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Toshiyuki Horie

ほりえ としゆき

Toshiyuki Horie

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1964-01-03 （Tajimi, Gifu, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Tajimi, Gifu, Japan → Paris, France (study abroad) → Tokyo, Japan (residence/work)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, French literature scholar, University professor
Active Years
1995-
Affiliations
Tokyo Institute of Technology (lecturer), Meiji University (lecturer; later Professor, Faculty of Science and Engineering), Waseda University — Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences (Professor), Waseda University Tanka Society (chair)
Memberships
Kobayashi Hideo Prize (selection committee member), Gunzo New Writers' Award (selection committee member), Noma Literary New Writers' Prize (selection committee member), Chiyoda Literary Prize (selection committee member), Bunkamura Dommaggio Literary Prize (selection committee member), Tanizaki Jun'ichirō Prize (selection committee member), Kawabata Yasunari Literary Prize (selection committee member), Subaru Literary Prize (selection committee member), Akutagawa Prize (selection committee member), Yoshida Shūwa Prize (selection committee member)
Influenced By
Jacques Réda, W. G. Sebald, Atsuyori Hiraoka, Nobuo Kojima, Atsuko Suga
Influenced
Ryō Asai, Kani Sasare Ayako

Education

Waseda University — First Faculty of Letters
First Faculty of Letters / French Literature
Degree: 学士
Country: Japan
Graduate School of Humanities and Human Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Graduate School of Humanities and Human Sciences / French Literature
Degree: 修士（文学）、博士課程単位取得退学
Country: Japan
Left doctoral program after earning required credits
University of Paris III (Sorbonne Nouvelle)
Country: France
Studied in doctoral program (period unspecified)

Awards

Mishima Yukio Prize (12th)
1999
Work: Oparaban
Organization: Mishima Yukio Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Akutagawa Prize (124th)
2001
Work: Kuma no Shikishi
Organization: Akutagawa Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Kawabata Yasunari Literary Prize (29th)
2003
Work: Stance Dot
Organization: Kawabata Yasunari Literary Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Kiyama Shohei Literary Award (8th)
2004
Work: Yukinuma and Its Surroundings
Organization: Kiyama Shohei Literary Award Committee
Result: Winner
Tanizaki Jun'ichirō Prize (40th)
2004
Work: Yukinuma and Its Surroundings
Organization: Tanizaki Jun'ichirō Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Yomiuri Literary Prize (57th) — Fiction
2006
Work: Kagishi Wanishi-sho
Category: 小説賞
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: Winner
Yomiuri Literary Prize (61st) — Essay/Travel
2010
Work: Seigen Kyokusen
Category: 随筆・紀行賞
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: Winner
Itō Sei Literary Award (23rd)
2012
Work: Nazuna
Organization: Itō Sei Literary Award Committee
Result: Winner
Mainichi Book Review Award (11th)
2013
Work: Exploring Words Like a Pendulum
Organization: Mainichi Shimbun
Result: Winner
Chunichi Cultural Award (66th)
2013
Organization: Chunichi Shimbun
Result: Winner
Noma Literary Prize (69th)
2016
Work: How to Make That Form Disappear
Organization: Noma Cultural Foundation
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

To the Suburbs

1995 Essays

A collection of essays based on his study-abroad experience in France; contemplative pieces that observe local life and memory with a quiet tone.

study abroadFrancetravelmemoryeveryday life

Oparaban

1998 Short fiction / Novel

A collection of short pieces; recognized as a major work and awarded the Mishima Yukio Prize in 1999.

urban lifelonelinesshuman relationsmemory

Kuma no Shikishi

2001 Short fiction

A collection of short stories that extract subtle emotions from everyday life; it earned the Akutagawa Prize.

everyday lifelossfamilymemory

Yukinuma and Its Surroundings

2003 Fiction / Short story collection

A short-story collection exploring landscapes, people, and traces of memory; awarded the Tanizaki Prize and the Kiyama Shohei Literary Award.

landscaperecollectionregionalitymemory

Kagishi Wanishi-shō

2005 Fiction

A work that weaves urban and riverside scenes into depictions of everyday life; recipient of the Yomiuri Literary Prize (Fiction).

citylandscapetimememory

Nazuna

2011 Fiction

A quietly rendered novel about language and human relationships; awarded the Itō Sei Literary Award.

languagerelationshipsmemory

How to Make That Form Disappear

2016 Fiction

One of his notable recent works; it examines feelings of loss and blurred contours in everyday life and won the Noma Literary Prize.

lossexistenceeveryday life

Bibliography

  • To the Suburbs (1995)
  • Oparaban (1998)
  • In Search of the Meridian (2000)
  • The Hand That Is Written (2000)
  • Kuma no Shikishi (2001)
  • Returned Train (2001)
  • Once at Oji Station (2001)
  • Geranium (2002)
  • Sound of Books (2002)
  • Yukinuma and Its Surroundings (2003)
  • Magic Slate: Toward Georges Perec (2003)
  • A Night Neither First Nor Second Floor (2004)
  • Kagishi Wanishi-shō (2005)
  • Momentum of Things (2005)
  • Megurashi-ya (2007)
  • Letter to Van Marie (2007)
  • Miken-zaka (2008)
  • A Spine with Her (2009)
  • Sine Curve (2009)
  • Even If an Elephant Steps On It (2011)
  • Nazuna (2011)
  • Exploring Words Like a Pendulum (2012)
  • How to Make That Form Disappear (2016)
  • Threads of Sound (2017)
  • Looking Up at the Hill (2018)
  • Under the God of Old Lenses (2018)
  • The Person Beside Me (2018)
  • Nonstandard Post (2021)
  • At the Relay Station (Returned Train 6) (2023)

Translations by Author

  • Hervé Guibert — 'Le Chapeau Rouge' (translation)
  • Michel Rio — 'Title (French)' (translation)
  • Jacques Réda — 'Ruins of Paris' (translation)
  • Patrick Modiano — 'Sunday in August' (translation)
  • Philippe Sollers — 'Mystic Mozart' (translation)
  • Robert Doisneau — 'With an Imperfect Lens: Recollections and Portraits' (translation)
  • Marguerite Yourcenar — 'What? Eternity' (commentary/translation cooperation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
quiet, observational proseconcise and precise descriptioninterplay between essay and fiction
Recurring Motifs
minute details of everyday lifelandscape (city, riverside, suburbs)memory and lossmovement — stations and trains

Legacy

Toshiyuki Horie is highly regarded in contemporary Japanese literature for his quiet, detailed depictions of everyday life. As an educator he has mentored many younger writers and has long served on literary award selection committees.

In Popular Culture

  • In 2007, his piece 'Okuribi' (from Yukinuma and Its Surroundings) was used in the National Center Test for University Admissions (Japanese language).

Quotes

  • Neither strictly novel nor essay — I simply write the sentences I want to write.
    Source: WASEDA ONLINE (Yomiuri Shimbun) article (archived)

Trivia

  • Debuted with 'To the Suburbs' (1995).
  • Notable students from Horie's seminar include Ryō Asai and Kani Sasare Ayako.
  • In 2007 one of his works was chosen for the National Center Test (Japanese) and he reportedly supervised the exam.