Saho Sasazawa

Sasazawa Saho (笹沢左保) was a Japanese author, known as the creator of the Kogarashi Monjirō novels, which became a hit televised drama series.

He was a self-declared member of the or "new orthodox" school of detective fiction writing. Aside from mysteries, he also wrote thrillers, essays and history books, with some 380 books to his credit.

Life and works
Saho Sasazwa was born Masaru Sasazawa (笹沢勝), the third son of poet. Born in Yokohama according to many sources, but it has also been said he was actually born in Yodobashi, Tokyo and later moved to Yokohama. There he attended what is now Kanto Gakuin University's high school division, but failed to graduate, frequently running away from home during this period.

By 1952 he was in Tokyo, working at the Bureau run by the Postal Ministry. Around this time he dabbled in writing plays.

In 1958, he was struck by a DUI car, suffering injuries expecting to take 8 months to fully heal. But his short stories Yami no naka no dengon (闇の中の伝言) and Kunin me no giseisha (九人目の犠牲者), which he had submitted to prize contest before the accident both qualified and were printed in the December 1958 special issue of the Hoseki magazine.

In 1960, his Manekarezaru kyaku (招かれざる客) became a runner-up for the 5th Edogawa Rampo Prize, and the release of this in book format marked his debut as novelist.

He adopted the pen name Saho, which was taken from his wife's name Sahoko (佐保子).

His Hitokui (人喰い) was awarded the 14th Mystery Writers of Japan Award, after which he resigned from the Postal Ministry and became a full-time professional writer.

With his Roppongi shinjū (六本木心中) (1962) he received his third nomination for the prestigious semi-annual Naoki Prize for popular fiction. He had been twice nominated for the prize before, for Hitokui and Kūhaku no kiten (空白の起点), and although he was short-listed to win this time, he was disappointed once again. Around this time, while declaring himself to be one of the practitioners of honkaku-ha (本格派) or "orthodox school" of mystery fiction-writing, he wrote a trilogy on double-suicide without homicide; of these, the Naoki Prize-nominated Roppongi Double-Suicide was appraised as a piece "depicting empty love between a young man and a girl", which entwined "the drama of loss of faith in humanity" into the mystery novel.

In 1970, he ventured into writing period novels (in particular matatabi fiction about traveling gamblers) with Mikaeri tōge no rakujitsu (見返り峠の落日). Sasazawa's style of this gambler fiction has been characterized as "casting a nihilistic shadow, an added an aura of Cowboy Westerns". The samurai period gambler piece that brought Sasazawa lasting fame was his Kogarashi Monjirō series, begun with the episode entitled Shamen bana wa chitta (赦免花は散った). The book was TV-dramatized with Atsuo Nakamura playing the leading role of the gambler Monjirō, and the program achieved immense popularity.

He continued to write fiction in both contemporary and period settings.

Some of his outputs in modern settings from the subsequent period include the child-kidnapping novel Mayonaka no shijin (真夜中の詩人), called a masterpiece on par with his earlier great works; Haruka nari waga ai o (遥かなりわが愛を) which launched the Detective Isenami series;Tasatsu misaki (他殺岬) was a time-limit kidnapping story with a twist, the scandal-monger must devise a ransom for the perpetrator who only wants vengeance; Kyūkon no misshitsu (求婚の密室) features a well-crafted locked room gimmickry.

He also became well known at one time for Akuma no heya ("Devil's room", 1981) and its sequels in his Akuma ("Devil") series of erotic suspense-thriller novels (kannō sasupensu (官能サスペンス), this being a hybrid genre between the erotic novel and suspense-thriller.

His Aribai no uta (アリバイの唄) started the Hideo Yoake casefile series of novels, dramatized on TV as the starring Tsunehiko Watase; The TV series  "Interrogation room" ran its first episode in 1994 based on the novel of the same title published 1993.

Period pieces in other than his Monjirō include Sasurai kaidō (さすらい街道) which employs mystery novel techniques in historical settings, the Jigoku no Tatsu crime-solving novels (1972–), televised as Jigoku no Tatsu torimono hikae (地獄の辰捕物控); another TV-dramtized series on (1974–), whose title character Okon bears a tattoo which forms a complete dragon when combined with her lover's.

During his lifetime he published some 377 books.

With declining health in 1987, he recuperated at a hospital in the town of Mikatsuki, Saga which bore a name similar to (Mikazuki Village), the fictitious birthplace of Monjirō. After being discharged, he made the adjacent town of Fujichō his home, and although he had to relocate in 1995 to in Saga city for hospital access, the Fujichō residence later became the Sasazawa Saho Memorial Museum.

