Japanese Literary Awards

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Akemi Itsuji

いつじ あけみ

Itsuji Akemi

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1955-12-12 （Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Translator, Poet (tanka), Critic, Novelist, University professor
Active Years
1978-
Affiliations
Shirayuri Women's University, Faculty of Letters (Professor), Japan PEN Club
Memberships
Japan PEN Club
Influenced By
J. R. R. Tolkien, Toru Maeda, Lord Dunsany
Influenced
Yumio Sato

Education

University of Tokyo
Faculty of Science / Department of Biology
Degree: Bachelor of Science
Period: 1974-1978
Year of Graduation: 1978
Country: Japan
Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, University of Tokyo
Department of Comparative Literature and Culture
Degree: Master of Arts
Period: 1978-1980
Year of Graduation: 1980
Country: Japan
Master's thesis on structures of fantasy (C.S. Lewis and George MacDonald)

Awards

Tanka Kenkyu Newcomer Prize
1978
Work: Flute in the Water
Organization: Tanka Kenkyu (Tanka Research)
Result: Winner
Foreladies Prize (Shinshokan)
1980
Work: The Tale of the Starlit City
Organization: Shinshokan
Result: Winner
Seiun Award (Best Translated Long Work)
1986
Work: Elric Saga (translation)
Category: 翻訳
Organization: Science Fiction Fan Groups of Japan
Result: Winner
Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award
1996
Work: The Singing Stone (translation)
Organization: Sankei Shimbun
Result: Winner
Japan Children's Literature Association Award
2003
Work: Magic Spaces of Fantasy
Organization: Japan Children's Literature Association
Result: Winner
BABEL International Translation Prize (Children's Literature)
2003
Work: The Dark Is Rising (translation)
Organization: BABEL International Translation Prize
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Kazemachi Monogatari

1988 Fantasy

A fantasy novel characterized by a light, imaginative world; representative of the author's whimsical style.

imaginary worldsmagicthe everyday and the extraordinary

The Song of Elgarno

1990 Fantasy

A mid-length fantasy work emphasizing the author's attention to language and imagination.

myth and loreadventurepoetic expression

Exile from Earth

1982 Poetry (tanka collection)

A tanka collection weaving SF imagery and grand vistas into short poems.

cosmossolitudeimagination

Elric Saga (translation)

1984 Translation (Fantasy)

Translation into Japanese of Michael Moorcock's Elric Saga. The series received critical acclaim.

heroic sagafateenchanted swords

Bibliography

  • The Mechanisms of Dreams (essays) 1994
  • Magic Spaces of Fantasy (criticism) 2002
  • Kazemachi Monogatari (novel) 1988
  • Exile from Earth (tanka collection) 1982
  • The Horn of Elfland (poetry) 1980

Translations of Works

  • Elric Saga (Michael Moorcock) — translation
  • The Singing Stone (O.R. Melling) — translation
  • The Dark Is Rising (Susan Cooper) — translation

Style & Themes

Literary Style
light, bright fantasy prosemeticulous attention to languagepoetic descriptive style
Recurring Motifs
imaginary realmsmagic and mythnature and the cosmos

Legacy

As translator, writer, and tanka poet, she has significantly contributed to the reception of fantasy and children's literature in Japan, notable for introducing Anglo-American fantasy and for a distinctive fantastical approach to tanka.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Children's Literature Association

Quotes

  • She is a writer with a deep commitment to language who consistently depicts thoroughly imaginative worlds.
    Source: Ai Ishido, "Challenging Fantasy" (2000)

Trivia

  • Proficient in German and has worked on NHK-BS subtitle production.
  • Served as a tea ceremony instructor (Urasenke tradition) and holds a dancing certification in the Fujima school.
  • Her husband is philosopher Masao Kurosaki.