Yoshio Aramaki

Yoshio Aramaki is a Japanese science fiction and mystery writer, critic and art collector. His original given name was Kunio Aramaki. He has changed his name to Yoshimasa Aramaki. Aramaki is well known by his so-called "Meta-SF" works which are characterized by their speculative and fantastic themes and depictions. He is also famous for his various series of "imaginary battle" novels and alternate history novels. He is a member of the Japan Writers' Association, and of the SFWJ (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan), and of the Contemporary Haiku Association. He was also a professor in the Seishu Women's University (now, Sapporo International University) from 1993 to 1997. Aramaki graduated from Hokkaido Minami Sapporo high school. He graduated from Waseda University. He became an employee at a publishing company and worked in Tokyo. But he returned to Sapporo to take over his family business. Aramaki entered school again and graduated from the department of technology, civil engineering course, in the Hokkai Gakuen University Junior College Division, and obtained an architect degree. He took an office job as a representative director with Hokken Shoji Co. Ltd. He joined the Hokkaido science fiction club and contributed various stories and critiques to the magazine "CORE" from 1965 to 1967. In 1970, Aramaki presented a critique "Theory of Novels by Kunst", in S-F Magazine in response to Koichi Yamano Here. Aramaki analyzed Robert Heinlein's works by using the concept of "fiction by Kunst", thereby he advocated the new possibilities of Japanese SF works in this critique. He also published his allegorical short story "Oinaru Shogo (The Great Noon)" in the same publication. He thus debuted as a writer and a critic in the same publication.