WRITER

Eiji Yoshikawa

1892 - 1962

Photo of Eiji Yoshikawa

Icon of person Eiji Yoshikawa

Eiji Yoshikawa (吉川 英治, Yoshikawa Eiji; Japanese pronunciation: [jo.ɕi̥.kaꜜ.wa | eꜜi.(d)ʑi, -ka.wa eꜜi-, -eꜜː.(d)ʑi], August 11, 1892 – September 7, 1962) was a Japanese historical novelist, best known for his revisions of classics and retelling of historical events through the lens of semi-biographical fiction books. He was mainly influenced by classics such as The Tale of the Heike, Tale of Genji, Water Margin and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, many of which he retold in his own style. As an example, Yoshikawa took up Taiko's original manuscript in 15 volumes to retell it in a more accessible tone and reduce it to only two volumes. His other books also serve similar purposes and, although most of his novels are not original works, he created a huge amount of work and a renewed interest in the past. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Eiji Yoshikawa is the 1,268th most popular writer (down from 1,217th in 2019), the 356th most popular biography from Japan (down from 272nd in 2019) and the 23rd most popular Japanese Writer.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Eiji Yoshikawa by language

Loading...

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Eiji Yoshikawa ranks 1,268 out of 7,302. Before him are Pierre Drieu La Rochelle, Rodolphe Töpffer, Madame d'Aulnoy, Vittorio Alfieri, Jan Kochanowski, and Agrippa d'Aubigné. After him are Vinicius de Moraes, Nikolaus Lenau, Gottfried Benn, Anton Praetorius, Saint Gall, and Nathalie Sarraute.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1892, Eiji Yoshikawa ranks 64. Before him are Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria, Erich Auerbach, Mikhail Kirponos, Johannes Frießner, Juan Negrín, and Tamon Yamaguchi. After him are Germaine Tailleferre, Harry Stack Sullivan, Manuel Roxas, Mikhail Gurevich, Tazio Nuvolari, and Rafael Moreno Aranzadi. Among people deceased in 1962, Eiji Yoshikawa ranks 41. Before him are Hanns Eisler, Jacques Ibert, Killing of Peter Fechter, Ivan Meštrović, Dušan Simović, and Archduke Joseph August of Austria. After him are Leonardo De Lorenzo, M. Visvesvaraya, Gianna Beretta Molla, André Lhote, Owen D. Young, and Aleksei Antonov.

Others Born in 1892

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 1962

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In Japan

Among people born in Japan, Eiji Yoshikawa ranks 356 out of 6,245. Before him are Masaru Ibuka (1908), Koji Miyata (1923), Saizo Saito (1908), Emperor Kanmu (737), Akira Yoshino (1948), and Leiji Matsumoto (1938). After him are Hakaru Hashimoto (1881), Emperor Go-Uda (1267), Sada Abe (1905), Shigeo Sugimoto (1926), Hiroshi Saeki (1936), and Kōichirō Matsuura (1937).

Others born in Japan

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among WRITERS In Japan

Among writers born in Japan, Eiji Yoshikawa ranks 23. Before him are Kobayashi Issa (1763), Shoko Asahara (1955), Yosa Buson (1716), Mori Ōgai (1862), D. T. Suzuki (1870), and Sugawara no Michizane (845). After him are Ono no Komachi (825), Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653), Ihara Saikaku (1642), Kenji Miyazawa (1896), Ichiyō Higuchi (1872), and Ueda Akinari (1734).

Japanese born Writers

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous