Hiroshi Mori (writer)
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese writer
and engineer
. He is famous for writing mystery novels – particularly his debut work The Perfect Insider, which won him the first Mephist Award in 1996 – but he considers himself to be a researcher as well as craftsman.
He insists his name to be written and called "MORI Hiroshi," family name first and uppercased, regardless of the language when romanized
.
Unlike most boys, Mori never grew out of this hobby; instead, his love for model crafts grew stronger as he became older. His interest moved on to radio control
airplanes and he has so far constructed and flown over forty of them, some of which span about ten feet. Furthermore, he recently constructed a five-inch (127 mm) gauge railway in his garden. Mori confesses that one of the reasons for becoming a novelist was that he wanted to make more money to extend the miniature garden railway
.
. When he was hospitalized in the second year of high school, he came across a work by Moto Hagio
, author of several well-known shōjo
manga series, which struck him deeply and made him realize the artistic beauty of manga. Indeed, Mori says that Hagio is the only artist whom he adores and that she was the one who inspired him to write not only manga but other literary works as well.
After joining a manga club at the university, Mori began to write and self-publish under the pen name Mori Muku. He also produced drawings and illustrations, and it was in the sophomore year of university that he met Subaru Sasaki, an amateur artist with the same interests, who became both his wife and professional illustrator. Although Mori does not write manga anymore, he still claims to be a better manga artist than a novelist.
. He had found interest in conducting research while he had been studying as a graduate student at Nagoya University
, and upon completing his master’s thesis, he took a job at the newly established Department of Architecture at Mie University. There, he specialized in rheology
(a branch of physics that deals with deformation and flow of matter), and in particular, the studies of viscous-plastics.
In 1989, Mori became an associate professor
at Nagoya University at the age of 31. He received a Doctorate of Engineering with a thesis on a numerical method for analyzing the flow of viscous plastic. Interestingly, Mori preferred not to become further promoted to professor, stating that he would lose his valuable research time to trivial meetings and other business. In March 2005, he resigned his post to become a professional writer.
Mori gives several reasons, in various interviews, as to why he started to write while working as associate professor. One of the reasons was that he had been saying jokingly that he would become a writer by forty, and another, already mentioned above, was that he wanted to have another source of income for his hobbies. However, the direct cause was that Mori simply wanted to impress his daughter who was a big fan of mystery novels.
As a writer, Mori is known among his editors to be prolific and punctual. In fact, he finished his first novel in just a week by sparing a mere three hours at night after a day’s work at the university. Although he writes very fast, he admits that he is not a good reader, and curiously, the bulk of his time is spent reading proof sheets rather than actually writing. At the same time, Mori is extremely punctual, and his editor Misa Inako affirms that he has never missed a deadline.
Mori has so far produced over thirty mystery novels; moreover, he has worked on a wide variety of genres in the past few years, including romance, poetry, essays, photo books, and children’s picture books. Particularly notable is An Automaton in Long Sleep, an adventure fiction about an automaton
from 120 years ago, which was written in commission of Coca Cola for the base story of its 120th anniversary television drama in Japan, happen to became Mori’s first work to be dramatized on television. Manga versions for some of his works have been published as well.
In addition, Mori’s works, especially The Perfect Insider, is often criticized for the overuse of computer jargons. He responds that it is perfectly natural for people with some background knowledge to have a better understanding than others. According to Mori, computer jargons are not much different from proper nouns, like the names of celebrities or fashion brands, in the sense that they are in most cases just there as ornament that serves to create a particular mood.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
. He is famous for writing mystery novels – particularly his debut work The Perfect Insider, which won him the first Mephist Award in 1996 – but he considers himself to be a researcher as well as craftsman.
He insists his name to be written and called "MORI Hiroshi," family name first and uppercased, regardless of the language when romanized
Romanization
In linguistics, romanization or latinization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Roman script, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system . Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written...
.
Mori as a craftsman
Since childhood, Mori was an avid model craftsman, making all kinds of models from race cars to locomotives to airplanes. He started out with a model locomotive that his father bought him as a birthday gift and was soon attracted to the process of making a miniature world of his own. Tools and materials for model making were readily available since his father ran a construction shop, and when Mori was in fifth grade, he built a manpowered car by putting two bicycles together.Unlike most boys, Mori never grew out of this hobby; instead, his love for model crafts grew stronger as he became older. His interest moved on to radio control
Radio control
Radio control is the use of radio signals to remotely control a device. The term is used frequently to refer to the control of model vehicles from a hand-held radio transmitter...
airplanes and he has so far constructed and flown over forty of them, some of which span about ten feet. Furthermore, he recently constructed a five-inch (127 mm) gauge railway in his garden. Mori confesses that one of the reasons for becoming a novelist was that he wanted to make more money to extend the miniature garden railway
Garden railway
A garden railroad or garden railway is a model railway system set up outdoors in a garden. While G is the most popular scale for garden railroads, 16 mm scale has a dedicated and growing following especially in the UK. Model locomotives in this scale are often live steam scale models of British...
