Japanese Literary Awards

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Aki Sato

さとう あき

Sato Aki

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1962-09-16 （Tochio, Niigata (now Nagaoka), Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Tochio, Niigata (now Nagaoka), Japan → Tokyo, Japan → France (study abroad)

Career

Occupations
novelist, translator, essayist
Active Years
1991-
Affiliations
Waseda University, Faculty of Letters (lecturer / visiting professor), Meiji University, School of Commerce (special visiting professor), Science Fiction Writers of Japan (former member)
Memberships
Science Fiction Writers of Japan (past member)
Influenced By
Setsuko Shinoda, Yoriko Shono, Hikaru Okuizumi, Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Marquis de Sade, George Meredith, William Makepeace Thackeray, Fyodor Dostoevsky, G. K. Chesterton, Vladimir Nabokov, Evelyn Waugh, Robert Musil, Joseph Roth, Wolfgang Hildesheimer, Richard Powers, Thomas Bernhard, Brett Easton Ellis
Nominations
24th Science Fiction Award (nominee: 'Angel')

Education

Niigata Prefectural Nagaoka Ote High School
Country: Japan
High school attended
Seijo University, Faculty of Arts and Letters
Faculty of Arts and Letters
Degree: 学士
Country: Japan
Undergraduate degree
Seijo University Graduate School, Graduate Program in Literature (master's course)
Graduate School of Literature
Degree: 修士（博士前期課程修了）
Country: Japan
Specialized in 18th-century art criticism
Rotary Foundation (scholarship, study abroad)
Period: 1988-1989
Country: France
Studied in France on a Rotary Foundation scholarship

Awards

Japan Fantasy Novel Award
1991
Work: Balthazar's Pilgrimage
Category: 小説
Organization: Shinchosha (Shosetsu Shincho)
Result: 受賞
Arts Encouragement Newcomer Award
2002
Work: Angel
Category: 小説
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs (Japan)
Result: 受賞
Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Newcomer Award
2007
Work: Minotauros
Category: 小説
Organization: Kodansha
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Literary Prize
2022
Work: Rejoice, O Blessed Soul
Category: 小説
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Balthazar's Pilgrimage

1991 Fantasy / Novel

Debut novel (1991), winner of the Japan Fantasy Novel Award; a long-form work blending fantasy elements with literary prose.

fantasyjourneyidentity

The Law of War

1992 Novel

An early long novel incorporating historical and political themes.

historyviolencepolitics

Shadow of the Mirror

1993 Novel

Published in 1993; the work experienced periods of being out of print and was the subject of rights-management issues.

memoryselfcomparative literature

Angel

2002 Novel

Published in 2002 as a major novel after a hiatus; recipient of the Arts Encouragement Newcomer Award (2002).

religious motifsmodern Europehumanity

Lark

2004 Novel

A companion volume to 'Angel', published in 2004.

companion piecememoryfamily

Minotauros

2007 Novel

Published in 2007; critically acclaimed and winner of the 29th Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Newcomer Award.

mythic motifsmodernityviolence

The Golden Calf

2012 Novel

Published in 2012; one of her notable mid-period novels.

economyethicstemptation

Vampire

2016 Novel

Published in 2016; incorporates elements of the uncanny and the fantastic.

the uncannyfantasyidentity

The Golden Train

2019 Novel 336 pages

Published in 2019; a long novel with elements set in Europe.

Europeadventurehistory

Bibliography

  • Balthazar's Pilgrimage (1991)
  • The Law of War (1992)
  • Shadow of the Mirror (1993)
  • Montigny's Wolf Baron (1995)
  • 1809: The Assassination of Napoleon (1997)
  • Angel (2002)
  • Lark (2004)
  • Minotauros (2007)
  • A Fierce, Swift Death (2009)
  • The Art of Scandal (2010)
  • The Golden Calf (2012)
  • Vampire (2016)
  • No Point Unless You Swing (2017)
  • The Golden Train (2019)

Translations by Author

  • 'Birchwood' (co-translation) — John Banville (2007, Hayakawa Publishing)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
intellectual, meticulous proseweaves historical research with imagination
Recurring Motifs
history and memorymodern Europefantasy and the uncanny

Legacy

Recognised for imaginatively depicting modern Europe and historical themes, she has received multiple literary awards. Though involved in some public controversies, her critical writings, translations and novels have made a distinct contribution to contemporary Japanese literature.

Archives

  • 'Tamanoir' (official website / archives)

Quotes

  • Borrowing a plot itself is not particularly problematic.
    Source: 'Tamanoir' personal blog (2011)

Trivia

  • Her debut 'Balthazar's Pilgrimage' won the Japan Fantasy Novel Award.
  • Her husband is writer Tetsuya Sato.
  • There was public discussion about similarities between her work and Keiichiro Hirano's 'Eclipse'.
  • She studied in France on a Rotary Foundation scholarship.
  • She has taught and given special lectures at Waseda University and Meiji University.