George Abe

George Abe
Native name
安部 譲二
BornNaoya Abe (安部 直也)
(1937-05-17)May 17, 1937
Tokyo, Empire of Japan (Currently Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan)
DiedSeptember 2, 2019(2019-09-02) (aged 82)
OccupationAuthor
Notable worksRainbow: Nisha Rokubō no Shichinin
Website
www.abegeorge.net

Naoya Abe (Japanese: 安部 直也, Hepburn: Abe Naoya, May 17, 1937[1] – September 2, 2019), known by his pen name George Abe (安部 譲二, Abe Jōji), was a Japanese author and former yakuza. Outside Japan he is best known for writing the manga series Rainbow: Nisha Rokubō no Shichinin in collaboration with artist Masasumi Kakizaki. As a teenager Abe became a member of the Ando-gumi yakuza family, and was later recruited by the Koganei-ikka.[2] In 1986, after leaving the yakuza life, he wrote a novel about his time in Fuchū Prison titled Hei no Naka no Korinai Menmen (塀の中の懲りない面々), which became a bestseller and was adapted into a film.[3] Abe died on September 2, 2019, from pneumonia, aged 82.[3]

  1. ^ ABE, George. Weekly Young Sunday (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on February 20, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  2. ^ 安部譲二さん死去 「塀の中の懲りない面々」. Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). September 8, 2019. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  3. ^ a b 作家の安部譲二さん死去 「塀の中の懲りない面々」. The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). September 8, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2020.