Natsuo Kirino (????) (nom de plume, real name Mariko Hashioka), born October 7, 1951 in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, is a Japanese novelist and a leading figure in the recent boom of female writers of Japanese detective fiction. A prolific writer, she is most famous for her 1997 novel, Out, which received the Grand Prix for Crime Fiction, Japan's top mystery award, and was a finalist (in English translation) for the 2004 Edgar Award. In addition, Kirino received the 1993 Edogawa Rampo Prize for mystery fiction for her debut novel, Kao ni furikakeru ame (Rain Falling on My Face), and the 1999 Naoki Prize for her novel Yawarakana hoho [Soft Cheeks]. So far, four of her novels (Out, Grotesque, Real World and What Remains) have been translated into English. The latter novel, a violent tale of childhood abuse and sexual degradation, enjoyed a considerable readership in Japan; Kirino, however, has expressed doubts that it will do as well in the U.S. market. Kirino also has written an installment in the Canongate Myth Series (concerning the myth of Izanagi and Izanami), to be published in 2009.
A Japanese film adaptation of Out, directed by Hirayama Hideyuki, was released in 2002 to generally tepid reviews. According to Variety (on-line edition), New Line Cinema has purchased the rights for an American version, to be directed by Nakata Hideo (Ring, Ring 2).
"All of them had the ability to interact with others: friends, lovers, someone to whom they could open their hearts, someone with whom they could share conversation, someone they longed to see once work was done. They had people outside the workplace who made them feel happy." --GROTESQUE
Works on Kirino
Rebecca L. Copeland, "Woman uncovered: pornography and power in the detective fiction of Kirino Natsuo", Japan Forum 16/2 (2004): 249-69
Amanda C. Seaman, Bodies of Evidence: Women, Society, and Detective Fiction in 1990s Japan (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2004), 86-118
Idem, "Inside OUT: Space, Gender, and Power in Kirino Natsuo", Japanese Language and Literature 40/2 (2006): 197-217