Seishi Yokomizo is a renowned mystery and thriller novelist from Japan, who gained immense popularity during the Showa period. Born in Kobe, Hyogo, Yokomizo developed an interest in detective stories as a boy. In 1921, while employed by the Daiichi Bank, he published his first story in the popular magazine "Shin Seinen" (New Youth). Despite initially intending to take over his family's drug store, Yokomizo's love for literature led him to move to Tokyo in 1926, where he began working for the Hakubunkan publishing company. After serving as editor-in-chief of several magazines, he resigned in 1932 to pursue writing full-time.
Yokomizo's writing was heavily influenced by historical fiction, particularly historical detective novels. His first novel, "Onibi," was completed in 1934 and published in 1935, although parts of it were censored by the authorities. Despite facing difficulties during World War II in getting his works published, Yokomizo's popularity soared soon after the war's end. He published many works via Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine in serialized form, starting with "Honjin Satsujin Jiken" (The Honjin Murder) and "Chōchō Satsujin Jinken" (The Inugami Clan) in 1946. Yokomizo's works became the model for postwar Japanese mystery writing, and he gained the nickname "the Japanese John Dickson Carr" due to his admiration for the writer.
Yokomizo's most famous creation is the private detective character Kosuke Kindaichi, which has been featured in many of his works. Many of his novels have been adapted into movies, and he is widely regarded as one of Japan's greatest mystery writers. Yokomizo died of colon cancer in 1981 and is buried in the Seishun-en cemetery in Kawasaki, Kanagawa.