[1] A native of Osaka, he began writing novels after World War II.

He won the 1954 Akutagawa Prize for his book Purusaido Shokei (Poolside Scene).

Shōno lived for one year in the United States in the late 1950s on a fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation at Kenyon College in Ohio.

He later published a book, Gambia Taizaiki about his experiences at Kenyon.

Shōno was made a member of the Japan Art Academy in 1978.