Japanese Literary Awards

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Shuhei Hasegawa

はせがわ しゅうへい

Hasegawa Shuhei

Pen Names: Shuhee（Name/alias used in musical activities and online）, Tokusabunko (imprint)（Imprint name used for self-published Kindle/e-books）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1955-04-19 （Himeji, Hyōgo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Himeji, Hyōgo (birth / childhood) → Tokyo (during and after university) → Nagasaki (moved 1991–)

Career

Occupations
picture-book author, singer-songwriter, writer, illustrator, critic, visiting professor
Active Years
1976-
Affiliations
Kyoto University of Art and Design (visiting professor, 2002–2018)
Influenced By
Takeshi Matsumoto, Yoshitomo Imae
Influenced

Education

Hyogo Prefectural Himeji Higashi High School
Country: Japan
Musashino Art University
Country: Japan
Dropped out

Awards

Sosaku Ehon Newcomer Award
1976
Work: I Hate Hasegawa-kun
Organization: Subaru Publishing (sponsor)
Result: 受賞
Bologna Children's Book Fair — Graphic Prize
1988
Work: Present (illustrated by Yasunari Murakami)
Organization: Bologna Children's Book Fair
Result: 受賞
Akai Tori Literary Prize
1990
Work: The Invisible Picture Book
Organization: Akai Tori Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Rohou no Ishi Literary Prize
1992
Work: Stone and Diamond / Pencil Drawing Koike-san
Organization: Rohou no Ishi Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Japan Picture Book Award
2007
Work: To You Who've Never Hit a Home Run
Organization: Japan Picture Book Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Himeji City Arts and Culture Award
2012
Organization: Himeji City
Result: 受賞
Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award (Grand Prize)
2015
Work: You'd Better Not Know (illustrator)
Organization: Sankei Shimbun
Result: 大賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

I Hate Hasegawa-kun

1976 picture book

Debut picture book that boldly frames a slice of Japanese life from a child's perspective.

child's perspectivesocial issueshumor and satire

The Invisible Picture Book

1989 picture book / experimental fiction

An experimental work that questions the form of picture books, prompting reconsideration of the relationship between story and image.

boundaries of expressionstory-image relationship

To You Who've Never Hit a Home Run

2006 picture book (sports)

A picture book themed on baseball, depicting growth and challenge with humor and warmth.

growing upchallengesports and friendship

Trigoras

1978 picture book

One of his early representative works, attracting readers with a distinctive narrative voice and illustrations.

oddities of everyday lifeimagination

Bibliography

  • I Hate Hasegawa-kun (1976)
  • Days of Catching Dragonflies (1977)
  • Trigoras (1978)
  • The Invisible Picture Book (1989)
  • To You Who've Never Hit a Home Run (2006)
  • Fire (2020)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
concise, strong interplay of images and wordscombination of humor and sharp social observationpractice of montage-like techniques in picture books
Recurring Motifs
fragments of everyday lifeintersection of child/adult perspectivesslices of social issues and memorynostalgia and irony

Legacy

An author who expanded the possibilities of picture-book expression. He has a wide readership from children to adults and influenced younger creators through practical books on picture-book making and lectures.

Trivia

  • Won the 3rd Sosaku Ehon Newcomer Award in 1976 for his debut work "I Hate Hasegawa-kun."
  • Reportedly drank milk contaminated in the Morinaga arsenic milk incident during childhood.
  • Film director Kirio Urayama is his uncle.
  • Served as a visiting professor at Kyoto University of Art and Design from 2002 to 2018.
  • Publishes e-books under the imprint 'Tokusabunko' on Kindle.