John P. Marquand created the fictional Japanese secret agent Mr. Moto. Mr. Moto originally appeared in the novel Your Turn, Mr. Moto. The novel was serialized in the Saturday Evening Post. He appeared in six novels between 1935 and 1957, 23 radio shows in 1951, eight films between 1937 and 1939, and a comic book published by Moonstone Books.
On-screen Mr. Moto has been portrayed by Peter Lorre and Henry Silva, and on radio Mr. Moto was portrayed by James Monk. Some of Mr. Moto’s talents include, magic skills, use of doubles, writer of haiku, drawing caricatures, and the ability to speak four languages. Mr. Moto's full name is Mr. I. A. Moto. In the novels he is an Imperial Agent of Japan. His missions take him into China where he engages in conflicts with Chinese nobility and warlords, and members of a militant branch of the Japanese Government.
