Iijima Kazuichi (1952–) is a Japanese novelist born in Yamagata Prefecture. After receiving the Bungei Prize for “Nanji Futatabi Kokyo e Kaerezu,” he became known for historical fiction grounded in extensive research. “Shisochoki,” winner of the Nakayama Gishu Literary Prize, follows Ukita Kokichi, an eighteenth-century craftsman said to have constructed wings and flown, while showing how rumors of his achievement inspired people living under oppressive authority. In “Shussei Zenya,” which received the Osaragi Jiro Prize, Iijima reinterprets the Shimabara Rebellion through communities devastated by epidemic disease and harsh taxation, as well as physicians struggling to save lives. “Guhin Doji no Shima,” winner of the Shiba Ryotaro Prize, traces the life of Nishimura Tsunetaro, who was exiled to the Oki Islands after the Oshio Heihachiro Rebellion, and depicts an island society moving toward an uprising in pursuit of self-government. Rather than centering rulers and celebrated heroes, Iijima reveals historical change through ordinary people confronting the failures of political and social institutions.
