Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Ryuta Horai

ほうらい りゅうた

Horai Ryuta

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1976-01-07 （Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan → Hakui, Ishikawa, Japan

Career

Occupations
playwright, screenwriter, director
Active Years
1996-
Affiliations
Modern Swimmers (company playwright)

Education

Butai Geijutsu Gakuin (School of Stage Arts)
Theatre
Period: 在学〜卒業 1996
Year of Graduation: 1996
Country: Japan
Completed the theatre program (graduated 1996)
Ishikawa Prefectural Hakui Technical High School, Design Department
Design
Country: Japan
Joined the drama club while attending and discovered interest in theatre

Awards

Kishida Kunio Drama Award
2009
Work: Mahoroba
Organization: Kishida Kunio Drama Award Committee
Result: winner
Tsuruya Nanboku Playwright Award
2017
Work: On Mothers and Planets, and the Records of Women Who Spin
Organization: Tsuruya Nanboku Prize Committee
Result: winner
Hayakawa 'Tragedy & Comedy' Prize
2019
Work: If It's Going to Disappear, Let It Be Morning
Organization: Hayakawa Foundation for Literary Promotion
Result: winner
Yomiuri Theatre Awards (Outstanding Director Award)
2020
Work: Beautiful World
Category: 優秀演出家賞
Organization: Yomiuri Theatre Awards Committee
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Mahoroba

2008 Theatre (play)

An ensemble drama exploring family and community memories. Staged at the New National Theatre and regarded as one of his notable works.

familymemorycommunity

On Mothers and Planets, and the Records of Women Who Spin

2016 Theatre (play)

A sprawling play depicting relationships among mothers and women from an almost cosmic perspective. Winner of the Tsuruya Nanboku Playwright Award.

familywomenexistence

If It's Going to Disappear, Let It Be Morning

2018 Theatre (play)

A work themed around loss and disappearance. Recipient of the Hayakawa 'Tragedy & Comedy' Prize.

losstimeindividual

Beautiful World

2019 Theatre (play / direction)

A production directed by Horai; one of the performances that earned him the Outstanding Director Award.

familyhuman relationshipscontemporary society

Piano no Mori (screenplay / novel adaptation)

2007 Film / Screenplay / Novel

Includes screenplay for the anime film and his novelization. A story about music and coming of age.

musiccoming of agetalent
Adaptations
  • [Film] Piano no Mori (2007)

Bibliography

  • Novel: Piano no Mori (Kodansha, 2007)
  • Script: Mahoroba (Hakusuisha, 2009)
  • Various plays and stage scripts (multiple, published as performance scripts)

Adaptations

  • Igarashi-den → film 'Gachi☆Boy' (adaptation from stage to film)
  • Sayonara Saiko-kun (adapted into TV drama by Gekidan Engisha)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Contemporary theatre style mixing realism and allegoryEnsemble (multi-character) structures
Recurring Motifs
familymemorylossrelations between individual and community

Legacy

Regarded as one of the leading contemporary Japanese playwrights and directors. Central figure in Modern Swimmers, he has expanded theatrical expression with a body of highly regarded works.

Archives

  • Modern Swimmers related archives (performance materials, etc.)

In Popular Culture

  • Known to general audiences through film and TV screenwriting and stage-to-film adaptations

Trivia

  • Born January 7, 1976.
  • Resident playwright of the theatre company Modern Swimmers.
  • Reportedly married actress Sairi Ito in 2025.