Subaru Literary Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 8 (1984) honorable mention
Munenori Harada
はらだ むねのり
Harada Munenori
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1959-03-25 （Shin-Okubo, Shinjuku, Tokyo (born) / Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture (raised), Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Shin-Okubo, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan → Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture, Japan → Hokuto, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan (villa) → Chofu, Tokyo, Japan → Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan → Nishi-Waseda, Tokyo, Japan → Maruyamacho, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan → Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan → Kokubunji, Tokyo, Japan → Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Essayist, Playwright, Copywriter
- Active Years
- 1984-
- Memberships
- Nishi-Waseda Catch-Ball League (private group), Under-the-Nose Research Institute (private), All-Japan Bonfire Federation, Society for Discussing Art, King Appreciation Friends' Club
- Influenced By
- Naoya Shiga
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waseda University — First Faculty of Letters | First Faculty of Letters | Theatre (Drama Department) | — | — | Japan |
Waseda University — First Faculty of Letters
First Faculty of Letters
/ Theatre (Drama Department)
Country:
Japan
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Subaru Literary Prize | Can't Live with You | 佳作 | Shueisha | 佳作入選 (Honorable mention) |
Subaru Literary Prize
1984
Work:
Can't Live with You
Category:
佳作
Organization:
Shueisha
Result:
佳作入選 (Honorable mention)
Awards & Nominations
Yamamoto Shugoro Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 3 (1990) nominee
Works
Major Works
A Little Kind, A Little Fool
1986 Novel / Short storiesA collection of pieces portraying young people's everyday lives and relationships with a light, humorous touch.
human relationshipseveryday lifehumor
Sometimes Talking with the Wind — Street Life
1987 Short storiesA short-story collection capturing fragments of city life and its inhabitants.
urban lifehuman nuanceloneliness and connection
The Smell Man
1989 Novel / Short storyA work centered on character portraits combining humor and a sense of the uncanny.
humorothernesscharacter study
Heisei Tom Sawyer
1992 Novel / AdaptationA modern reinterpretation or homage to 'Tom Sawyer', presenting contemporary variations on familiar motifs.
adventurecoming of agenostalgia / adaptation
Adaptations
- [Audio drama] Heisei Tom Sawyer (NHK-FM 'Seishun Adventure' audio drama) (1994)
- [Manga] Sensen Spike Hills (manga adaptation) (2004)
God of the Theater
2002 Novel / Theatre-related fictionA work depicting human dramas and relationships connected to the theater and stage.
theaterhuman relationshipsbehind the scenes
Memento Mori
2015 Novel / Short storyA revival piece published in 2015 in Shincho magazine and later as a book; contemplative stories on life and mortality.
life and deathcomebackmemory
The Sorrow Left Behind
2024 NovelPublished November 2024. A recent long-form work reflecting on age and loss.
lossmaturitymemory
A Trash Bin Full of Razors: Selected Horror Stories
1999 Short stories (Horror)A selected collection of horror-themed short stories.
horrorthe uncannydark aspects of human nature
Bibliography
- A Little Kind, A Little Fool
- Sometimes Talking with the Wind — Street Life
- The Smell Man
- Nineteen, Twenty (Hatachi)
- Connecting Zeroes
- People You Can't Help
- The Place One Should Be
- Heisei Tom Sawyer
- Nowhere Short Stories
- People: Short Story Collection
- One Hundred Kings / The Selfish King
- A Trash Bin Full of Razors: Selected Horror Stories
- Travel Short Stories: Spring & Summer
- Travel Short Stories: Autumn & Winter
- God of the Theater
- Ugly Flower
- A Woman of No Impression
- Memento Mori
- Shime-ta, Hey!
- The Sorrow Left Behind
Adaptations
- Heisei Tom Sawyer — adapted as an NHK-FM audio drama (1994); later adapted into a manga titled 'Sensen Spike Hills' (2004)
Translations by Author
- Alfred Tennyson — 'Enoch Arden' (translation, Iwanami Shoten, 2006)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- light, witty proseconversational, plainspoken voicemixes humor with melancholy
- Recurring Motifs
- habit of naming objectseveryday mishapsmisfortune rendered humorouslyfragments of family and domestic life
Health
-
Bipolar disorder公言（長期）He has publicly stated he has bipolar disorder and has published related books/essays; this experience has influenced his life and writing.
Legacy
A writer active across essays, novels and plays, known for a light, distinctive voice. His mixture of humor and melancholy has attracted a broad readership and he remains a notable presence in contemporary Japanese letters.
Archives
- National Diet Library (catalogue / holdings)
- Waseda University Library (related materials)
Quotes
-
A novel is a prayer, the stage is a festival, an essay is chatter.
Source: Author's statement / essay
Trivia
- His sister is curator and novelist Maha Harada.
- While in high school he won a literary prize run by Gakken.
- In 1984 he received an honorable mention in the 8th Subaru Literary Prize for 'Can't Live with You'.
- He took a break from writing after a serious Porsche accident in 1996.
- In 2013 he was arrested for possession of stimulants and cannabis and received a sentence of 1 year 6 months suspended for 3 years.
- He heads a private novelty unit called the 'Under-the-Nose Research Institute' and belongs to several small private clubs.
- Hobbies include catch-ball and bonfires; he is known for frequently moving residence.