Sasazawa Saho (笹沢左保, November 15, 1930 – October 21, 2002) was a Japanese author, known as the creator of the Kogarashi Monjirō novels, which became a hit televised drama series.

[2][4] But his short stories Yami no naka no dengon (闇の中の伝言, "The message in the dark") and Kunin me no giseisha (九人目の犠牲者, "The ninth victim"), which he had submitted to prize contest before the accident both qualified and were printed in the December 1958 special issue of the Hoseki magazine.

[6][4] In 1960,[a] his Manekarezaru kyaku (招かれざる客, "The uninvited guest") became a runner-up for the 5th Edogawa Rampo Prize,[6][7] and the release of this in book format marked his debut as novelist.

[8] In 1970, he ventured into writing period novels (in particular matatabi fiction about traveling gamblers) with Mikaeri tōge no rakujitsu (見返り峠の落日, "Sunset at Look-back Pass").

[1] The samurai period gambler piece that brought Sasazawa lasting fame was his Kogarashi Monjirō series,[1][4] begun with the episode entitled Shamen bana wa chitta (赦免花は散った, "The Clemency Flower has Scattered", 1970).

Some of his outputs in modern settings from the subsequent period include the child-kidnapping novel Mayonaka no shijin (真夜中の詩人, "Midnight poet", 1972), called a masterpiece on par with his earlier great works;[14] Haruka nari waga ai o (遥かなりわが愛を, "My love so far", 1976) which launched the Detective Isenami series;[15]Tasatsu misaki (他殺岬, "Cape homicide", 1977) was a time-limit kidnapping story with a twist,[16] the scandal-monger must devise a ransom for the perpetrator who only wants vengeance; Kyūkon no misshitsu (求婚の密室, "The marriage-proposing locked room", 1978) features a well-crafted locked room gimmickry.

[2][22][23] With declining health in 1987, he recuperated at a hospital in the town of Mikatsuki, Saga which bore a name similar to Mikazuki-mura [ja] (Mikazuki Village), the fictitious birthplace of Monjirō.

Such a writer, he explained, was not only required to be "orthodox" (or "authentic") and devise a clever trick used in the crime, but in addition, needed to maintain realisticness in the human characters employed.