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Akito Inui

いぬい あきと

Inui Akito

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1971-10-22 （Chofu, Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Chofu, Tokyo, Japan

Career

Occupations
actor, playwright, novelist
Active Years
1995-
Affiliations
Bungakuza Research Institute (former affiliation), Tetsuwari Albatrossket (performance collective, founder)
Nominations
141st Akutagawa Prize nominee (Mazui Soup), 31st Noma Literary Newcomer Prize nominee (Mazui Soup), 145th Akutagawa Prize nominee (Pinzoro), 147th Akutagawa Prize nominee (Hic), 149th Akutagawa Prize nominee (Suppon Shinju), 151st Akutagawa Prize nominee (Doro ni Yaito)

Education

Tamagawa University
Faculty of Letters / Theatre
Period: 1991-1995
Year of Graduation: 1995
Country: Japan
Graduated from the Faculty of Letters, majoring in Theatre

Awards

Kawabata Yasunari Literary Prize
2014
Work: Suppon Shinju
Result: Winner
Noma Literary Newcomer Prize
2016
Work: Noroi Otoko — Actor Kameoka Takuji
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Bad Soup

2009 Fiction

Debut work using humor and close observation to depict everyday incongruities and subtle human behavior.

everyday lifehumorcharacter study

Pinzoro

2011 Fiction

A collection of short pieces characterized by theatrical dialogue and dry humor.

dialoguehumortheatrical elements

Suppon Shinju

2013 Short fiction

A short work that, informed by stage experience, portrays both the comic and poignant aspects of its characters.

theatretragicomedyindividual loneliness

Noroi Otoko — Actor Kameoka Takuji

2015 Novel

A novel centered on an actor, where theatre and private life intersect; a long-form work bringing theatrical perspective into fiction.

actortheatre and private lifefame and solitude
Adaptations
  • [Film] Actor Kameoka Takuji / 横浜聡子 (2016)

Doro ni Yaito

2014 Short fiction

A piece with a distinctive voice that depicts everyday disjunctions; it was also an Akutagawa Prize nominee.

everyday disjunctiondefamiliarizationhuman observation

Zenmai

2017 Fiction

A work noted for its close attention to everyday detail, presented as short pieces or part of a longer narrative.

everyday lifetimememory

Bibliography

  • Bad Soup
  • Yaoyao Diary
  • Tadaima, Okaerinasai
  • Actor: Kameoka Takuji
  • Pinzoro
  • Shouchikubai
  • Hic
  • Suppon Shinju
  • Doro ni Yaito
  • Noroi Otoko — Actor Kameoka Takuji
  • Suikyo Shigaizen
  • Zenmai
  • There Is Nothing in the Jar
  • Sano Yoi Yoi
  • Kutsu ga Iku.
  • Akito Inui Akutagawa Prize Runner-up Short Stories

Adaptations

  • Actor Kameoka Takuji (film, 2016; dir. Satoko Yokohama)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
theatrical dialoguedry humordetailed observational description
Recurring Motifs
actors/theatreeveryday disjunctionloneliness and the comic

Legacy

Akito Inui brought his experience as an actor and playwright into fiction, offering a theatrical perspective to contemporary Japanese literature. With awards such as the Kawabata Yasunari Literary Prize and the Noma Literary Newcomer Prize, he is recognized as a writer who crosses theatre and literature.

Archives

  • National Diet Library (catalogue entry)

In Popular Culture

  • Broader recognition through appearances in films and television

Trivia

  • His grandfather was theatre director Ichir4 Inui.
  • His wife is the model Aika; they have one son.
  • After graduating from Tamagawa University (Faculty of Letters, Theatre), he joined the Bungakuza research institute and later co-founded the performance collective Tetsuwari Albatrossket.
  • He has appeared in numerous films, TV programs and commercials as an actor.