Komatsu, Sakyou

Komatsu Sakyou, born January 28, 1931 in Osaka was a Japanese science fiction writer and screenwriter. He was a graduate of Kyoto University where he studied Italian literature. Reading Abe Kobo and Italian classics made Komatsu feel modern literature and SF were the same. His career began in the 1960s and he has been called "The King of Japanese SF". In the West he may be known for the novels Japan Sinks and Sayonara Jupiter, which he adapted both of into films. His story The Savage Mouth was translated by Judith Merril and has been anthologized. In 1984, Komatsu served as a technical consultant for a live concert in Linz, Austria by Japanese electronic composer Tomita Isao. He won the 1985 Nihon SF Taisho Award. Komatsu was one of two Author Guests of Honor at Nippon 2007, the 65th World Science Fiction Convention in 2007 in Yokohama, Japan. This was the first Worldcon to be held in Asia. Komatsu died on July 26, 2011 in Osaka from complications with pneumonia at the age of 80. (Source: AniDB, New York Times)