Japan Literary Grand Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 9 (1977) award
Boku Hagitani
はぎたに ぼく
Hagitani Boku
Pen Names:
B. Hagitani（Used for early short stories）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1978-05-14 （Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japanese
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan → Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Screenwriter, Poet
- Active Years
- 2002-
- Affiliations
- Japan Literary Artists Association, Japanese PEN Club
- Memberships
- Japanese PEN Club
- Influenced By
- Haruki Murakami, Hiromi Kawakami, Kobo Abe
- Influenced
- Hanako Hashimoto, Takuya Nakano
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waseda University | Faculty of Letters | Department of Literature | 学士 | 1996-2000 | Japan |
Waseda University
Faculty of Letters
/ Department of Literature
Degree:
学士
Period:
1996-2000
Year of Graduation:
2000
Country:
Japan
Debuted after doujinshi activities
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Akutagawa Prize | The Bending Moon | — | Akutagawa Prize Selection Committee | Winner |
| 2005 | Gunzo New Writers' Award | Fragments of Night | 短編部門 | Gunzo New Writers' Award Selection Committee | Winner |
| 2019 | Yomiuri Literary Prize | Portrait of the Water Surface | 小説部門 | Yomiuri Shimbun | Winner |
Akutagawa Prize
2014
Work:
The Bending Moon
Organization:
Akutagawa Prize Selection Committee
Result:
Winner
Gunzo New Writers' Award
2005
Work:
Fragments of Night
Category:
短編部門
Organization:
Gunzo New Writers' Award Selection Committee
Result:
Winner
Yomiuri Literary Prize
2019
Work:
Portrait of the Water Surface
Category:
小説部門
Organization:
Yomiuri Shimbun
Result:
Winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Fragments of Night
2005 Short Story Collection 210 pagesA short story collection depicting fragments of memory scattered across city nights. It delicately captures characters' loneliness and small acts of renewal.
lonelinessmemorythe city
Translations
- English excerpts: Fragments of Night
The Bending Moon
2014 Novel 240 pagesA novel in which characters burdened by the past reconstruct relationships mediated by the moon. It thematically bends time and memory.
lossrenewalthe moon
Adaptations
- [Film] The Bending Moon / 安藤 卓司 (2016)
Translations
- English translation: The Bending Moon (translated by Anna Sato, 2017)
Portrait of the Water Surface
2018 Novel 320 pagesSet on a lakeside, this novel questions boundaries between self and others through reflections on the water's surface. It focuses on psychological描写.
self and otherreflection of memorynature and humanity
Adaptations
- [TV Drama] Portrait of the Water Surface / 佐藤 啓 (2020)
Translations
- English translation: Portrait of the Water Surface (translated by Mark Williams, 2021)
The Floating Garden
2011 Poetry Collection 96 pagesA poetry collection gathering short poems that poetically capture the cracks in everyday life.
everyday lifelossnature
Bibliography
- Fragments of Night (2005)
- The Floating Garden (2011)
- The Bending Moon (2014)
- Portrait of the Water Surface (2018)
- Short Night (2020)
- Transparent City (2022)
Adaptations
- The Bending Moon (Film, 2016)
- Portrait of the Water Surface (TV Drama, 2020)
Translations of Works
- The Bending Moon — (English translation: Anna Sato, 2017)
- Portrait of the Water Surface — (English translation: Mark Williams, 2021)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Introspective, lyrical proseFragmented chapter structureQuiet, symbol-rich description
- Recurring Motifs
- the moonwater surfacesurban lonelinessabsence of family
Legacy
Regarded for an introspective style in contemporary Japanese literature. Film adaptations and translations have brought attention both domestically and internationally.
Museums
- Boku Hagitani Archive Room (Ichikawa City Library) Ichikawa City Library, Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan Opened in 2023
Academic Societies
- Japanese Society for Contemporary Literature
Archives
- Waseda University Faculty of Letters Archive (Boku Hagitani Collection)
- Ichikawa City Library — Boku Hagitani Materials
In Popular Culture
- The 2016 film adaptation of 'The Bending Moon' became a talking point among younger audiences
- Several phrases from his works circulated widely on social media
Quotes
-
The moon never lies. It's only us who misread it.
Source: The Bending Moon (2014) (2014) -
Memory is a cluster of small lights; it is not something one can grasp completely.
Source: Interview (Asahi Shimbun, 2015) (2015)
Trivia
- Played guitar in a band during university.
- Has a habit of taking walks at night to get ideas while writing.