Art Encouragement Prize for Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
1 appearances
-
Edition 13 (1963) award
Saburo Aso
あそう さぶろう
Aso Saburo
Aliases:
A. Saburo
Pen Names:
Hayato Aono（Used for publishing short stories and essays）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1968-04-15 （Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Fukuoka (birthplace) → Shinjuku, Tokyo (residence)
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Literary critic
- Active Years
- 1994-
- Affiliations
- Kyushu Literary Association
- Memberships
- PEN Club of Japan
- Influenced By
- Hiromi Kawakami, Osamu Dazai
- Influenced
- Ichiro Tanaka, Miwa Nakamura
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyushu University | Faculty of Letters | Department of Japanese Literature | 文学士 | 1987–1991 | Japan |
Kyushu University
Faculty of Letters
/ Department of Japanese Literature
Degree:
文学士
Period:
1987–1991
Year of Graduation:
1991
Country:
Japan
Majored in modern Japanese literature
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Kyushu New Writers' Prize | Afternoon at the Strait | — | Kyushu Literature Promotion Association | Winner |
| 2010 | National Short Story Prize | Town Before Dawn | — | National Literary Federation | Winner |
| 2018 | Tokyo Citizen Literary Prize | Afternoon Darkness | 長編小説 | Tokyo Cultural Promotion Foundation | Winner |
Kyushu New Writers' Prize
2000
Work:
Afternoon at the Strait
Organization:
Kyushu Literature Promotion Association
Result:
Winner
National Short Story Prize
2010
Work:
Town Before Dawn
Organization:
National Literary Federation
Result:
Winner
Tokyo Citizen Literary Prize
2018
Work:
Afternoon Darkness
Category:
長編小説
Organization:
Tokyo Cultural Promotion Foundation
Result:
Winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Afternoon at the Strait
1999 Novel 320 pagesSet in a port town, the novel explores homecoming and family memories through multiple characters. Praised for its calm, lyrical prose.
alienationfamilyhomecoming
Adaptations
- [Film] Afternoon at the Strait / 山本太郎 (2003)
Translations
- English translation: 'Afternoon at the Strait' (trans. John Doe)
Memories of the Shore
2004 Novella 180 pagesA novella that questions postwar memory and loss through the relationship between an old man and a boy, noted for its concise style.
memorygeneration gappostwar
Adaptations
- [Theatre] Memories of the Shore (Stage) / 佐藤望 (2006)
Translations
- English translation: 'Memories of the Shore' (trans. Anna Lee)
Town Before Dawn
2009 Short story collection 240 pagesA collection of short stories portraying urban loneliness and renewal, characterized by an economy of prose and suggestive gaps.
citylonelinessrenewal
Adaptations
- [TV drama] Town Before Dawn / 井上真一 (2011)
Translations
- English translation: 'Town Before Dawn' (trans. Jane Smith)
Afternoon Darkness
2017 Novel 360 pagesA novel that追es lost identities in contemporary urbanized society, noted for its deep psychological depiction and measured social critique.
identityisolationurbanization
Adaptations
- [Reading performance] Afternoon Darkness (Reading) / 山田健 (2019)
Translations
- English translation: 'Afternoon Darkness' (trans. Emily Clark)
Bibliography
- Afternoon at the Strait (1999)
- Memories of the Shore (2004)
- Town Before Dawn (2009)
- Afternoon Darkness (2017)
- Scent of Short Nights (1996, early short stories)
Adaptations
- Afternoon at the Strait (film adaptation, 2003)
- Memories of the Shore (stage, 2006)
- Town Before Dawn (TV drama, 2011)
Translations by Author
- Selected short stories by John Cheever (partial translations)
Translations of Works
- Afternoon at the Strait — English translation (2005)
- Town Before Dawn — Korean translation (2013)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- calm, atmospheric descriptionsintrospective narrationlyrical prose
- Recurring Motifs
- sea and shoreshifts of boundaries and circumstancesmemory and loss
Legacy
Recognized as a writer who continually depicted memory and loneliness between regional and urban settings. He contributed to regional literary revitalization and maintains stable support as a mid-career author.
Museums
- Aso Saburo Literary Memorial Museum 1-1-1 Kokura, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan Opened in 2022
Academic Societies
- Kyushu Literary Association
- Society for Modern Japanese Literature
Archives
- Kyushu University Library, Special Collections
In Popular Culture
- Film adaptations of his works attracted attention at local film festivals
Quotes
-
Words are as deep as the sea, making one forget the shore.
Source: Afternoon at the Strait (1999) (1999) -
The scent of a small town nurtures stories.
Source: Town Before Dawn (2009) (2009)
Trivia
- He drinks coffee every morning at the same café before writing.
- He has a habit of organizing ideas while walking.
- He has publicly stated that his favorite authors include Osamu Dazai and Hiromi Kawakami.