Uchūjin


Uchūjin was a Japanese science fiction fanzine published from 1957 until its 204th issue in 2013. It was Japan's first science fiction fanzine. It was awarded a special Seiun Award in 1982 as Japan's oldest science fiction fanzine, and received an honorable mention for Best Amateur Magazine at the 1962 Hugo Awards.

History

Uchūjin began publication with the May 1957 issue. Science fiction author and translator Takumi Shibano as the founding editor, making it the oldest Japanese science fiction fanzine. Shibano chaired the Science Fiction Writing Club after participating in the Japan Flying Saucer Research Association.
The club changed its name to Uchūjin before the first issue, and focused on science fiction writing, translation, critique, and related topics. Since the first issue, many of its contributors went on to become well-known speculative fiction writers, including Sakyō Komatsu, Yasutaka Tsutsui, Ryū Mitsuse, Shinji Kajio, Akira Hori, Kōji Tanaka, Yoshinori Shimizu, Baku Yumemakura, and Masaki Yamada.
At the first Nihon SF Taikai in 1962, Uchūjin held a fifth anniversary party. They also released a self-parody fanzine titled Space Deer in the same year. Three collections of the best works from the magazine were released. The magazine publishing frequency changed from monthly to annual in 1973, with the 200th issue being published in 2007. The final issue contained memorial tributes to Shibano, including an interview with his widow.

Contributors

The following writers contributed to Uchūjin over the years:
Several collections of works from Uchūjin were published in Japan.
Uchūjin has received the following awards and honors:
YearOrganizationAward title,
Category		ResultRefs
1962World Science Fiction SocietyHugo Award,
Best Amateur Magazine
1982日本ファングループ連合会議
Seiun Award,
Special Award