He established the for literature by new authors in 1993, with the final 24th prize awarded in 2017.

In 2001 he returned to Kodaira, Tokyo, and succumbed to liver cancer (HCC) on 21 October 2002 at a hospital in Komae, Tokyo.

Legacy and influence
He was a prolific writer, who at his height wrote 1,000 or even 1,500 pages of manuscript per month, 、he has been called a "constant innovator" or experimenter. In particular, Sasazawa is known for applying the mystery novel techniques of "surprise-twist endings (donden-gaeshi)" and climatic endings in writing matatabi fiction, thus introducing a fresh angle in the fiction about these wandering rogue swordsman-gamblers.

He wrote a study in sensual-erotic suspense with the novel Akuma no heya (悪魔の部屋) which was adapted into film, and crime novels consisting entirely of conversation, such as Donden gaeshi (どんでん返し), and Dōgyōsha (同行者), and Ushiro sugata no seizō (後ろ姿の聖像) where the alibi trick undergoes a complete 180-degrees plot-twist.

He held a staunch purist stance about detective fiction writing. Sasazawa identified himself as a proponent of the Shin-honkaku-ha (新本格派). Such a writer, he explained, was not only required to be "orthodox" (or "authentic") and devise a clever trick used in the crime, but in addition, needed to maintain realisticness in the human characters employed. When he sat on the selection panel for the Edogawa Rampo Prize, he repeatedly bewailed the laxening of the definition of what could be considered "detective fiction". In 1977, he wrote an essay that polemicized against the novel of manners contaminating the mystery fiction genre.

The Misaki ("Cape") series

 * Tasatsu misaki (他殺岬), 1976
 * Furin misaki (不倫岬), 1978
 * Mujō misaki (無情岬), 1979
 * Tōbō misaki (逃亡岬), 1981
 * Aijin misaki (愛人岬), 1981
 * Akuma misaki (悪魔岬), 1985
 * Zanshō misaki (残照岬), 1987

The Akuma ("Devil") series

 * Akuma no heya (悪魔の部屋), 1981
 * Akuma no kohan (悪魔の湖畔), 1981
 * Akuma no kankei (悪魔の関係), 1982
 * Akuma no hitojichi (悪魔の人質), 1982
 * Akuma no chinmoku (悪魔の沈黙), 1983
 * Akuma no yūwaku (悪魔の誘惑), 1983
 * Akuma no shokei (悪魔の処刑), 1994

The Yōbi ("Days of the Week") series

 * Onna wa getsuyōbi ni naku (女は月曜日に泣く)
 * Nichiyōbi ni wa korosanai (日曜日には殺さない)
 * Ososugita ame no kayōbi (遅すぎた雨の火曜日)
 * Yami wa suiyōbi ni otozureru (闇は水曜日に訪れる)
 * Saraba dōbi no kitakaze (さらば土曜日の北風)
 * Akujo mokuyōbi ni shisu (悪女木曜日に死す)

The Hideo Yoake taxi-driver series

 * Oikoshi kinshi: Doraibā tantei Yoake Hideo no jikenbo (追越禁止—ドライバー探偵夜明日出夫の事件簿), Kodansha Novels, 1991
 * Ippōtsūko: Doraibā tantei Yoake Hideo no jikenbo (一方通行—ドライバー探偵夜明日出夫の事件簿), 1992
 * Hirusagari: Yoake Hideo no jikenbo (昼下がり—夜明日出夫の事件簿), 1994
 * Yoake: Yoake Hideo no jikenbo (夜明け—夜明日出夫の事件簿), Nichibun Bunko, 1998
 * Yūgure: Yoake Hideo no jikenbo (夕暮れ—夜明日出夫の事件簿), 1999
 * Aribai no uta: Yoake Hideo no jikenbo (アリバイの唄—夜明日出夫の事件簿), 199
 * Seizon suru yūrei: Yoake Hideo no suiri nisshi (生存する幽霊—タクシードライバーの推理日誌), Tokuma Bunko, 2000

Misc.

