Hiroshi Ogiwara 荻原 浩

Hiroshi Ogiwara (1956–) was a voracious reader of science fiction in grade school and of mysteries in middle school. He claims the influence of Kurt Vonnegut Jr. for the sense of humor he brings to his writing. After college he went to work for an ad agency and became a copywriter, but in his mid-thirties he struck out on his own as a freelancer. He made his literary debut at 39 when his first novel Ororo batake de tsukamaete (Catcher in the Ororo) won the 1997 Shosetsu Subaru New Writers’ Award. His novel about early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, Ashita no kioku (Tomorrow’s Memory), was awarded the Yamamoto Shugoro Prize in 2005. He has been short-listed for the Naoki Prize several times, including for his 2005 novel Ano hi ni doraibu (Driving That Day), about a banker turned taxi driver. A highly versatile author, he brings surprises to each new work as he continues to turn out bestsellers. In 2016 he received the Naoki Prize for Umi no mieru rihatsuten (The Barbershop by the Sea).