Shin Hasegawa

Biography

In 1911 he joined a Tokyo newspaper as a journalist. In 1917 he writes his first novel in the "Narration Club" and in 1927 he founded, with Ranpo Edogawa and other prominent writers, an association to propel popular novels. Hasegawa speciallized in jidai-geki and chabara novels. From 1926 his novels begin to be converted into movies. Some of his novel characters have been played by the most famous film stars of his time. "Tokijiro of Kutusukake" has been played by Denjiro Okochi (1929), Kazuo Hasegawa (1934 and 1953), Shogo Shimada (1954), Raizo Ichikawa (1961) and Kinnosuke Nakamura (1966). "Chohachiro Tonami" from "Crimson Bat" was played by Kinshiro Matsumoto, Ryunosuke Tsukigata and Ryuzaburo Mitsuoka in 1931. "Chutaro of Banba" from "Long Sought Mother" was played by Chiezo Kataoka (1931 and 1936), K. Hasegawa (1938), Tomisaburo Wakayama (1955) and K. Nakamura (1962). "Seki" from "Samurai and Orphan", was played by K. Hasegawa (1930 and 1959), D. Okochi (1935), Kokichi Takeda (1938), S. Shimada (1955) and K. Nakamura (1963). Other Hasegawa novels made into movies were "Within a Montanious Area" (1930 and 1962) and "Two Bodyguards" (1968), the latter his last film adaptation. In total his novels were converted into films 154 (!) times.