 * Manekarezaru kyaku (招かれざる客), 1960
 * Kiri ni tokeru (霧に溶ける), 1960
 * Kekkon te nanisa (結婚って何さ), 1960
 * Hitokui (人喰い), 1960
 * Kūhaku no kiten (空白の起点), former title Koshū no kiten (孤愁の起点), 1961
 * Awa no onna (泡の女), 1961
 * Mahiru ni wakareru no wa iya (真昼に別れるのはいや), 1961
 * Kurai keisha (暗い傾斜)
 * Totsuzen no ashita (突然の明日), 1963
 * Yureru shikai (揺れる視界), 1963
 * Mayonaka no shijin (真夜中の詩人), 1972
 * Sannin no tōjōjinbutsu (三人の登場人物), 1975
 * Harukanari waga ai o (遥かなりわが愛を), 1976
 * Harukanari waga sakebi (遥かなりわが叫び), 1977
 * Honoo no kyozō (炎の虚像), 1977
 * Ijōsha (異常者), 1978
 * Umi no banshō (海の晩鐘), 1979
 * Kyūkon no misshitsu (求婚の密室), 1978
 * Chika suimyaku (地下水脈), 1979
 * Sebun satsujinjiken (セブン殺人事件), 1980
 * Dondengaeshi (どんでん返し), 1981
 * Kamen no gekkō (仮面の月光), 1982
 * Mashō no gekkō (魔性の月光), 1983
 * Ushiro sugata no seizō (後ろ姿の聖像), 1981
 * Furimuke ba kiri (ふり向けば霧), 1987
 * Kiri no bansan (霧の晩餐), 1989
 * Torishirabashitsu shizuka naru shitō (取調室 静かなる死闘), 1993

Period novels

 * Mikaeri tōge no rakujitsu (見かえり峠の落日), Kodansha, 1970

Kogarashi Monjiro series

 * Shamenbana wa chitta (赦免花は散った), Kodansha, 1971
 * Nyoninkō no yami wo saku (女人講の闇を裂く), 1971
 * Rokujizō no kage wo kiru (六地蔵の影を斬る), 1972
 * Akatsuki no oiwake ni tatsu (暁の追分に立つ), 1972
 * Yonakiishi wa kiri ni nureta (夜泣き石は霧に濡れた), 1972
 * Onnen-zaka wo hotaru ga koeta (怨念坂を螢が越えた), 1973
 * Fue ga nagareta Karisaka tōge (笛が流れた雁坂峠), 1973
 * Kirisame ni nido naita (霧雨に二度哭いた), 1976
 * Inochi wa ichido suteru mono (命は一度捨てるもの), 1976
 * Sanzu no kawa wa hitori de watare (三途の川は独りで渡れ), 1977
 * Nido to ogamenu mikazuki (二度と拝めぬ三日月), 1977
 * Ōshuji nanoka no shissō (奥州路・七日の疾走), 1978
 * Shin Kogarashi Monjirō: Matte chitta tōgebana (新・木枯し紋次郎 舞って散った峠花), 1988

Return of Kogarashi Monjiro series

 * Kaette kita Kogarashi Monjirō (帰って来た木枯し紋次郎), Shinchosha, 1996
 * Onajiku hitogoroshi (同じく人殺し), 1996
 * Kadowakashi (かどわかし), 1997
 * Saraba temari-uta (さらば手鞠唄), 1998
 * Akujo wo kiru toki (悪女を斬るとき), 1999
 * Saig no tōge-goe (最後の峠越え), 1999

Downfall: Rise and Fall of the Tokugawa Cabinet

 * 1) Kan'ei no ishin tachi (寛永の遺臣たち) Shodensha, 1993-12
 * 2) Tairō Sakai Tadakiyo to Hotta Masatoshi no tatakai (大老・酒井忠清と堀田正俊の闘い), 1994-09
 * 3) Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu to Arai Hakuseki no tairitsu (柳沢吉保と新井白石の対立), 1995-04
 * 4) Yoshimune dokusai (吉宗独裁), 1996-03
 * 5) Kaishin-ha Tanuma Okitsugu no shinbō (改新派・田沼意次の深謀), 1996-12
 * 6) Kurofune to saigo no kenryokusha tachi (黒船と最後の権力者たち), 1997-09
 * Shodensha Bunko format
 * 1) Jōkan: Yabō no geba shōgun (上巻 野望の下馬将軍), 2002-01
 * 2) Chūkan: Shōgun Yoshimune no Inbō (中巻 将軍吉宗の陰謀), 2002–03
 * 3) Gekan: Kurofune jōran (下巻 黒船擾乱), 2002–05

