Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Hinako Suzumeno

すずめの ひなこ

Hinako Suzumeno

Pen Names: Hinako Suzumeno（Pen name (debut byline)）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1975 （Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Ishikawa Prefecture (birthplace) → Fukui Prefecture (raised) → Osaka Prefecture (raised) → Lives in Tokyo

Career

Occupations
Novelist
Active Years
2008-
Memberships
Member of the Japan Teddy Bear Association, Japan Teddy Bear Society member

Education

Osaka University of Foreign Studies (now Osaka University Faculty of Foreign Studies)
Country: Japan
Graduated from the former Osaka University of Foreign Studies (now Osaka University Faculty of Foreign Studies)

Awards

Jive Novel Prize
2006
Organization: Jive
Result: 入選
'Yū' Kaidan Literary Prize — Short Story Grand Prize
2007
Work: Achin
Category: 短編部門
Organization: Yū (magazine)
Result: 受賞
Japan Horror Novel Award — Short Story Prize
2008
Work: Tonko
Category: 短編賞
Organization: Japan Horror Novel Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Genden Art Newcomer Award
2009
Organization: Genden Fureai Fukui Foundation
Result: 受賞
Fukui Prefecture Cultural Encouragement Award
2013
Organization: Fukui Prefecture
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Achin

2008 Ghost story / Horror

A short story set in Fukui Prefecture; debuted as a prize-winning work that explores anxiety and unsettling aspects of regional life.

anxietyregional dystopiaghost story
Translations
  • อาจิณ (Thai translation)

Tonko

2008 Horror / Short story

A short story praised for its literary quality; depicts a form of everyday madness.

everyday madnessanxiety

Chario

2009 Horror

A horror piece included in short story collections.

fearanxiety

Taiyō Obaba

2011 Horror / Contemporary fiction

A story blending horror elements with narratives about the elderly and local communities.

local communityageinganxiety

The Doomsday Birdman

2012 Horror / Novel

A flagship series that allegorically examines collective and individual anxieties.

apocalyptic feelingsocial anxietyallegory

Women Too Happy

2013 Contemporary fiction

A short story collection with a paradoxical title that explores the boundary between happiness and anxiety.

happinessanxietygender

Weekend Birdman

2015 Horror / Series

A spin-off in the 'Doomsday Birdman' series focusing on personal loneliness and anxiety.

lonelinessanxiety

The Laughing Red Ogre

2016 Horror

A mid-length piece that incorporates folk-tale motifs.

folktalefear

Kaguya-hime, Rewrite the Tale

2021 Retelling / Anthology contribution

A contribution to an anthology reworking the tale of Kaguya-hime.

reinterpretation of folktalegender

Bibliography

  • Achin
  • Tonko
  • Chario
  • Taiyō Obaba
  • Yamamoto-kun's Strange Troubles: Hokuriku Demonic Labor Chronicle
  • The Doomsday Birdman
  • Women Too Happy
  • Weekend Birdman
  • The Laughing Red Ogre
  • Kaguya-hime, Rewrite the Tale

Translations of Works

  • อาจิณ (Thai edition)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
horror-oriented descriptionsghost-story narrative styleallegorical expression
Recurring Motifs
anxietyinternal conflictregional otherness / dystopia masked as utopia

Legacy

Known in contemporary Japanese horror/ghost-story circles for works centered on anxiety; recognized for critical portrayals of regional settings and intersections of the uncanny with everyday life.

Quotes

  • I keep encountering realities that are not (and cannot be) reported. There are things I cannot write about in regulated novels, but I want people to know them.
    Source: Author interview (excerpt) (2015)

Trivia

  • Hobby: cross biking
  • Member of the Japan Teddy Bear Association
  • Watches about 300 films a year, focusing on arthouse and B/Z-grade films
  • "Achin" is set in Fukui Prefecture; she was appointed Fukui brand ambassador in 2008
  • Reported being abused by her father when she became a writer
  • Although a horror writer, she is not fond of being scared and aims her works at readers who dislike horror