Edogawa Rampo

Tarō Hirai (平井 太郎 ,Hirai Tarō, October 21, 1894 - July 28, 1965), better known by the pseudonym Rampo Edogawa (江戸川 乱歩 ,Edogawa Ranpo, usually romanized as "Edogawa Rampo"), was a Japanese author and critic. He wrote many works of detective fiction. Kogoro Akechi was the primary detective of these novels.

Rampo was an admirer of western mystery writers, and especially of Edgar Allan Poe. His psuedonym is actually a Japanese rendering of Poe's name. Other authors who were special influences on him were Maurice Leblanc and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.