Miyamoto Musashi series

 * 1) Musashi yaburetari (武蔵敗れたり), Bungeishunjū, 1990-01
 * 2) Ware jashin ariki (われ邪心ありき), 1990-02
 * 3) Omei harasu ni oyobazu (汚名晴らすに及ばず), 1990-03
 * 4) Waga ikō tattobu beshi (わが威光尊ぶべし), 1990-08
 * 5) Ware shisuru nari (われ死するなり), 1991-02
 * 6) En tachigatashi (縁断ちがたし), 1991-08
 * 7) Gishin osoruru beshi (疑心恐るべし), 1992-03
 * 8) Ware ni hyōhō nomi (われに兵法のみ), 1992-08
 * 9) Nyonin wasuremaji (女人忘れまじ), 1993-05
 * 10) Shin nasu beshi (信為すべし), 1994-02
 * 11) Waga kokoro yasukarazu (わが心安からず), 1994-07
 * 12) Sesshō ni sōi nashi (殺生に相違なし), 1995-02
 * 13) Tada hitori ayume (ただ独り歩め), 1995-07
 * 14) Onore mo teki mo naku (おのれも敵もなく), 1995-12
 * 15) Hhyōhō wa fumetsu nari (兵法は不滅なり), 1996-06
 * Bunshun Bunko format
 * 1) Ten no maki (天の巻), Bunshun Bunko, 1996-10
 * 2) Chi no Maki (地の巻), 1996-10
 * 3) Sui no maki (水の巻), 1996-11
 * 4) Ka no maki (火の巻), 1996-11
 * 5) Fū no maki (風の巻), 1996-12
 * 6) Kū no maki (空の巻), 1996-12
 * 7) Rei no maki (霊の巻), 1997-01
 * 8) Gen no maki (玄の巻), 1997-01

Sanada Ten Braves series

 * 1) Ten no maki (天の巻),, 1980-09
 * 2) Chi no maki (地の巻), 1980-11
 * 3) Fū no maki (風の巻), 1981-05
 * Kobunsha Bunko format
 * 1) Sanada Jūyūshi kan no 1~5 (真田十勇士 巻の1～5), Kobunsha Bunko, 1989-01~0
 * Futaba Bunko format
 * 1) 1 Sarutobi Sasuke shokoku manyū (真田十勇士 巻の1 猿飛佐助諸国漫遊), Futaba Bunko, 1997-02
 * 2) 2 Ōabare Miyoshi Seikai Nyūdō (真田十勇士 巻の2 大暴れ三好清海入道), 1997-03
 * 3) 3 Saizō Miyamoto Musashi wo yaburu (真田十勇士 巻の3 才蔵宮本武蔵を破る), 1997-04
 * 4) 4 Sanada Yukimura Osaka-jō nyujō (真田十勇士 巻の4 真田幸村大坂城入城), 1997-05
 * 5) 5 Senjō ni chitta yūshi tachi (真田十勇士 巻の5 戦場に散った勇士たち), 1997-05

Yakubyōgami Casebook
Donta's caebook.
 * Yakubyōgami Donta (疫病神呑太), Tokuma Shoten, 1991-10
 * Tokuma Bunko format
 * 1) Yakubyōgami torimonochō (疫病神捕物帳), 1997-02
 * 2) Futtekita akanbō (降って来た赤ン坊 疫病神捕物帳), 1998-07

Yume to shōchi de
Or, "Full knowing it's a Dream" series
 * (jō) Nezumi Kozō to rekishijō no otokotachi ibun (夢と承知で 上 鼠小僧と歴史上の男たち異聞), Yomiuri Shimbunsha, 1985-11
 * (ge) Nezumi Kozō to rekishijō no otokotachi ibu (夢と承知で 下 鼠小僧と歴史上の男たち異聞), 1985-11
 * Kobunsha Bunko format
 * (jō) Nezumi Kozō to Tōyama Kinshirō (夢と承知で 上 鼠小僧と遠山金四郎), Kobunsha Bunko, 1991-11
 * (ge) Nezumi Kozō to Tōyama Kinshirō (夢と承知で 下 鼠小僧と遠山金四郎), 1991-11

