Seicho Matsumoto (1909-1992) was a prolific Japanese writer. He began publishing when he was in his forties, but his literary career did not take off until his second book, when he received the Akutagawa Prize for The Story of Kokura's Diary (Aru Kokuranikki den, 1952). Matsumoto received some of his country's most prestigious literary awards and is considered one of Japan's leading crime writers. His most notable books include The Voice (Koe, 1955), Tokyo Express (Ten to sen, 1958; Libros del Asteroide, 2014), The Sand Castle (Suna no utsuwa, 1961; Libros del Asteroide, 2023), The Girl from Kyushu (Kiri no hata, 1961; Libros del Asteroide, 2017) and An Unknown Place (Kikanakatta Basho, 1975; Libros del Asteroide, 2021).