Seiichi Funabashi was a Japanese novelist born in Tokyo, Japan. He graduated from Mito High School and later from the Faculty of Letters at Tokyo Imperial University. His younger brother, Kazuo Funabashi, was a screenwriter. Seiichi was a member of the Japan Art Academy and was recognized as a Person of Cultural Merit.

Funabashi began his literary career while still a student, joining the literary magazine "Shumon" and co-founding the theater troupe "Shinza," where he made his debut with the play "White Arm." He later contributed to the magazine "Kodo" and served as a professor at Meiji University.

He founded the writers' association "Kyara no Kai" and launched the publication "Fukei." In addition to his literary work, he was actively involved in social and cultural activities. He served on the National Language Council for the Ministry of Education, addressing postwar language and script issues, and was elected chairman of the Japan Writers’ Association, focusing on copyright matters.

Funabashi was born in the Yokozuna area of Honjo, Tokyo. His father, Ryosuke, was an assistant professor of engineering at Tokyo Imperial University. Shortly after his birth, Funabashi contracted whooping cough, which led to lifelong asthma. In 1909, when his father went to study in Germany, the family moved to Nagayama, Koshigoe, Kanagawa, where Funabashi began attending theater performances with his grandmother.

He attended several elementary schools due to frequent family relocations and began publishing tanka and plays under the pen name Funazu Yoshinosuke during his middle school years. He became a disciple of the playwright Kaoru Osanai and was active in various literary groups, co-founding several magazines and organizations, including "Shinjin Club," "Shin Bungei Toshi," and "Arakurekai."

In 1925, he graduated from university and married Sato Hyakuju. He continued his literary activities while serving as a lecturer at Takushoku University and Meiji University.

In 1966, Funabashi's eyesight began to deteriorate, and he became nearly blind in his later years. Despite this, he continued to write until his sudden death in 1976 at Nippon Medical School Hospital, leaving several works unfinished.

(Source: MyDramaList) Edit Biography