Rampo & Junichi

The meeting between Rampo and Junichi Iwata took place in 1918, when Rampo, who was working at the Toba Shipyard, visited an exhibition of paintings by Junichi, who was a middle school student at the time. In 1925, the two reunited in Tokyo and deepened their relationship through mutual interest in the study of male homosexuality.

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In 1927 (Showa 2), a cooperative group called “Tanki-sha” was formed, consisting of six members: Shiro Kunieda, Fuki Okozai, Shin Hasegawa, Seiji Haji, Edogawa Rampo, and Rokei Hirayama. They met once a month at a restaurant in Nagoya called "Sunraku-en" to collaborate on literary works.

 

Junichi participated in these meetings as the secretary for the collaborative novel and occasionally wrote on behalf of Rampo.

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Rampo wrote about his relationship with Junichi in the following way: At the time (1933), I was rather reclusive and disliked socializing, and Junichi Iwata from Toba was almost my only companion. We traveled together and wandered around Asakusa Park in Tokyo. Iwata was a talkative, clumsy, and good-hearted person, which made him a perfect match for me, who was lazy, slow-moving, and taciturn.