My favorite Japanese novelist is hands down Shichiro Fukazawa. I've always thought of him as if he were my brother, even though he was of the same generation as my grandfather. It may sound strange, but I always feel as if he were a member of my family.

He had a unique career compared to other novelists. He only graduated high school and made a living as an accompanist guitarist for strip shows for long time. However, he had a thorough knowledge of classic Japanese literature. He debuted as a novelist quite late — in the 50s when he was already in his forties. He also fell for rock music around that time and penned some buoyant essays about Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix. His novels and essays have a musical quality to them. I'm a music lover, as you may know, but I think I love musicality more than music itself.

His thinking never gets old; his works always comfort me like music. They contain both an unflinching harshness and a boundless tenderness. This is the first time I've ever written about him on Journaly. That's because I didn't have the words to describe him in English. From now on, I'll write about him from time to time, as I can't cover everything in a single post.