Jigoku no Tatsu series

 * 1) Jigoku no Tatsu muzan torimonohikae: Kubinashi jizō wa katarazu (地獄の辰・無残捕物控 首なし地蔵は語らず), Kappa Novels, 1972
 * 2) Jigoku no Tatsu muzan torimonohikae: Okappiki ga jūji wo suteta (地獄の辰無残捕物控 続 岡っ引きが十手を捨てた), 1972
 * 3) Tōkaido burai-tabi (東海道・無頼旅), 1976
 * Kobunsha Bunko fo
 * 1) Kubinashi jizō wa katarazu, Kobunsha Bunko, 1985-11
 * 2) Okappiki ga jūji wo suteta, 1985-12
 * 3) Asu wa meido ka Kyo nō yume ("Dream of Hell or Kyoto Tomorrow"), 1986-06
 * Shodensha Bunko format
 * 1) Jigoku no Tatsu hankachō (地獄の辰犯科帳), Shodensha Bunko
 * 2) Jigoku no Tatsu muzanchō (地獄の辰無残帳)
 * 3) Jigoku no Tatsu hidōchō (地獄の辰非道帳)

Hanmi no Okon series

 * 1) Hanmi no Okon 1: Ourami mōshimasen (半身のお紺 1 お怨み申しません), Kodansha, 1974
 * 2) Hanmi no Okon 2: Sadame ga nikui (半身のお紺 2 さだめが憎い), 1974
 * 3) Hanmi no Okon 3: Samete uzukimasu (半身のお紺 3 醒めて疼きます), 1975
 * Kobunsha Bunko format
 * 1) Onna mushukuin, Hanmi no Okon: Ourami mōshimasen (女無宿人・半身のお紺 お怨み申しません), 1986-11
 * 2) Onna mushukuin, Hanmi no Okon: Sadame ga nikui (女無宿人・半身のお紺 さだめが憎い), 1986-12
 * 3) Onna mushukuin, Hanmi no Okon: Samete uzukimasu (女無宿人・半身のお紺 醒めて疼きます), 1987-01
 * Shodensha Bunko series
 * 1) Hanmi no Okon: Onna mushukuin hijō tabi (半身のお紺 女無宿人非情旅), Kobunsha Bunko, 2000–06
 * 2) Hanmi no Okon: Onna mushukuin muzan ken (半身のお紺 女無宿人無残剣), 2000–08
 * 3) Hanmi no Okon: Onna mushukuin aizōkō (半身のお紺 女無宿人愛憎行), 2001–06


 * Itako no Itaro series
 * 1) Itako no Itarō: Ōtone no yami ni kieta (潮来の伊太郎 大利根の闇に消えた), Yomiuri Shimbunsha, 1975
 * 2) Itako no Itarō: Kettō Hakone-yama Sanmai-bashi (潮来の伊太郎 決闘・箱根山三枚橋), 1975


 * Kobunsha format
 * 1) Itako no Itarō: Ōtone no yami ni kieta, 1982-08
 * 2) Itako no Itarō: Kettō Hakone-yama Sanmai-bashi|潮来の伊太郎 決闘・箱根山三枚橋|extra="Duel at Sanmai Bridge, Mount Hakone"}}, 1982-10
 * Tokuma Bunko format
 * 1) Ōtone no yami ni kieta, 1988-06
 * 2) Kettō Hakone-yama Sanmai-bashi, 1988-07


 * The Banished One: Kuki Shinjūrō series
 * 1) Edo no yūgiri ni kiyu: tsuihōsha Kuki Shinjūrō (江戸の夕霧に消ゆ 追放者・九鬼真十郎),, 1978-08
 * 2) Bijo ka kitsune ka tōge michi (美女か狐か峠みち 追放者・九鬼真十郎), 1979
 * Tokuma Bunko version
 * 1) Edo no yūgiri ni kiyu, 1989-05
 * 2) Bijo ka kitsune ka tōge michi, 1989-06

Mushukunin Mikogami no Jokichi

 * 1) Mushukunin Mikogami no Jōkichi jō, Volume 1, Kodansha, 1972
 * 2) Mushukunin Mikogami no Jōkichi chū, Volume 2, 1972
 * 3) Mushukunin Mikogami no Jōkichi ge-no-ichi, Volume 3. Part 1, 1973
 * 4) Mushukunin Mikogami no Jōkichi ge-no-ni, Volume 3. Part 2, 1973
 * Tokuma Bunko format
 * 1) "Volume 1", Tokuma Bunko, 1987-10
 * 2) "Volume 2", 1987-11
 * 3) "Volume 3", 1987-12
 * 4) "Volume 4", 1988-01

