Japanese Literary Awards

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Kazushige Abe

あべ かずしげ

Abe Kazushige

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1968-09-23 （Higashine, Yamagata, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Higashine, Yamagata, Japan → Tokyo, Japan

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Film critic
Active Years
1994-
Affiliations
Cahiers du Cinéma Japon (editorial board)
Influenced By
Kōjin Karatani, Kenji Nakagami, Shigehiko Hasumi, Kyojin Onishi, Akio Gotō, Kenzaburō Ōe, Yukio Mishima, Michel Foucault, Marcel Proust, Miguel de Cervantes, William S. Burroughs, Laurence Sterne, Bruce Lee, Philip K. Dick, Alfred Bester, Daniel Defoe, Marquis de Sade, David Bowie, literary criticism, film, metafiction
Nominations
111th Akutagawa Prize nominee (America no Yoru), 8th Mishima Yukio Prize nominee (America no Yoru), 118th Akutagawa Prize nominee (Triangles), 125th Akutagawa Prize nominee (Nipponia Nippon), 15th Mishima Yukio Prize nominee (Nipponia Nippon)

Education

Japan Institute of the Moving Image (formerly Nihon Eiga Gakkō)
Degree: 専門士
Period: 〜1990
Year of Graduation: 1990
Country: Japan

Awards

Gunzo New Writers' Literary Prize
1994
Work: America no Yoru (America's Night)
Organization: Gunzo (Kodansha)
Result: 受賞
Noma Literary Newcomer Award
1999
Work: Mujō no Sekai (The Heartless World)
Organization: Noma Literary Newcomer Award (Noma Cultural Foundation)
Result: 受賞
Ito Sei Literature Award
2004
Work: Sinsemia
Organization: Ito Sei Literature Award
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Publishing Culture Award
2004
Work: Sinsemia
Organization: Mainichi Newspapers (Mainichi Publishing Culture Award)
Result: 受賞
Akutagawa Prize
2005
Work: Grand Finale
Organization: Akutagawa Prize
Result: 受賞
Tanizaki Jun'ichirō Prize
2010
Work: Pistols
Organization: Tanizaki Prize
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

America no Yoru

1994 Short fiction / Novel

Debut work. A self-referential piece exploring the split between narrator and protagonist. Winner of the Gunzo New Writers' Prize.

metafictionsplit selfcinematic references

Individual Projection

1997 Novel

A novel framed as the diary of a former spy trainee, combining theoretical elements and entertainment; noted as a representative work of the 'J-literature' movement.

identityconspiracynarrative apparatus

Mujō no Sekai (The Heartless World)

1999 Short stories / Fiction

A collection that includes stories such as 'Triangles', dealing with stalking and violence. Winner of the Noma Literary Newcomer Award.

stalkingviolencebreakdown of civic life

Nipponia Nippon

2001 Novella / Novel

Depicts a boy who plans the killing of a Japanese crested ibis via the internet. An Akutagawa Prize nominee.

internetyouth violencesocial issues

Sinsemia

2003 Epic novel (2 volumes)

A sprawling two-volume epic set in Kamimachi (Higashine), spanning some 1600 manuscript pages; it consolidated Abe's reputation. Winner of the Ito Sei Literature Award and the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award.

Kamimachi sagaregional memorygenerations and family
Translations
  • Translated into Thai

Grand Finale

2005 Short novel

Tells of a man disgraced by the discovery of photographs of his daughter who meets two girls in Kamimachi. Winner of the 132nd Akutagawa Prize.

guilt and atonementfamily breakdownlocal communities

Mysterious Setting

2006 Novel (originally serialized as a mobile novel)

Originally published as a mobile (keitai) novel; includes contemporary reinterpretations of tales like 'The Little Match Girl' and represents an attempt to reset authorial style.

textual experimenttragedyderivative/secondary-creation techniques

Pistols

2010 Novel

A long-form novel serialized prior to publication. Winner of the Tanizaki Jun'ichirō Prize in 2010.

representations of violenceintergenerational conflicturban and periphery

Orga(ni)sm

2019 Novel

The work that concluded the Kamimachi saga; regarded as a culmination of Abe's recurring themes and structural experiments.

saga conclusionmultiplicitysigns and existence

Bibliography

  • America no Yoru (1994)
  • ABC War (1995)
  • Individual Projection (1997)
  • Mujō no Sekai (1999)
  • Nipponia Nippon (2001)
  • Sinsemia (2003)
  • Grand Finale (2005)
  • Mysterious Setting (2006)
  • Pistols (2010)
  • Quasar and the 13th Pillar (2012)
  • Square (2013)
  • Deluxe Edition (2013)
  • Captain Thunderbolt (2014)
  • Orga(ni)sm (2019)
  • Black Chamber Music (2021)
  • Ultimate Edition (2022)

Translations of Works

  • Several works (e.g., Sinsemia) have been translated into Thai

Style & Themes

Literary Style
metafictional self-referenceformal experimental long-form prosecinematic imagery and descriptions
Recurring Motifs
Kamimachi saga (stories of regional communities)multiplicity and nested narrative structuresinternet and technologyviolence, desire, family breakdownreferences to pop culture

Legacy

Regarded as a major contemporary Japanese writer who introduced formal experimentation and a cinematic perspective to fiction. Works such as Sinsemia and his Akutagawa Prize-winning pieces established his literary standing; his work has been translated and he has been invited abroad, indicating international influence.

In Popular Culture

  • Book cover design was parodied by an adult video package, drawing popular attention
  • The Kamimachi saga setting created continuity across multiple works

Quotes

  • I have mixed feelings.
    Source: Akutagawa Prize acceptance press conference (for Grand Finale) (2005)
  • If I could write like Foucault, I'd be willing to stop writing.
    Source: Interview (comments on literature and film) (2000)

Trivia

  • His family ran a bakery; a bookstore and a cinema were opposite his childhood home.
  • The debut work begins with a passage about Bruce Lee.
  • At the 2005 Akutagawa Prize ceremony he made a 'usa-chan peace' pose that attracted attention.
  • He married fellow Akutagawa Prize-winning writer Mieko Kawakami in 2011.
  • Several works have been translated into Thai and he was invited to events in Thailand.