Jun'ichi Watanabe, was born in Hokkaido. He became interested in literature in high school. At Sapporo Medical University, he began experimenting with writing, composing several pieces for a literary magazine. After graduating, he became an orthopedic surgeon, but in 1969 he resigned this post and moved to Tokyo to pursue a career as a writer. Among his works are other biographical and medicine-related writings as well as works of fiction like the hugely popular Shitsurakuen (A Lost Paradise), an erotic tale that deals with a love affair. Many of Watanabe's books have been made into movies.