Otonashi Gen's Casebook
Otonashi Gen torimonochō: rensaku jidai suiri shōsetsu (音なし源捕物帳 連作時代推理小説), Kobunsha
 * Fujimi Shobo
 * 1) 1 Hanayome kyōran (音なし源捕物帳 1 花嫁狂乱), Jidai Shosetsu Bunko, 1987-12
 * 2) 1 Tōjiba no onna (音なし源捕物帳 2 湯治場の女), 1988-02
 * 3) 2 Nusumareta kataude (音なし源捕物帳 3 盗まれた片腕), 1988-03
 * 4) 4 Neko no yūrei (音なし源捕物帳 4 猫の幽霊), 1988-04
 * 5) 5 Ukiyoe no onna (音なし源捕物帳 5 浮世絵の女), 1988-05
 * Shodensha format
 * 1) Yamigarinin hankachō (闇狩り人犯科帳), Non Pochette Bunko, 1996-12
 * 2) Yamigarinin hankachō: nusumareta kataude-hen (闇狩り人犯科帳 盗まれた片腕編), 1997-07
 * 3) Azawarau haka-hen (闇狩り人犯科帳 嘲笑う墓編), 1997-12
 * 4) Ukiyoe no onna, 1998-06

Himeshiro Nagaretabi series

 * 1) Tōkaidō tsumujikaze Himeshiro Nagaretabi (東海道つむじ風 姫四郎流れ旅), Kofudo Shuppan, 1980-10
 * 2) Nakasendō haguredori (中仙道はぐれ鳥 姫四郎流れ旅), 1980-11
 * 3) Kōshūdō shiguregasa (甲州道しぐれ笠 姫四郎流れ旅), 1981-01
 * 4) Nikkōdō kuruibana (日光道狂い花 姫四郎流れ旅), 1981-01
 * 5) Urakaidō katawarezuki (裏街道片われ月 姫四郎流れ旅), 1982-07
 * Himeshiro's Medicinal Art Travels
 * 1) Kaei ni-nen no teiōsekkai (嘉永二年の帝王切開), Tokuma Bunko, 1990-03
 * 2) Kaei san-nen no zenshinmasui (嘉永三年の全身麻酔), 1990-04
 * 3) Kaei yo-nen no yobōsesshu (嘉永四年の予防接種), 1990-05
 * 4) Kaei go-nen no jinkōkokyū (嘉永五年の人工呼吸), 1990-06
 * 5) Kaei roku-nen no arukōru chūdoku (嘉永六年のアルコール中毒), 1990-07

Haiku-Poet Issa's Casebook

 * Haijin Issa torimonochō Namida no yajirobē (俳人一茶捕物帳 涙の弥次郎兵衛), Kobunsha, 1989-0
 * Aoi haru no ame shin Issa torimonochō (青い春の雨 新・一茶捕物帳), Kadokawa Shoten, 1991-10
 * Kadokawa Bunko format
 * Shin Issa torimonochō mikazuki ni naku (新・一茶捕物帳 三日月に哭く), 1993-01
 * Shin Issa torimonochō aoi haru no ame (新・一茶捕物帳 青い春の雨), 1993-11
 * Kobunsha Bunko format
 * Haijin Issa torimonochō yeasegaeru no maki (俳人一茶捕物帳 瘦蛙の巻), Kobunsha Bunko, 1995-05
 * Haijin Issa torimonochō meigetsu no maki (俳人一茶捕物帳 名月の巻), 1996-01
 * Keibunsha Bunko format
 * Bunko, 2001–03
 * Kosaido Bunko format
 * Bunko, 2004–05

Genpaku and Utamaro's Casebook

 * Genpaku Utamaro torimonochō (玄白歌麿捕物帳), Kobunsha Bunko, 1993-02
 * Jigoku no onna-goroshi Genpaku Utamaro torimonochō (地獄の女殺し 玄白歌麿捕物帳), 1995-09

Otasuke Doshin series
Otasuke Doshin or the "Helpful Doshin-Detective"
 * Otasuke Dōshin junkaibo (お助け同心巡廻簿), Sankei Shimbun Seikatsu Joho Center, 1992-10
 * Non Pochette Bunko format
 * Hatchōbori: Otasuke Dōshin hibun fugi mittsū chō (八丁堀・お助け同心秘聞 不義密通編), Non Pochette (Shobunsha imprint), 1995-10
 * Hatchōbori: Otasuke Dōshin hibun gojōhō yaburi (八丁堀・お助け同心秘聞 御定法破り編), 1996-02

Misc.

