Biography: Novelist, playwright, screenwriter, theater director and film director. Born in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. His parents' home was an old book store in Okayama City. He dropped out of Kamakura Academy. When he was young, he studied under Kobo Abe. He joined the New Japanese Literary Society and made his debut as a novelist. In 1974 , together with Shoji Kaneko and others, he launched a theater company and was actively engaged in underground theater activities.