Bungei Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 27 (1990) award
Sunao Ashihara
あしはら すなお
Ashihara Sunao
Aliases:
蔦原 直昭
Pen Names:
Sunao Ashihara（pen name）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1949-09-13 （Kanonji, Kagawa, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist
- Active Years
- 1986-
- Affiliations
- Teikyo Junior College (Lecturer)
- Influenced By
- Haruki Murakami
- Nominations
- 105th Naoki Prize (nominated and winner, 1991)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kagawa Prefectural Kan'onji Daiichi High School | — | — | — | — | Japan |
| Waseda University, Faculty of Letters I | Faculty of Letters I | Department of German Literature | — | — | Japan |
| Waseda University Graduate School (doctoral program) | — | — | — | — | Japan |
Kagawa Prefectural Kan'onji Daiichi High School
Country:
Japan
Waseda University, Faculty of Letters I
Faculty of Letters I
/ Department of German Literature
Country:
Japan
Graduated
Waseda University Graduate School (doctoral program)
Country:
Japan
Left doctoral program (did not complete)
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Bungei Prize | Seishun Dendeke Dekedeke Dekede | — | Kawade Shobo Shinsha | 受賞 |
| 1991 | Naoki Prize | Seishun Dendeke Dekedeke Dekede | — | Naoki Prize Selection Committee | 受賞 |
| 2005 | Honorary Citizen | — | — | Kanonji City | 授与 |
Bungei Prize
1990
Work:
Seishun Dendeke Dekedeke Dekede
Organization:
Kawade Shobo Shinsha
Result:
受賞
Naoki Prize
1991
Work:
Seishun Dendeke Dekedeke Dekede
Organization:
Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result:
受賞
Honorary Citizen
2005
Organization:
Kanonji City
Result:
授与
Awards & Nominations
Naoki Sanjugo Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 105 (1991) award
Works
Major Works
Susanoo: An Autobiography
1986 NovelDebut novel completed after about five years and originally published by Shueisha in 1986. A long-form work (circa 900 manuscript pages).
Autobiographical elementsMythic motifsLong-form narrative
Seishun Dendeke Dekedeke Dekede
1991 NovelA long novel set in Kanonji, Kagawa, centered on music, youth and nostalgia. It won the Bungei Prize (1990) and the 105th Naoki Prize (1991).
YouthMusic (rock)Nostalgia
Adaptations
- [Film] Seishun Dendeke Dekedeke Dekede / 大林宣彦 (1992)
Matsugae-cho Saga
1993 Linked short storiesA series of linked short stories set in an invented seaside town in Shikoku, depicting boys' lives in the 1950s Showa era. Adapted as an NHK drama in 1995.
Showa-era childhoodLocal memoryHuman warmth
Adaptations
- [TV drama] Matsugae-cho Saga / 中原俊 (1995)
Bibliography
- Susanoo: An Autobiography
- Seishun Dendeke Dekedeke Dekede
- Yamatouji Maemichi
- Matsugae-cho Saga
- Tarachine Diary
- Refrain
- Mimizuku and Olive
- The Bride-Washing Pond
- Waga Mi Yo Ni Furu, Jijiwakashi
- Sunao Ashihara's Beatles Pilgrimage
- Record of Sensuality
- Tokyo Chic Blues
- Blue Fox Paradox
- Rain Plover
- Doppel
- New Ten Nights' Dreams
- A Fire on a Moonlit Night
- Heart of Steel
- Cockatiel and the Rain Monk
- Seaside Exposition
- In the Kingfisher's Forest
- Jungfrau
- Bloom, Thistle
- Cat and Alice
- The Hamlet Murder Case
- Dendeke Encore: Stories of Rediscovering Rock and Being Rediscovered by Rock
Adaptations
- Seishun Dendeke Dekedeke Dekede (film, 1992)
- Matsugae-cho Saga (NHK TV drama, 1995)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Colloquial, approachable proseFocus on long-form narrativesDescriptions with a musical sense of rhythm
- Recurring Motifs
- Seaside towns in ShikokuShowa-era childhoodMusic (The Beatles, rock)Family and nostalgia
Legacy
A novelist from Kagawa Prefecture. Debuted with 'Susanoo: An Autobiography' and gained recognition with 'Seishun Dendeke...' which won the Bungei Prize and the Naoki Prize. Known for nostalgic works set in his native Shikoku and frequent musical motifs; several works were adapted for film and television. He is an honorary citizen of Kanonji City.
Archives
- National Diet Library (Japan)
In Popular Culture
- Seishun Dendeke Dekedeke Dekede (film, 1992)
- Matsugae-cho Saga (NHK TV drama, 1995)
Quotes
-
Each story was so fascinating that it felt like being under a spell. I thought I would one day be on the side of those who use that 'magic' and that eventually I would write my own stories.
Source: Shikoku Shimbun (interview) (2014) -
Murakami Haruki's 'Hear the Wind Sing' had a big impact on me and became the turning point that made me start writing novels seriously.
Source: All Yomimono, Sept. 1991 (Sunao Ashihara) (1991)
Trivia
- Real name: Naoaki Tsutahara (Tsutahara Naoaki).
- Debuted in 1986 with the novel 'Susanoo: An Autobiography'.
- Won the 105th Naoki Prize in 1991 for 'Seishun Dendeke...'.
- Named an honorary citizen of Kanonji City in 2005.