 * Yuki ni chiru Ōshūji (雪に花散る奥州路), Bungeishunjū, 1971
 * Senran Nihon no rekishi (戦乱　日本の歴史), Shogakukan, 1977
 * Bunshun Bunko format 1982-01
 * JIgoku wo waraku Nikkōji (地獄を嗤う日光路), Bungeishunjū,  1972
 * Bunshun Bunko format 1982-04
 * Sasurai kaidō (さすらい街道), Kodansha, 1972
 * KobunshaBunko format 1988-08
 * Kenki shūshū (剣鬼啾々), Bungeishunjū, 1976
 * Bunshun Bunko format 1987-11/Tokuma Bunko format 2002-07
 * Kenshi moetsukite shisu ningen Okita Sōji (剣士燃え尽きて死す 人間・沖田総司), Shinchosha, 1976
 * ShinchoBunko format 1984-01
 * Shin Ōoka seidan (新大岡政談), Shinchosha, 1979-01
 * ShinchoBunko format 1984-09
 * Ōedo burai (大江戸無頼)
 * Hatamoto yakko ichidai (旗本奴一代), Shincho Bunko, 1988–12. Retitled from Ōedo burai.
 * Dōshin Akatsuki Rannosuke Edo-ki no hōritsu torimonochō (同心暁蘭之介 江戸期の法律捕物控), Sankei Shuppan, 1982-04
 * Kitamachi bugyō jōmawari dōshin-hikae (北町奉行・定廻り同心控), Non Pochette Bunko, 1988–11. Retitled from Dōshin Akatsuki Rannosuke Edo-ki no hōritsu torimono-hikae (同心暁蘭之介 江戸期の法律捕物控).
 * Yabō shōgun (野望将軍), Shueisha, 1984-02
 * Kyō mo mata yume Hirate Miki gaiden (今朝もまた夢 平手造酒外伝), Yomiuri Shimbunsha, 1986
 * Tenki hiken (天鬼秘剣), Shinchosha, 1988-11
 * Shincho Bunko format, 1991-09; Futabasha, 1997-05; Tokuma Bunko format, 2002-01
 * Kansei; oniwaban hibun (寛政・お庭番秘聞), Non Pochette Bunko, 1988-03
 * Bunsei: Hasshū mawari hiroku (文政・八州廻り秘録), Non Pochette Bunko, 1988-05
 * Gunshi Takenaka Hanbē (軍師竹中半兵衛), Kadokawa Bunko, 1988-09
 * Bunkyū: Shimizu no Komasa buraiken (文久・清水の小政無頼剣), Non Pochette Bunko, 1989-04
 * Hana ochiru chishō Akechi Mitsuhide (花落ちる 智将・明智光秀), Shincho Bunko
 * Issen kiro, ken ga hashiru (一千キロ、剣が疾る), Kobunsha, 1990-10
 * Jiki bikyaku hashiru (直飛脚疾る), Kobunsha Bunko, 1999-02
 * Asai Nagamasa no ketsudan: (浅井長政の決断 賢愚の岐路), Kadokawa Bunko, 1990-10
 * Kyōran Haru no yoru no yume. Matsuo Bashō to Yaoya Oshichi (狂乱 春の夜の夢 松尾芭蕉と八百屋お七), Kobunsha Bunko, 1992-10
 * Iemitsu bōsatsu: Tōkaidō no kōbō jūgonichi (家光謀殺 東海道の攻防十五日), Bungeishunjū, 1993-03
 * Bunshun Bunko format, 1996-03; Kobunsha Bunko format, 2000–05
 * Ieyasu chūsatsu shimatsu-ki (家康誅殺始末記), Futabasha, 1994-12
 * Futaba novels edition 1997-05
 * Nyonin seppuku (女人切腹), Kobunsha Bunko, 1995-01
 * Kobayakawa Hideaki no higeki (小早川秀秋の悲劇), Futabasha,, 1997-10
 * Futaba novels edition 1997-05
 * Futaba Bunko format 2000-06
 * Ofudōsan Kinuzō torimonochō (お不動さん絹蔵捕物帖), Kobunsha, 2000–04
 * Bunshun Bunko format, 1996-03; Kobunsha Bunko format, 2005-01
 * Jōmawari-dōshin nazotoki-hikae (定廻り同心 謎解き控), Shodensha Bunko, 2001-01
 * Jōmawari-dōshin saigo no nazotoki (定廻り同心 最後の謎解き), Shodensha Bunko, 2002–12
 * Kaizokusen Yūrei-maru (海賊船幽霊丸), Kobunsha, 2003–10
 * Kobunsha Bunko format, 2006-03

