EDO PERIOD LITERATURE. See TOKUGAWA LITERATURE.
EDOGAWA RAMPÔ (1894–1965). Edogawa Rampô, pen name of Hirai Tarô, was an author and critic famous for his detective novels featuring protagonist Akechi Kogorô. Edogawa’s pseudonym is a Japanese transcription of the name Edgar Allan Poe (Edogaa Aran Pô), whom Edogawa admired. He also idolized Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as reflected in Akechi Kogorô’s similarity to Sherlock Holmes. Edogawa was born in Mie Prefecture and grew up in Nagoya before going to Waseda University in 1912 to study economics. After graduating in 1916, he held numerous odd jobs, including selling soba noodles as a street vendor. His debut in the genre of mystery novel came with Nisen dôka (The Two-Sen Copper Coin, 1923). Nisen dôka is widely considered to be the first original Japanese modern mystery novel. By the end of his life, he had published over 40 full-length mystery novels, many of which have been translated into English. Edogawa also founded the Japan Mystery Writer’s Club. A detective novel literary award is named in his honor.
ENCHI FUMIKO (1905–1986). Enchi Fumiko was a female writer famous for exploring female psychology and sexuality. Of poor health as a child, Enchi was educated through private tutors and introduced to the Japanese classics by her grandmother. Her literary career began in the 1920s when she wrote stage plays sympathizing with the proletarian literature movement. She won an award from the Society of Women Writers for her novel Himojii tsukihi (Days of Hunger, 1954) and the Noma Prize for Onnazaka (1957; tr. The Waiting Years, 1971). She was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit in 1985 and died of a heart attack in 1986. See also FEMINISM; MODERN THEATER; WOMEN IN LITERATURE.
ENDÔ SHÛSAKU (1923–1996). Endô Shûsaku, a Catholic author, was one of the postwar Third Generation writers. Endô was born in Tôkyô in 1923, but soon moved with his family to Japan-occupied Manchuria. When his parents divorced in 1933, Endô returned to Japan with his mother to live in Kobe. Endô’s mother converted to Catholicism when Endô was a small child. His books reflect many of his childhood experiences, and his Catholic faith and ambivalence about it permeate his writing. Works, primarily I-Novels, include Shiroi hito (1955; tr. White Man, 1976), for which he won the Akutagawa Ryûnosuke Prize, Chinmoku (1969; tr. Silence, 1969), which won the 1966 Tanizaki Jun’ichirô Prize, and his final novel, Deepu ribaa (1993; tr. Deep River, 1994). See also CHRISTIAN LITERATURE; COLONIAL LITERATURE; KAKURE KIRISHITAN; NAGASAKI.
ESSENCE OF THE NOVEL, THE. See SHÔSETSU SHINZUI.