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Kataoka Nizaemon

かたおか にざえもん

Kataoka Nizaemon

Pen Names: Niza（Pen name used for early short stories）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1982-03-05 （Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan (birthplace — ) → Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan (period of creative activity)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Screenwriter
Active Years
2004-
Affiliations
Yako Literary Circle
Memberships
Society for Contemporary Literature
Influenced By
Haruki Murakami, Hiromi Kawakami
Influenced
Younger urban fiction writers
Nominations
Early Spring New Writers Award (2016), New Generation Literary Prize (2018) nominee

Education

Waseda University
Faculty of Letters / Department of Japanese Literature
Degree: 文学士
Period: 2000-2004
Year of Graduation: 2004
Country: Japan
Focused on short fiction during studies

Awards

New Generation Literary Prize
2018
Work: A Place in the Night
Organization: New Generation Literature Foundation
Result: 受賞
Urban Literature Prize
2021
Work: Letters from the Lighthouse
Organization: Urban Literature Society
Result: 受賞
Early Spring New Writers Award (Shortlist)
2016
Work: Seaside Memories
Organization: Early Spring Literary Award Committee
Result: 最終候補

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

A Place in the Night

2018 Short story collection 276 pages

A collection of ten short stories set in the city's nightscape, focusing on themes of loneliness, fleeting encounters, and the fragility of memory.

lonelinessurban lifememorynight
Adaptations
  • [Film] A Place in the Night / 佐藤健司 (2020)
Translations
  • English translation: A Place in the Night (trans. John Smith, 2020)
  • French translation: Lieu de la nuit (trans. Marie Dupont, 2021)

Letters from the Lighthouse

2021 Novel 352 pages

A novel set in a small port town about a family's journey through past memories. Notable for its interwoven perspectives centered on letters and a lighthouse.

memoryfamilyrebirththe sea
Adaptations
  • [Stage play] Letters from the Lighthouse (Stage) / 中村佳代 (2022)
Translations
  • English translation: Letters from the Lighthouse (trans. Anna Brown, 2023)

Seaside Memories

2015 Novella 184 pages

A novella tracing fragments of family and seaside scenes from childhood, weaving between past and present.

recollectionfamilysense of place

Bibliography

  • Short Stories 'Night Train' (2012)
  • Novella 'Seaside Memories' (2015)
  • Short story collection 'A Place in the Night' (2018)
  • Novel 'Letters from the Lighthouse' (2021)

Adaptations

  • A Place in the Night — Film adaptation (2020)
  • Letters from the Lighthouse — Stage adaptation (2022)

Translations of Works

  • A Place in the Night — English translation (2020)
  • A Place in the Night — French translation (2021)
  • Letters from the Lighthouse — English translation (2023)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical yet restrained prosecontrast between concise dialogue and detailed atmosphere
Recurring Motifs
city nightslighthousesold lettersseaside

Legacy

Recognized for carefully exploring urban loneliness and landscapes of memory, influencing a younger generation of urban fiction writers.

Museums

  • Kataoka Nizaemon Archive Exhibition Room Naka Ward, Yokohama, Japan Opened in 2024

Academic Societies

  • Society for Contemporary Literature

Archives

  • Kataoka Nizaemon Archive (donated to Yokohama City)

In Popular Culture

  • A Place in the Night — gained mainstream recognition through film adaptation (2020)
  • Letters from the Lighthouse — stage adaptation (2022) attracted attention in the theatre world

Quotes

  • What you see at night is always a slightly different truth.
    Source: Short story 'A Place in the Night' (2018)

Trivia

  • This dataset is fictional; any resemblance to real persons is coincidental.
  • The pen name 'Niza' is stated to derive from a childhood nickname.
  • The full name's cadence evokes traditional kabuki stage names, but this profile is a fictional creation.