Samurai Japan Baseball Literary Award
2 appearances
-
Edition 1 (2010) grand prize
-
Edition 2 (2011) special award
Masato Honjo
ほんじょう まさと
Honjo Masato
Aliases:
楠山 正人 (本名) / Kusuyama Masato (real name)
Pen Names:
Masato Honjo（Pen name used for literary works (real name: Kusuyama Masato)）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1965-06-19 （Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Journalist, Sports journalist
- Active Years
- 1988-
- Affiliations
- Sankei Shimbun (Sankei Shimbun Company), Sankei Sports
- Nominations
- 16th Matsumoto Seicho Prize - shortlisted (Nobody Knows), 18th Haruhiko Oyabu Award - shortlisted (Toridashi), 37th Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Newcomer Award - shortlisted (Toridashi), 159th Naoki Prize - shortlisted (The Peripheral Reporter)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meiji Gakuin University | Faculty of Economics | — | — | — | Japan |
Meiji Gakuin University
Faculty of Economics
Country:
Japan
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Samurai Japan Baseball Literature Award | Nobody Knows | — | Samurai Japan | 大賞 |
| 2017 | Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Newcomer Award | Midnight Journal | — | Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Newcomer Award Committee | 受賞 |
| 2009 | Matsumoto Seicho Prize | Nobody Knows | — | Matsumoto Seicho Prize Committee | 候補 |
| 2016 | Haruhiko Oyabu Award | Toridashi | — | Oyabu Haruhiko Award Committee | 候補 |
| 2018 | Naoki Prize | The Peripheral Reporter | — | Naoki Prize Committee | 候補 |
Samurai Japan Baseball Literature Award
2010
Work:
Nobody Knows
Organization:
Samurai Japan
Result:
大賞
Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Newcomer Award
2017
Work:
Midnight Journal
Organization:
Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Newcomer Award Committee
Result:
受賞
Matsumoto Seicho Prize
2009
Work:
Nobody Knows
Organization:
Matsumoto Seicho Prize Committee
Result:
候補
Haruhiko Oyabu Award
2016
Work:
Toridashi
Organization:
Oyabu Haruhiko Award Committee
Result:
候補
Naoki Prize
2018
Work:
The Peripheral Reporter
Organization:
Naoki Prize Committee
Result:
候補
Awards & Nominations
Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Newcomer Award
2 appearances
-
Edition 37 (2016) nominee
-
Edition 38 (2017) award
Works
Major Works
Nobody Knows
2009 Sports novel / MysteryA mystery novel themed on professional baseball. Drawing on the author's reporting experience, it intertwines baseball and detective elements.
BaseballMysteryHuman drama
Midnight Journal
2016 Journalism / MysteryA novel centered on newspaper reporters and the media, following a kidnapping case and the conflicts among reporters; it depicts the behind-the-scenes of reporting.
JournalismReportingCrime
Adaptations
- [TV drama] Midnight Journal: Pursuing the Missing Kidnapper — The Truth Seven Years Later (2018)
The Peripheral Reporter
2018 Journalism / Social novelA novel that portrays the field from a newspaper reporter's perspective; it probes journalistic ethics and the inner workings of the industry.
ReporterMediaEthics
Toridashi
2015 MysteryA work dealing with incidents set against a baseball backdrop, characterized by intersections of sport and crime.
BaseballCrimeMystery
Scout Days
2010 Sports novelDepicts the world of scouts: talent discovery and the human aspects within the industry.
ScoutingBaseballHuman relationships
The Disappearance of the Baseball World
2012 Sports novel / FictionFiction that addresses issues and dramas surrounding the baseball world, using sport to explore societal aspects.
BaseballSocietyCrisis
Bibliography
- Nobody Knows
- Scout Days
- Laughing Ace
- W (Double)
- Almighty
- Shoemaker's Footsteps
- The Disappearance of the Baseball World
- Lion of Hope
- The Magic of the Ballpark
- Gino: Detective, Shibuya Organized Crime Division
- The Parting Arch
- Silent Step
- O Noble and Brave Blue
- Recommendations for Luxury
- LIFE
- Toridashi
- Midnight Journal
- Marseille Roulette
- Conditions of a Hero
- Paper Castle
- The Manager's Problem
- Agent
- The Peripheral Reporter
- Waiting for a Friend
- Era
- Forest of Collapse
- Digging Holes
- Wandering Land
- Old Times
- Akari-no Ranch
- I Hear the Last Song
- The Scalpel of Silence
- After Forty, Promotion Is the Job
- Lured by a Murky Moon
- The Man Who Eats Dreams: The Resolve of Horse Owner Koji Maeda of North Hills
- Afterglow
- Kingmaker
- Contradiction
- Nine Legends and One Fool
- Lights
Adaptations
- TV drama adaptation: Midnight Journal (2018, TV Tokyo)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Fact-oriented prose drawing on reporting experienceDirect, readable writing styleBlend of sports depiction and mystery elements
- Recurring Motifs
- Baseball and team dynamicsConflicts within reporters and newsroomsThe tactics and psychology behind competition
Legacy
Leveraging his background as a sports reporter, he is known for mystery and journalism-themed works centered on baseball. With a TV drama adaptation and a prolific bibliography, he is regarded for bridging sports literature and popular mystery fiction.
Archives
- National Diet Library (catalog entry)
- VIAF identifier: 257679011
In Popular Culture
- Midnight Journal (TV drama adaptation, 2018)
Quotes
-
Baseball, in which various motives intersect with every pitch, is the ultimate detective game. I am honored to receive the first award of my career as a writer.
Source: Asahi Shimbun Digital / asahi.com (comment at time of award) (2010)
Trivia
- Worked for Sankei Sports as a reporter for about 20 years before turning to fiction writing.
- Midnight Journal was adapted into a TV drama in 2018 (TV Tokyo, starring Yutaka Takenouchi).
- Graduate of Meiji Gakuin University, Faculty of Economics.
- Authority data entries exist (VIAF, National Diet Library).