A Lost Paradise

For other uses, see Lost Paradise (disambiguation) and Paradise Lost (disambiguation).
"Shitsurakuen" redirects here. For the manga series Shitsurakuen, see Shitsurakuen (manga).
A Lost Paradise
First edition (1997)
AuthorJunichi Watanabe
Original title失楽園 (Shitsurakuen)
TranslatorJuliet Winters Carpenter
LanguageJapanese
GenreNovel
PublisherKodansha
Publication date
1997
Publication placeJapan
Published in English
2000
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages372 pp
ISBN4-7700-2324-3

A Lost Paradise (失楽園, Shitsurakuen) is a 1997 Japanese novel by author Junichi Watanabe. It tells the story of a married, former magazine editor aged 54; his affair with a married 37-year-old typesetter and their double-suicide. The couple, Kūki and Rinko, are modeled after the famous case of Sada Abe.[1][2][3]

The book became a bestseller throughout Asia, selling 3 million copies in Japan. Shitsurakuen became a slang word for having an affair.[2][4] It was first serialized in the business newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun in 1995.[3][5][6] The book was made into a film and a TV drama the same year.[2] The film, Lost Paradise, was nominated for 13 Japan Academy Prizes winning one with Hitomi Kuroki for lead actress.[7]

References

  1. ^ Hall-Balduf, Susan (25 August 2000). "Review". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  2. ^ a b c West, Mark D. (2006). Secrets, sex, and spectacle: the rules of scandal in Japan and the United States. University of Chicago Press. p. 272. ISBN 0-226-89408-8. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  3. ^ a b Marran, Christine L. (2007). Poison woman: figuring female transgression in modern Japanese culture. U of Minnesota Press. pp. 161–163. ISBN 0-8166-4727-5. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  4. ^ "The husband instruction manual". China Daily / eastday.com. 2004-06-07. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  5. ^ Osedo, Hiroshi (2 February 2005). "Lust and seduction top stock news". The Courier-Mail. Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2009-05-26. ..Shitsurakuen (A Lost Paradise) appeared in...
  6. ^ Yao, Minji (28 June 2008). "The master of secret sin". Shanghai Daily. Archived from the original on 20 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-26.[dead link‍]
  7. ^ 第21回　日本アカデミー賞. Japan Academy Prize website (in Japanese). Japan Academy Prize Association. Archived from the original on 28 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-26.


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