Japanese Literary Awards

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Miu Kakiya

かきや みう

Kakiya Miu

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1959-09-01 （Toyooka, Hyōgo Prefecture (formerly Izushi)）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Writer
Active Years
2005-
Influenced By
Ayako Sono

Education

Meiji University
Faculty of Letters, Department of Literature (French literature) / French Literature
Country: Japan

Awards

27th Shosetsu Suiri New Writer Award
2005
Work: Tornado Girl
Organization: Shosetsu Suiri Editorial
Result: Winner
12th Keibundō Bunko Award
2018
Work: I'll Organize Your Life
Organization: Keibundō
Result: Winner
4th Miyabon (Miyawaki Shoten) Award
2018
Work: I Have No Money for Old Age
Organization: Miyawaki Shoten
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Tornado Girl

2006 Novel

Debut collection of interlinked short stories portraying various women and social realities.

Women's livesFamilySocial issues

Reset

2008 Novel

A story about a protagonist confronting reality and the possibility/pain of restarting life. Adapted for television.

New beginningsFamily relationshipsSelf-discovery
Adaptations
  • [TV drama] Reset: How to Find True Happiness (2012)

I'll Organize Your Life

2013 Novel

A human drama about putting one's life in order. Later adapted as a radio drama.

Life organizationRelationshipsRebirth
Adaptations
  • [Radio drama] I'll Organize Your Life (NHK-FM) (2020)

I Have No Money for Old Age

2015 Novel (social comedy)

A bestseller that humorously and cynically depicts a couple worried about retirement funds. Adapted into a film.

AgingFinancial insecurityFamily
Adaptations
  • [Film] I Have No Money for Old Age! / 前田哲 (2021)

If: The Reason I Can't Say Goodbye (Regret Ward)

2014 Novel (Ward series)

Part of the 'ward' series. Uses 'if' scenarios to realistically portray human drama set in a hospital.

Health and deathHuman relationshipsRegret

Bibliography

  • Tornado Girl
  • Reset
  • Kind Devil (retitled: The No-Smoking Novel)
  • Spouse Chosen by Lottery
  • Husband's Girlfriend (retitled: Otto no Kanojo)
  • Seventy-Year-Old Death Bill Passed
  • The New Town at Twilight
  • I'll Organize Your Life
  • I'm Done Raising Children
  • Shelter (retitled: Women's Shelter)
  • I Have No Money for Old Age
  • Agri Girl, Agri Life
  • I'll Lose Your Flab
  • The Day I Quit Being a Wife (retitled: I Won't Enter My Husband's Grave)
  • Retirement Dad Makeover Plan
  • Forty and Unwed Motherhood
  • Cleaning Mother-in-Law's Belongings Is a Nuisance
  • My Father Won't Stop Driving
  • I Started as a Surrogate Mother
  • Can I Divorce Now?
  • I Won't Give Up!
  • Grave-Closing Rhapsody
  • Back and Forth, Pondering Until Death (Essay)

Adaptations

  • I Have No Money for Old Age (film, 2021)
  • Reset (TV drama, 2012)
  • Otto no Kanojo (TV drama, 2013)
  • Spouse Chosen by Lottery (TV drama, 2018)
  • I'll Organize Your Life (radio drama, 2020)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Uses 'if' scenarios (depicts hypothetical situations with realism)Accessible narrative voice with a social perspective
Recurring Motifs
Temporal dislocation (time slips to high school era)Body/mind swappingMiddle age and aging issuesDomestic life and women's roles

Legacy

Known for portraying contemporary Japanese family, aging and women's issues through approachable 'what-if' scenarios; her works have reached wide audiences via film, TV and radio adaptations.

In Popular Culture

  • Became widely known through the film adaptation of 'I Have No Money for Old Age!'
  • Numerous media-mix adaptations including TV and radio dramas

Trivia

  • Born in Toyooka, Hyōgo Prefecture (formerly Izushi).
  • Graduated from Meiji University, Faculty of Letters (major in French literature).
  • Debuted as a novelist in 2005 with 'Tornado Girl' (won the 27th Shosetsu Suiri New Writer Award).
  • 'I Have No Money for Old Age' generated significant social response and was adapted into a film.
  • Her works are often described as 'if' fiction.