyo: Kōbunsha, 2013)

===Short story collections===
* ''Sabiru kokoro'' (Tokyo: Bungei Shunju, 1997)
* ''Jiorama'' [Diorama] (Tokyo: Shinchosha, 1998)
* ''Ambosu mundosu'' [Ambos Mundos] (Tokyo: Bungei Shunju, 2005)

==Further reading==
* Rebecca L. Copeland, "Woman Uncovered: Pornography and Power in the Detective Fiction of Kirino Natsuo", ''Japan Forum'' 16/2 (2004): 249–69.
* Amanda C. Seaman, [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0824827368/ ''Bodies of Evidence: Women, Society, and Detective Fiction in 1990s Japan''] (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2004), 86–118
* Idem, "Inside ''OUT'': Space, Gender, and Power in Kirino Natsuo", ''Japanese Language and Literature'' 40/2 (2006): 197–217.
* Mina Qiao, Women in the Maze – Space and Gender in Kirino Natsuo's Writings. Münchner Schriftenreihe Japanforschung. Projekt Verlag. 2019.

==See also==
* [[Japanese literature]]
* [[List of detective fiction authors]]
* [[List of female detective/mystery writers]]
{{Portal|Novels|Japan}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|http://www.kirino-natsuo.com|Kirino's official website}} {{in lang|ja|en}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070610054204/http://media.www.columbiaspectator.com/media/storage/paper865/news/2007/04/13/ArtsEntertainment/Kirinos.DarkAdapted.Eye-2840404.shtml Interview with Kirino in the Columbia University ''Spectator'' (April 2007)]
* [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fb20030518a2.html 2003 ''Japan Times'' interview with Kirino] {{in lang|en}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131003004138/http://www.granta.com/Interview-Natsuo-Kirinos-Fiction Interview: Natsuo Kirino’s Fiction | Granta Magazine] {{in lang|en}}
* [http://www.booksfromjapan.jp/authors/item/306-natsuo-kirino J'Lit | Authors : Natsuo Kirino | Books from Japan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019064903/http://www.booksfromjapan.jp/authors/item/306-natsuo-kirino |date=2018-10-19 }} {{in lang|en}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirino, Natsuo}}
[[Category:1951 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Japanese crime fiction writers]]
[[Category:Naoki Prize winners]]
[[Category:Mystery Writers of Japan Award winners]]
[[Category:Edogawa Rampo Prize winners]]
[[Category:Yomiuri Prize winners]]
[[Category:20th-century Japanese novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Japanese women novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century Japanese novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century Japanese women novelists]]
[[Category:Japanese detective fiction writers]]
[[Category:Women mystery writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Kanazawa, Ishikawa]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon]]
[[Category:Writers of mythic fiction]]

Natsuo Kirino - Revision history

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