Literary critic Azusa Nakajima, whose real name was Sumiyo Imaoka, died Tuesday of pancreatic cancer at a Tokyo hospital, her office said Wednesday. She was 56.
She also wrote science fiction and mysteries under the pen name Kaoru Kurimoto.
Her criticism covered a wide range of topics and she was also known for her "Guin Saga" science fiction series, which ran to more than 120 volumes.
Hailing from Tokyo, she debuted as a literary critic in 1977 and received the prestigious Edogawa Rampo prize in 1978 for her mystery story "Bokura no Jidai."