Akutagawa Prize
1 appearances
Hikaru Okuizumi
おくいずみ ひかる
Okuizumi Hikaru
Aliases:
奥泉康弘
Pen Names:
Yasuhiro Okuizumi（Used as a credit name for translations）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1956-02-06 （Mikawa, Higashitagawa District, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Translator, University professor, Essayist
- Active Years
- 1986-
- Affiliations
- Kindai University, Faculty of Letters (joined as associate professor 1999; later professor; retired March 2024)
- Memberships
- Selection committee member, Bungeikai Newcomer Prize (1995 - 2004), Selection committee member, Subaru Literary Prize (1997 - 2001, 2007 - ), Selection committee member, Noma Literary New Face Prize (2000 - 2004), Selection committee member, Noma Literary Prize (2011 - ), Selection committee member, Gunzo Newcomer Literary Prize (2012 - 2014), Selection committee member, Akutagawa Prize (2012 - ), Selection committee member, Yamada Futaro Prize (2012 - )
- Influenced By
- Koichi Namiki, Hisao Otsuka
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saitama Prefectural Kawagoe High School | — | — | — | — | Japan |
| International Christian University | College of Liberal Arts | Department of Humanities | 学士 | — | Japan |
| International Christian University Graduate School | Graduate School | Master's program (Humanities) | 修士 (Master's degree) | — | Japan |
Saitama Prefectural Kawagoe High School
Country:
Japan
International Christian University
College of Liberal Arts
/ Department of Humanities
Degree:
学士
Country:
Japan
Graduated from the College of Liberal Arts, Department of Humanities
International Christian University Graduate School
Graduate School
/ Master's program (Humanities)
Degree:
修士 (Master's degree)
Country:
Japan
Completed master's program; withdrew from doctoral program
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Noma Literary New Face Prize | Quotations of Novalis | — | Kodansha | 受賞 |
| 1993 | Chimeki-Han Literature Prize | Quotations of Novalis | — | — | 受賞 |
| 1994 | Akutagawa Prize | The Provenance of Stones | — | Bungeishunjū | 受賞 |
| 2009 | Noma Literary Prize | Jingi (The Murder Case of Battleship 'Kashihara') | — | Kodansha | 受賞 |
| 2014 | Tanizaki Jun'ichirō Prize | Tokyo Autobiography | — | — | 受賞 |
| 2018 | Mainichi Publishing Culture Award | The Snow Staircase | — | The Mainichi Newspapers | 受賞 |
| 2018 | Shibata Renzaburō Prize | The Snow Staircase | — | — | 受賞 |
| 2024 | Mainichi Art Award | Rhythms of Pseudo‑History | — | The Mainichi Newspapers | 受賞 |
| 2025 | Kawabata Yasunari Literary Award | A Short Biography of Seishinkan | — | — | 受賞 |
Noma Literary New Face Prize
1993
Work:
Quotations of Novalis
Organization:
Kodansha
Result:
受賞
Chimeki-Han Literature Prize
1993
Work:
Quotations of Novalis
Result:
受賞
Akutagawa Prize
1994
Work:
The Provenance of Stones
Organization:
Bungeishunjū
Result:
受賞
Noma Literary Prize
2009
Work:
Jingi (The Murder Case of Battleship 'Kashihara')
Organization:
Kodansha
Result:
受賞
Tanizaki Jun'ichirō Prize
2014
Work:
Tokyo Autobiography
Result:
受賞
Mainichi Publishing Culture Award
2018
Work:
The Snow Staircase
Organization:
The Mainichi Newspapers
Result:
受賞
Shibata Renzaburō Prize
2018
Work:
The Snow Staircase
Result:
受賞
Mainichi Art Award
2024
Work:
Rhythms of Pseudo‑History
Organization:
The Mainichi Newspapers
Result:
受賞
Kawabata Yasunari Literary Award
2025
Work:
A Short Biography of Seishinkan
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Noma Literary Newcomer Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 15 (1993) award
Noma Literary Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 62 (2009) award
Tanizaki Junichiro Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 50 (2014) award
Mainichi Publishing Culture Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 72 (2018) award
Shibata Renzaburo Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 31 (2018) award
Kawabata Yasunari Literary Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 49 (2025) award
Works
Major Works
Chi no Tori, Ten no Gyogun
1986 Short fiction (debut)Debut work published in the magazine 'Subaru', marking his literary debut; presented as a short story / short collection.
