Japanese Literary Awards

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Kazuichi Iijima

いいじま かずいち

Iijima Kazuichi

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1952-12-20 （Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Junior high school teacher, Prep school lecturer
Active Years
1983-
Nominations
38th Shosetsu Gendai New Writers' Prize nominee (1982), 8th Mishima Yukio Prize nominee (1995), 11th Mishima Yukio Prize nominee (1998)

Education

Hosei University
Faculty of Letters / Department of Japanese Literature
Degree: 文学士
Period: 1973-1977
Year of Graduation: 1977
Country: Japan
Graduated March 1977
Yamagata Prefectural Yamagata Higashi High School
Country: Japan

Awards

Shosetsu Gendai New Writers' Prize (40th)
1983
Work: Promised Land
Result: winner
Bungei Prize (25th)
1988
Work: You Shall Not Return to Your Hometown
Result: winner
Nakayama Yoshihide Literary Prize (6th)
2000
Work: The Archaeopteryx Chronicle
Result: winner
Osaragi Jirō Prize (35th)
2008
Work: Night Before the Rising Star
Result: winner
Kino's Best! ranking
2008
Work: Night Before the Rising Star
Organization: Kino's Best!
Result: 1st place
Shiba Ryotaro Prize (19th)
2015
Work: The Island of Kubin-dōji
Result: winner
Weekly Asahi: History/Period Novels Best 10
2015
Work: The Island of Kubin-dōji
Organization: Weekly Asahi
Result: 1st place
Funahashi Seiichi Literary Prize (12th)
2018
Work: Starry Night Voyage
Result: winner
Weekly Asahi: History/Period Novels Best 10
2018
Work: Starry Night Voyage
Organization: Weekly Asahi
Result: 1st place
Booksellers Award (reading ranking)
2005
Work: Golden Travel Wind
Organization: Booksellers Award Executive Committee
Result: 8th place
Booksellers Award (reading ranking)
2009
Work: Night Before the Rising Star
Organization: Booksellers Award Executive Committee
Result: 7th place

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

You Shall Not Return to Your Hometown

1989 Novel

A novel portraying human drama surrounding hometown and family relationships.

HometownLossRebirth

The Chronicle of Raiden

1994 Historical novel

A work based on historical figures and events, depicting samurai and struggles over power.

SamuraiBattlePower

The Tenth Night of the Godless Month

1997 Historical novel

An ensemble drama with historical backdrop, focusing on source-based depiction and characters' inner lives.

CommunityFateHistorical sources

The Archaeopteryx Chronicle

2000 Historical novel

A long novel that delves into historical facts from the perspective of common people. Winner of the 6th Nakayama Yoshihide Literary Prize.

Common people's viewpointReexamination of historyMemory

Golden Travel Wind

2004 Historical novel

A work depicting history and human encounters through journeys.

JourneyEncountersHistory

Night Before the Rising Star

2008 Historical novel

A long novel that carefully examines historical sources and depicts the atmosphere of an era from the common people's viewpoint. Winner of the 35th Osaragi Jirō Prize.

Common peopleHistorical sourcesEra

The Island of Kubin-dōji

2015 Historical novel

A work that revisits events such as the Oshio Heihachiro revolt and reconstructs them from the viewpoint of non-elite people. Winner of the 19th Shiba Ryotaro Prize.

RebellionPeopleHistorical reevaluation

Starry Night Voyage (vols. I & II)

2018 Historical novel

A major work depicting intersecting human stories through voyages and travel. Winner of the Funahashi Seiichi Literary Prize.

VoyageEncountersFate

Bibliography

  • You Shall Not Return to Your Hometown (1989)
  • The Chronicle of Raiden (1994)
  • The Tenth Night of the Godless Month (1997)
  • The Archaeopteryx Chronicle (2000)
  • Golden Travel Wind (2004)
  • Night Before the Rising Star (2008)
  • The Island of Kubin-dōji (2015)
  • Starry Night Voyage vols. I & II (2018)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Meticulous, source-based descriptionNarration from the viewpoint of common peopleHeavy, restrained tone
Recurring Motifs
Common people's viewpointJourney and voyageRebirth and loss

Legacy

He is regarded as one of contemporary Japan's leading historical novelists. Valued for his emphasis on historical sources and depictions of history from the perspective of common people and non-elites, he has received multiple major literary prizes and influenced modern historical and period fiction.

Archives

  • National Diet Library (NDL)
  • VIAF (Virtual International Authority File)
  • ISNI (International Standard Name Identifier)
  • WorldCat

Quotes

  • When you pore over sources you can be pulled into the writer's point of view, so it's important to change perspective.
    Source: BOOK asahi.com article (book review) (2015)

Trivia

  • All of his full-length novels published up to 2008 were original manuscripts (not serialized first).
  • He began serializing in commercial magazines in 2009 ("Kubin-dōji no Shima" in Shogakukan's STORY BOX).
  • Graduated from Hosei University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Japanese Literature (March 1977).
  • Born in Yamagata City.