is a Japanese author. He has published novels as well as essays on movies and Osamu Dazai

Osamu Dazai

was a Japanese author who is considered one of the foremost fiction writers of 20th-century Japan.-Biography:-Early life:Dazai was born , the eighth surviving child of a wealthy landowner in Kanagi, a remote corner of Japan at the northern tip of Tōhoku in Aomori Prefecture...

. He won the prestigious Naoki Prize

Naoki Prize

The Naoki Prize is a Japanese literary award presented semiannually. The official name is Naoki Sanjugo Prize. It was created in 1935 by Kikuchi Kan, then editor of the Bungeishunjū magazine, and named in memory of novelist Naoki Sanjugo...

 in 1973 for Tsugaru jongara bunshi and Tsugaru yosare bushi. He was born in Aomori Prefecture

Aomori Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....

, where Dazai was also born. He also once directed a movie. He was awarded a Medal of Honor

Medals of Honor (Japan)

Since the late 19th Century, the Government of Japan has issued six different types of to individuals for achievements in various fields.The Medals of Honor were established on December 7, 1881, and were first awarded the following year. Several expansions and amendments have been made since then...

 (with Purple Ribbon, for contributions to education and culture) from the Japanese government in 2002.

fiction

• Tsugaru jongara bunshi
• Tsugaru yosare bushi
• Tenno no Tanjo, Eigateki Kojiki
  Kojiki
  is the oldest extant chronicle in Japan, dating from the early 8th century and composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of Empress Gemmei. The Kojiki is a collection of myths concerning the origin of the four home islands of Japan, and the Kami...
  
  

filmography

• Festival of Dream (夢の祭り Yume no Matsuri) (director and writer)

a movie about a shamisen

Shamisen

The , also called is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix . -Construction:The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument...

player