Taisho Baseball Girls Novelist Atsushi Kagurazaka Dies at 59

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© Atsushi Kagurazaka, Shogakukan

The family of novelist Atsushi Kagurazaka (real name Junnosuke Ōshita) announced on Wednesday Kagurazaka died on November 20 of heart failure. Hew as 59.

Kagurazaka's family held a private funeral. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Kagurazaka was born in Hiroshima, and he made his debut as a novelist in 1988.

He was known for his period and children's novels. His Taishō Yakyū Musume (Taishō Baseball Girls.) novel series inspired an anime in 2009. He was also known for the Uchi no Danna ga Amachan de (My Husband is Amachan) novel series, which took place in the Edo period and won the "paperback original series" award in 2020 from the Japan Historical Writers Association. His other novel series include Ayakashi Nagaya and Kinshiro no Tsuma Desu ga.

He also was a manga storywriter under the penname Akira Shirakawa. His works include: Guardian Dog, Marie Antoinette no Ryōrinin, Ganso Edomae Sushiya Yohee, and Kenkazushi: Ganso Sushi Shokunin Hanaya Yohee.

Kagurazuka's father is the documentary writer and novelist Eiji Ōshita.

Sources: Atsushi Kagurazaka's X/Twitter account, The Sankei Shimbun, Jiji Press