Masami Fukushima

Masami Fukushima (福島正実, Fukushima Masami) (February 18, 1929, Sakhalin - April 9, 1976) was a Japanese science fiction editor, author, critic, translator. As the first chief editor of SF Magazine, he endeavoured to propagate science fiction in Japan. He is also called "a demon of SF". His real name is Masami Kato (加藤正実, Katō Masami). He has another pseudonym: Kyo Kato (加藤喬, Katō Kyō).

Biography

He was born in Toyohara, Karafuto Prefecture (Sakhalin) as a son of a public official. In accordance with father's transfer, the family moved to Manchuria in 1934. In 1937 they went back to the mainland of Japan. Fukushima grew up in Yokohama.

He entered Nihon University in 1945 and transferd to Meiji University in 1950. He majored in French literature. In 1954 he quit school. Then he studied how to translate under Shunji Shimizu (清水俊二, Shimizu Shunji) and how to write children's literature under Tatsuzo Nasu (那須辰造, Nasu Tatsuzō).

In 1956, Fukushima joined Hayakawa Publishing Corporation (早川書房). The next year, he started up Hayakawa SF series. In 1959 he founded SF Magazine. He served as chief editor until he quit the company in 1969. Hayakawa World SF Complete Collection was planned by Fukushima, too.

He aimed to make SF highbrow literature, and eliminated space opera. According to avoid being considered as "childish literature", Fukushima unanimously adopted abstract paintings as the covers of SF Magazine and Hayakawa SF series.

He translated many English science fictions into Japanese. For example, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert A. Heinlein. He also edited SF anthologies, produced new SF writers, and wrote some SFs.

Fukushima died in 1976 at 47 years old.