HOSHI, Shin'ichi

(1926-)

   One of the pioneers of Japanese sf. SH, who has specialized in the short-short story, became the first full-time sf writer in JAPAN. His stories were influential on the younger generation, and he was largely responsible for the popularization of sf and its way of thinking. He has developed a writing style that gives an sf flavour even to his non-sf works, and which is appropriate to his attacks on everyday values. Although he is sometimes called the Japanese Ray BRADBURY, his writingsare more satirical than poetic: comparison with Fredric BROWN might be closer to the mark. A graduate of Tokyo University, he helped Takumi SHIBANO found Uchujin, the first Japanese FANZINE, in 1957; his firstprofessional sale, "Sekisutora" ("Sextra") (1957), had originally been published in Uchujin \#2. His best known story is "Bokkochan" (1958; trans under same title FSF 1963); it also appeared in Jinzo Bijin ("A Man-Made Beauty") (coll 1961). By 1983 he had published over 1000 stories,including two sf/fantasy novels: Muma No Hyoteki ("Target of Nightmare") (1964), in which a ventriloquist is controlled by his doll, and Koe No Ami("Net of the Voice") (1970), in which a telephone network becomesconscious and takes control of human society. Other works have included historical novellas, collections of unconventional short essays, and fictionalized documentaries including biographies of his father and grandfather. An important multivolume retrospective is Hoshi Shin'ichi No Sakuhinshu ("The Complete Works of Shin'ichi Hoshi") (coll 1974). Twobooks of English translations are The Spiteful Planet and Other Stories (coll trans 1978 Tokyo) and There was a Knock (coll trans 1984 Tokyo), thelatter collecting short-short stories.

   TSh