Abstract

The Hundred Character Theatre is a collection of extra-short stories or micro-novels. Each story is completed in just one hundred characters in Japanese (approximately 50 words). KITANO Yusaku who won the Japan Science Fiction Gand Prize for Mr. Turtle which has been published in English by Kurodahan Press, is known for his long novels, but in recent years he has been presenting "almost 100 character novels" daily on Twitter as his lifework.
This book, An Ordinary Safebox (Arifureta-kinko), contains 200 sci-fi stories. Sci-fi, the author says, can be anything, some might say they aren't "sci-fi" enough but that doesn't matter. According to Kitano, stories in this book are closest to his origin or core idea as a creator.
"It is almost a miracle that the large scale story...exists in a small rectangle space, which can view by one quick look." (from the commentary)The extra-short novel is easy to read, making it ideal for bilingual editions for Japanese language learners.

"He’s a lighthouse now, he tells me. An alien came knocking on his door one night, asked him to become one, as they needed a beacon right there. His fellow Earthians cannot see the light he emits, but he is lighting up the sea of stars, guiding ships from other planets."
(An Ordinary Safebox, page 11. English translation by Asahi Takaiye)
Cover illustration by WADA Radio, Commentary by TAKAYAMA Haneko

Author’s Information

Born 1962, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. In 1992, Kitano won the 4th Japan Fantasy Novel Award for Excellence for his debut novel, Where Mars Used to Be (Mukashi, Kasei no atta basho). He was awarded the 1st KATSURA Jakusaburo New Rakugo (Yagura Cup) Grand Prize for his story, Geocentric Theory (Tendosetsu) and the 22nd Japan Science Fiction Grand Prize for his work, Mr. Turtle (Kurodahan Press. 2016, English translation by Tyran Grillo). He has written numerous books, including Do-Natsu, KITANO Yusaku's Animal Book, Doronko Rondo, Kitsune no Tsuki, Kameri, Reiko and the Kamaboko Factory, and many others.
His lifework, The Almost 100-character Novel, continues to be published daily on Twitter, with more than 4,000 entries.