Shinichi Hoshi

Shin’ichi Hoshi (星 新一 ''Hoshi Shin'ichi'', September 6, 1926 – December 30, 1997) was a Japanese novelist and science fiction writer best known for his "short-short" science fiction stories, often no more than three or four pages in length, of which he wrote over 1000. He also wrote mysteries and won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award for ''Mōsō Ginkō (Delusion Bank)'' in 1968.

One of his short stories, "Bokko-chan" ("Miss Bokko"), was translated into English and published in ''Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' in June 1963. His books translated into English include ''There Was a Knock,'' a collection of 15 stories, and ''The Spiteful Planet and Other Stories.''

His friend Osamu Tezuka used his name for a character in ''Amazing 3'', a manga and anime series which Tezuka produced in 1967.

His father, Ichi Hoshi (星一 Hoshi Ichi), is the founder of the Hoshi Pharmaceutical University and the Hoshi Pharmaceutical company. His grandmother on his mother's side, Kimiko Koganei, was the sister of Mori Ōgai. Shin'ichi's name is an abbreviated version of his father's motto, "kindness first" (親切第一 shinsetsu daiichi). After his father's death, he briefly served as the president of Hoshi Pharmaceutical. At the time of serving, Hoshi Pharmaceutical was listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Provided by Wikipedia