.
Mori as a manga artist
Starting from high school years, Mori was also engrossed in mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
. When he was hospitalized in the second year of high school, he came across a work by Moto Hagio
Moto Hagio
is a manga artist born on May 12, 1949 in Ōmuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, though she currently lives in Saitama Prefecture. She is considered a "founding mother" of modern shōjo manga, especially shōnen-ai. She is also a member of the Year 24 Group...
, author of several well-known shōjo
Shojo
The term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...
manga series, which struck him deeply and made him realize the artistic beauty of manga. Indeed, Mori says that Hagio is the only artist whom he adores and that she was the one who inspired him to write not only manga but other literary works as well.
After joining a manga club at the university, Mori began to write and self-publish under the pen name Mori Muku. He also produced drawings and illustrations, and it was in the sophomore year of university that he met Subaru Sasaki, an amateur artist with the same interests, who became both his wife and professional illustrator. Although Mori does not write manga anymore, he still claims to be a better manga artist than a novelist.
Mori as a researcher
Mori’s true career started in 1982 when he became an assistant professor at Mie UniversityMie University
Mie University is a national university in Tsu, Mie, Japan. As with other 'national' universities, 'Miedai' has been a national university corporation since April 2004, when state-funded universities were partially privatised...
. He had found interest in conducting research while he had been studying as a graduate student at Nagoya University
Nagoya University
Nagoya University is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. It can be seen in the several rankings such as shown below.-General Rankings:...
, and upon completing his master’s thesis, he took a job at the newly established Department of Architecture at Mie University. There, he specialized in rheology
Rheology
Rheology is the study of the flow of matter, primarily in the liquid state, but also as 'soft solids' or solids under conditions in which they respond with plastic flow rather than deforming elastically in response to an applied force....
(a branch of physics that deals with deformation and flow of matter), and in particular, the studies of viscous-plastics.
In 1989, Mori became an associate professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at Nagoya University at the age of 31. He received a Doctorate of Engineering with a thesis on a numerical method for analyzing the flow of viscous plastic. Interestingly, Mori preferred not to become further promoted to professor, stating that he would lose his valuable research time to trivial meetings and other business. In March 2005, he resigned his post to become a professional writer.
Mori as a novelist
Finally, Mori made his debut as a novelist in April 1996 with The Perfect Insider. He won the very first Mephist Award for this, or rather, Editor Karaki says that the prize was established in the first place to make Mori’s debut sensational. At this point, he had already written up three other novels, and the truth is that the first piece of work he had completed was Doctors in Isolated Room rather than The Perfect Insider, which was supposed to be the fourth piece in the series. The editor in chief, Hideo Uyama, decided to publish it first since it was the most shocking of the four.Mori gives several reasons, in various interviews, as to why he started to write while working as associate professor. One of the reasons was that he had been saying jokingly that he would become a writer by forty, and another, already mentioned above, was that he wanted to have another source of income for his hobbies. However, the direct cause was that Mori simply wanted to impress his daughter who was a big fan of mystery novels.
As a writer, Mori is known among his editors to be prolific and punctual. In fact, he finished his first novel in just a week by sparing a mere three hours at night after a day’s work at the university. Although he writes very fast, he admits that he is not a good reader, and curiously, the bulk of his time is spent reading proof sheets rather than actually writing. At the same time, Mori is extremely punctual, and his editor Misa Inako affirms that he has never missed a deadline.
Mori has so far produced over thirty mystery novels; moreover, he has worked on a wide variety of genres in the past few years, including romance, poetry, essays, photo books, and children’s picture books. Particularly notable is An Automaton in Long Sleep, an adventure fiction about an automaton
Automaton
An automaton is a self-operating machine. The word is sometimes used to describe a robot, more specifically an autonomous robot. An alternative spelling, now obsolete, is automation.-Etymology:...
from 120 years ago, which was written in commission of Coca Cola for the base story of its 120th anniversary television drama in Japan, happen to became Mori’s first work to be dramatized on television. Manga versions for some of his works have been published as well.
Criticism
Mori’s writings are called “rikei mystery,” which roughly translates into “science mystery.” This is most likely because Mori uses his experience as a research scientist and weaves some kind of a science- or math-related problem into the story (for example, several math puzzles were presented in Mathematical Goodbye). However, Mori says that he is reluctant to label his novels that way, and he goes on to question what is really meant when people say “science”.In addition, Mori’s works, especially The Perfect Insider, is often criticized for the overuse of computer jargons. He responds that it is perfectly natural for people with some background knowledge to have a better understanding than others. According to Mori, computer jargons are not much different from proper nouns, like the names of celebrities or fashion brands, in the sense that they are in most cases just there as ornament that serves to create a particular mood.