I-novel; autobiographical novel
A genre of Japanese literature in which the author writes about their own personal life and experiences, often in a confessional style. The term is closely associated with the Japanese literary tradition of the 'I-novel' (私小説).
His latest work is an I-novel depicting his own divorce experience.
The I-novel occupies an important place in modern Japanese literature.
私小説 is a more common term for the 'I-novel' genre, while 身辺小説 emphasizes the focus on the author's immediate personal life and surroundings.
自伝的小説 is a broader term for autobiographical novels, not limited to the Japanese literary tradition.
Compound of 身辺 (personal surroundings) and 小説 (novel). The term emerged in Japanese literary criticism to describe a subgenre of autobiographical fiction.