the boundary between fiction and realitymysterymemory
Waterfall
1990 NovelA work that was shortlisted for the 3rd Mishima Yukio Prize and was a candidate for the 103rd Akutagawa Prize.
mysterypersonal historymemory
Quotations of Novalis
1993 Short stories / FictionWon the Noma Literary New Face Prize; an early critically acclaimed work.
literary historyquotation and imitationfact and fiction
The Provenance of Stones
1994 Novella / NovelWinner of the Akutagawa Prize. Noted for its use of mystery-like structure and blending of fact and fiction. Translated into English and French.
mysteryhistorystones as material objects
Translations
- English translation available
- French translation available
The Murder Case of 'I Am a Cat'
1996 NovelA novel that imitates Natsume Sōseki's style on the conceit that the cat from 'I Am a Cat' was actually alive; plays with fiction and literary mimicry.
imitationstylistic playrelationship between fiction and its source
The Stylish Life of Associate Professor Kuwagata Koichi
2011 Novel / Linked short storiesA series-centered work about an academic protagonist. Adapted into a TV drama in 2012.
academic settingshumormystery
Adaptations
- [TV drama] The Stylish Life of Associate Professor Kuwagata Koichi (TV adaptation) (2012)
Jingi: The Murder Case of Battleship 'Kashihara'
2009 NovelA mystery-inflected novel weaving history and fiction around a battleship; winner of the Noma Literary Prize.
historymilitaryfiction vs. reality
Tokyo Autobiography
2014 Autobiographical novelA work weaving city and personal history; awarded the Tanizaki Jun'ichirō Prize.
the cityreminiscencehistory
The Snow Staircase
2018 NovelA novel using snow as a central motif; received the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award and the Shibata Renzaburō Prize.
snowmemoryhidden pasts
Rhythms of Pseudo‑History
2024 Novel / Essayistic workA recent major work that treats the boundary between fact and fiction; awarded the Mainichi Art Award.
fact and fictionhistory and narrativestylistic experimentation
Bibliography
- Waterfall
- Reeds and Lilies
- Night of Killing the Serpent
- Quotations of Novalis
- The Provenance of Stones
- Banar Phenomena
- The Murder Case of 'I Am a Cat'
- Plato Academy
- Grand Mystery
- Drenched in Fiction
- The Ornithologist's Fantasia
- Botchan Ninja: Bakumatsu Chronicles
- Records of a Romantic March
- New Journey to the Center of the Earth
- Modal Phenomena: The Stylish Life of Assistant Professor Kuwagata Koichi
- Jingi: The Murder Case of Battleship 'Kashihara'
- Schumann's Fingers
- The Stylish Life of Associate Professor Kuwagata Koichi
- The Mystery of the Yellow Swimsuit
- Insect-Tree Music Collection
- Mephistopheles' Theorem: The Hell Shakespeare Trilogy
- Read Natsume Sōseki, Why Not?
- Tokyo Autobiography
- Those Words / The Boat of Violence / The Three‑Eyed Catfish
- Bibi‑bi Be‑Bop
- The Snow Staircase
- The Terror of Yuru‑Chara: The Stylish Life of Associate Professor Kuwagata Koichi 3
- Record of the Death God’s Game
- Rhythms of Pseudo‑History
Adaptations
- 'The Stylish Life of Associate Professor Kuwagata Koichi' – adapted for TV (2012)
Translations by Author
- Ancient Jewish Social History (co-translation, 1986) — credited as 奥泉康弘
- Noah's Ark (translation, 1992)
- Christmas Stories (translation, 1994)
Translations of Works
- The Provenance of Stones has been translated into English and French
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Narrative structures borrowing from mystery fictionTechniques that play with the boundary between fact and fictionAnachronistic / classical literary dictionOccasional stylistic imitation and quotation of canonical authors
- Recurring Motifs
- mysterythe boundary between fiction and realityhistory and memoryacademic/research settingsmaterial motifs such as stones and snow
Legacy
Hikaru Okuizumi is an important contemporary Japanese writer known for skillfully handling mystery-like structures and the interplay of fact and fiction. He has won major literary prizes including the Akutagawa and Noma Literary Prizes, and contributed to education as a professor at Kindai University.
In Popular Culture
- The novel 'The Stylish Life of Associate Professor Kuwagata Koichi' was adapted for television, representing one instance of his presence in popular culture
Trivia
- Debuted with 'Chi no Tori, Ten no Gyogun' (published in Subaru, 1986).
- Hobbies include playing the flute; has performed with bands and busked in Tokyo.
- An avid fan of shogi; has written game-watching reports.
- Has used the name 'Okuizumi Yasuhiro' (奥泉康弘) on translations.
- Served as a professor at Kindai University, retiring in March 2024.