Seicho Matsumoto (1909-1992) was one of Japan's most acclaimed and popular writers. Self-educated, he published his first novel when he was forty years old and his books, including Tokyo Express, Inspector Imanishi Investigates and The Little Black Book, became huge bestsellers that were made into movies and TV series. He pioneered the social school of detective fiction, exploring human psychology and Japanese post-war malaise through twisting, dark mysteries. He received the prestigious Akutagawa Literary Prize in 1950 and there is now a prize in Japan in his honour.
