Name: Edogawa Rampo
Real Name: Tarō Hirai
Born: October 21, 1894 – Mie Prefecture, Japan
Died: July 28, 1965
Genre: Mystery, Detective Fiction, Gothic, Psychological Suspense
Notable Works: The Human Chair, The Black Lizard, Beast in the Shadows, Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination

About the Author

Edogawa Rampo (a pen name inspired by "Edgar Allan Poe") is widely considered the father of modern Japanese mystery fiction. Blending elements of psychological suspense, the grotesque, and classic whodunits, his stories helped shape the early 20th-century literary scene in Japan. His writing was deeply influenced by Western detective fiction, yet uniquely Japanese in atmosphere and theme. Many of his stories explore the darker sides of human nature—madness, obsession, and hidden desires—often set in mysterious, dreamlike worlds.