Ryotaro Shiba (1923-1996) started working on his own writing while employed at a newspaper. In 1960 he received the Naoki Prize for Fukuro no shiro (Owl's Castle), about Iga clan ninjas, and in the following year began working solely on his own writing. With Ryoma ga yuku (Ryoma Goes His Way), about Ryoma Sakamoto, a prominent activist in the mid-nineteenth century, Shiba established his unique style of the historical novel, combining elements of biography, criticism, and historical writing, and of the essay. In 1993, Shiba received the Order of Cultural Merit from the Japanese government.

1956 Kodan Club Prize, for Perusha no genjutsu-shi (Magician of Persia)

1960 Naoki Prize, for Fukuro no shiro (Castle of Owls)

1966 Kikuchi Kan Prize, for Kunitori monogatari (A Tale of Stealing the Nation) and Ryoma ga yuku (Ryoma Goes His Way)

1970 Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize, for Yo ni sumu hibi (Days of Living in This World)

1985 Japan Literary Grand Prize, for Kaido wo yuku – nanban no michi (Hitting the Road – Streets of Nanban)