江户川乱步 (1894-1965)
本名平井太郎,生于日本三重县名张町,是日本最富盛名的推理作家、评论家,被誉为日本“侦探推理小说之父”,其笔下的侦探明智小五郎(《名侦探柯南》中毛利小五郎姓名由来,其本人为《名侦探柯南》中江户川柯南姓由来)更是日本家喻户晓的人物。1923年,在《新青年》上发表《两分铜币》获得高度评价后,开始了推理小说的创作。江户川乱步也曾在日本历史最悠久的岩井三郎侦探事务所里从事侦探的经历。
江户川乱步的笔名取自现代推理小说的开山始祖美国小说家埃德加·爱伦·坡(Edgar Allan Poe)的日文发音。创作初期,江户川乱步便理解到推理小说必须是从逻辑上解开谜团的文学,他不仅是日本推理文学界的始祖,也是日本推理本格推理派的开创者,与松本清张、横沟正史两人并称日本推理文学三大高峰。
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Edogawa Ranpo (1894-1965)
Born in Mie, Japan, Edogawa Ranpo is the most famous mystery writer in Japan, and a literary critic too. He is known as the father of Japanese criminal thrillers. His creation, the detective Kogoro Akechi, is a name known to all Japanese. In 1923, he published Two Coins in New Youth, receiving critical acclaim. Later he began mystery writing. He used to work in a famous private detective’s office which has the longest history in Japan.
The pen name of Edogawa Ranpo is borrowed from the Japanese transliteration of Edgar Allan Poe, a famous American mystery novelist. During his early writing career, Edogawa Ranpo understood that mystery must be resolved through logic and reason. He is known as the pioneer of Japanese mystery literature and is one of the three Japanese mystery masters (the other two being Seicho Matsumoto and Seishi Yokomizo).