Japanese Literary Awards

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Itsura Inami

いなみ いつら

Inami Itsura

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1931-01-01 （Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan）
Died
1994-02-24 age 63
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Broadcast writer, Producer
Active Years
1968-1994

Awards

Futaba Mystery Prize
1968
Work: From the Frozen Soil
Organization: Mystery Story (Futabasha)
Result: 佳作第1席（第3回）
Yamamoto Shugoro Prize
1991
Work: Duck Call
Organization: Yamamoto Shugoro Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Japan Adventure Novel Association Award (Best Short Story)
1991
Work: Duck Call
Category: 短編
Organization: Japan Adventure Novel Association
Result: 最優秀短編賞（受賞）
Japan Adventure Novel Association Award (Best Short Story)
1993
Work: Saint Mary's Ribbon
Category: 短編
Organization: Japan Adventure Novel Association
Result: 最優秀短編賞（受賞）
Naito Chin Special Prize
1993
Work: For All Those Beloved Masterpieces
Organization: Japan Adventure Novel Association Award Committee
Result: 特別賞贈呈

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Double O Back

1989 Hardboiled / Mystery

Published in 1989 as a newly written novel marking his full-fledged debut as a novelist. Characterized by detailed hunting and firearm descriptions and a nihilistic protagonist in a hardboiled style.

Firearms and huntingIsolationViolenceLife and death

Duck Call

1991 Short story collection / Hardboiled fiction

A 1991 short story collection featuring tales of hunting, illness, and youthful perspectives. One of his representative works that won awards including the Yamamoto Shugoro Prize.

Firearms/huntingIllnessYouthful perspectiveNihilism

Saint Mary's Ribbon

1993 Short story collection

A 1993 short story collection that includes stories such as 'Hanamigawa no Yōsai', 'Bonfire', and 'Terminal Station'. It won the Japan Adventure Novel Association's Best Short Story award.

NostalgiaIllnessHuntingBoyhood

Hanamigawa's Huck

1994 Short story collection

Published in 1994, a collection centered on short stories depicting hunting, regional landscapes, and the isolation of characters.

Regional settingsIsolationHuntingYouth

The Hound Detective

1994 Detective fiction / Short story collection

A collection of short stories themed around hunting and hounds. Reflects the author's personal knowledge and interest in firearms and hunting.

Hunting dogsFirearmsMysteryRevenge

Bibliography

  • From the Frozen Soil
  • You on the Street Corner
  • I Don't Want to Be Understood
  • A Little Lonely, A Little Happy
  • The Study with a Gun Locker
  • Double O Back
  • So Zapp!
  • Passenger
  • Telephoto / Long View
  • Aspiring Poacher
  • Whip-poor-will
  • Pillow of the Waves
  • Decoy and Bunta
  • Duck Call
  • The Two Nights God Gave Me
  • On the Recliner
  • Man is a Flag (Press Gang Volume)
  • The Dog Walks on Soil
  • Whip and Pen for the Skilled Arm
  • The Fortress of Hanamigawa
  • Raised on American Movies
  • Saint Mary's Ribbon
  • Bonfire
  • Terminal Station
  • Mission in the Wheat Field
  • Spring Kosode
  • Under the Flowers
  • Oklahoma Kid
  • Tokachin, Karachin
  • Hanamigawa's Huck
  • Guitar and the Hound
  • Smoke
  • Shoeshine
  • Side Kick
  • Villain and Pigeon
  • Maria
  • Akeno
  • A Delinquent's Departure
  • What Good Is Glory?
  • Man's Knot
  • Stone Beasts
  • Bird
  • Ten-Yen Coin
  • White Heat
  • Life in the Forest
  • Solitary Sorrow
  • The Notebook String: Itsura Inami Essay Collection
  • My Textbook is Hemingway who Knows the Purity and Weakness of Hagakure

Translations of Works

  • Duck Call — Chinese (Simplified) translation: 鸭哨 (planned)
  • Saint Mary's Ribbon — Chinese (Simplified) translation: 圣玛丽的蝴蝶结 (planned)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
HardboiledConcise, dry proseNihilistic perspectivesUse of youthful/boyhood viewpoint
Recurring Motifs
Firearms and huntingDepictions of cancer/illnessLoneliness and alienationBoyhood perspective

Health

  • Liver cancer
    1985-1994
    Underwent surgery for liver cancer in 1985 but was told complete removal was not possible. The subsequent decade-long struggle influenced his decision to devote himself to fiction writing, and illness frequently appears in his characters and themes.

Legacy

Itsura Inami left numerous hardboiled mystery short and mid-length stories that reflect his knowledge of firearms. He earned multiple awards including the Yamamoto Shugoro Prize for 'Duck Call' (1991). Despite a relatively brief active period, he is remembered for his distinctive style and themes; posthumous collections and essays have kept his work in circulation.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Adventure Novel Association

Archives

  • National Diet Library (Japan) catalog entry for Itsura Inami
  • Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) catalog entry
  • Authority records such as VIAF, WorldCat, ISNI

Trivia

  • He was an avid hunter and his works often include depictions of hunting and firearms.
  • After winning a newcomer prize in 1968 he did not fully pursue writing due to busy work, but after his illness in 1985 he concentrated on literary activity.
  • His 1991 work 'Duck Call' won the Yamamoto Shugoro Prize and other awards.
  • Died of liver cancer in 1994 at age 63.