Autobiography

 * Shijin no ie (詩人の家), 1978

Essays

 * Aishikata aisarekata no himitsu (愛し方愛され方の秘密), Shodensha, 1978
 * Asu wa waga mi kokoro aru oya no tame ni (明日はわが身 心ある親のために), Inner Trip, 1981
 * Sonna koi nara yamenasai (そんな恋ならやめなさい); Part2; Part3. PHP, 1990; 1991; 1993
 * Muchi seizōgyō Nihon kabushikigaisha (無知製造業・日本株式会社), Kadokawa, 1990
 * Gan mo jibun inochi wo ikikiru boku no gan kokufuku-ki (ガンも自分 いのちを生ききる 僕のガン克服記), Kayryusha, 1994

Films

 * Kogarashi monjirō (木枯し紋次郎), Toei, starring Bunta Sugawara.
 * Kogarashi monjirō: kakawari gozansen (木枯らし紋次郎 関わりござんせん), Toei, starring Bunta Sugawara.
 * Kaettekita Kogarashi Monjirō (帰って来た木枯し紋次郎), Toho, starring Atsuo Nakamura.
 * Mushukunin Mikogami no Jōkichi: Kiba wa hikisaita (無宿人御子神の丈吉 牙は引き裂いた), Toho, starring Yoshio Harada.
 * Mushukunin Mikogami no Jōkichi: Kawakaze ni kako wa nagareta (無宿人御子神の丈吉 川風に過去は流れた), Toho, starring Yoshio Harada.
 * Mushukunin Mikogami no Jōkichi: Tasogare ni senkō ga tonda (無宿人御子神の丈吉 黄昏に閃光が飛んだ), Toho, starring Yoshio Harada.
 * Akuma no heya (悪魔の部屋), Nikkatsu, starring.

TV series

 * Kogarashi Monjirō (木枯し紋次郎), Fuji TV.
 * Zoku Kogarashi Monjirō (続・木枯し紋次郎), Fuji TV.
 * Shin Kogarashi Monjirō (新・木枯し紋次郎), Tokyo 12 Channel Television.
 * Sasazawa Saho matatabi sirīzu (笹沢左保 股旅シリーズ). Toge/Mountain Pass series. Adapted from chapters in Mikaeri tōge no rakujitsu (1970).
 * Jigoku no Tatsu torimonohikae (地獄の辰捕物控), NET.
 * Hasshū hankachō (八州犯科帳), Fuji TV.
 * Dōshin Akatsuki Rannosuke (同心暁蘭之介), Fuji TV.
 * Onna mushukunin Hanmi no Okon (女無宿人 半身のお紺), TV Tokyo.
 * Otasuke dōshin ga iku (お助け同心が行く!), TV Tokyo.

One-off /Single episode

 * Himeshirō nagaretabi (姫四郎流れ旅), Fuji TV.
 * Otonashi Gen Sanojigoroshi (音なし源 さの字殺し), Fuji TV.
 * Uragiri no hōshū Tsuihōsha Kuki Shinjūrō (裏切りの報酬　追放者・九鬼真十郎)
 * Yume to shōchi de Nezumi kozō Ōedo seishunezu (夢と承知で 鼠小僧大江戸青春絵図), NTV.
 * Takushī doraibā no suiri nisshi (タクシードライバーの推理日誌), TV Asahi, starring Tsunehiko Watase.
 * Iemitsu bōsatsu Sandai shōgun ni semaru nazo no ansatsu gundan! (家光謀殺 三代将軍に迫る謎の暗殺軍団!), TV Asahi.
 * Yama-yuri satsujin jiken (山百合殺人事件). Original screenplay to Ninjōkeiji Miyamoto Seishirō: Shi wo maneku yama-yuri (人情刑事・宮本清四郎 死を招く山百合)., TV Tokyo.
 * Kogarashi Monjirō (木枯し紋次郎), Fuji TV starring, Yosuke Eguchi.
 * Onna torishirabekan (女取調官), TBS.

Manga adaptations

 * Kogarashi Monjirō (木枯し紋次郎), artwork by Goseki Kojima, Geibunsha, 1973.
 * Jigoku no Tatsu torimono-hikae (地獄の辰捕物控), artwork by, Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha, 2004.
 * Sanada jūyūshi (真田十勇士), artwork by, LEED, 2016.
 * Ginrō ni kodoku wo mita (銀狼に孤独をみた), artwork by Kaiji Kawaguchi, adapted by, Ohzora Comics, 2007. From the Itako no Itaro series.