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Hirito Kawabata

かわばた ひろと

Kawabata Hirito

Pen Names: Leviathan (blog handle)（Former blog name 'Leviathan's Daily Deeds'）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1964-07-26 （Akashi, Hyogo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Akashi, Hyogo, Japan (born) → Chiba City, Chiba, Japan (raised) → Christchurch, New Zealand (2009–2010) → Japan (residence)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Non-fiction writer, Science writer, Journalist
Active Years
1988-
Affiliations
Space Writers Club, Nippon Television Network Corporation (former employee)
Memberships
Member of the Space Writers Club
Nominations
Cobalt Novel Award Finalist (1988), Oya Soichi Non-Fiction Award nominee (2000), Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Newcomer Award nominee (2004)

Education

Chiba Municipal Chiba High School
Country: Japan
The University of Tokyo
College of Arts and Sciences
Country: Japan
Graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Period: 1997 (モービル・コロンビア・フェローとして在籍)
Country: United States
Was a Mobil-Columbia fellow

Awards

Cobalt Novel Award
1988
Work: The Last Wind of August
Organization: Cobalt Novel Award Selection Committee
Result: 最終候補
Suntory Mystery Award
1998
Work: Summer Rocket
Category: 優秀作品賞
Organization: Suntory Mystery Award Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Oya Soichi Non-Fiction Award
2000
Work: What Zoos Can Do
Organization: Oya Soichi Non-Fiction Award Selection Committee
Result: 候補
Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Newcomer Award
2004
Work: Sechiyan: The One Who Listens to the Stars
Organization: Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Newcomer Award Selection Committee
Result: 候補
All-Japan Young Readers' Book Report Contest
2007
Work: The Universe in the Palm of Your Hand
Category: 高等学校部門
Organization: Japan School Library Association
Result: 課題図書に選出
Science Journalist Award
2018
Work: Why Are We the Only Ones?
Organization: Japan Association of Science and Technology Journalists
Result: 受賞
Kodansha Science Publishing Award (34th)
2018
Work: Why Are We the Only Ones?
Organization: Kodansha
Result: 受賞
Science Journalist Award
2021
Work: The Challenge of Theoretical Epidemiologist Hiroshi Nishiura: Protecting Lives from COVID-19!
Organization: Japan Association of Science and Technology Journalists
Result: 受賞
Nitta Jirō Literary Prize (43rd)
2024
Work: Dodo and the Solitary Bird
Organization: Nitta Jirō Literary Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Summer Rocket

1998 Fiction

A novel that uses space and science as motifs. It won an excellence prize at the Suntory Mystery Award and is considered his debut as a novelist.

spacescienceadventurefamily

Galaxy World Cup

2006 Children's / Young Adult fiction

A youth-oriented sci-fi/adventure novel. Serialized in magazines and later published as a book; adapted into the TV anime 'Ginga e Kickoff!!' in 2012.

sportsfriendshipspace
Adaptations
  • [TV anime] Ginga e Kickoff!! (2012)

The Universe in the Palm of Your Hand

2006 Children's literature / Popular science

A book that explains scientific topics to young readers in an accessible way; it was selected as a set text for the high school division of a national book report contest.

scienceeducationspace

Why Are We the Only Ones?

2017 Non-fiction / Science

A popular science book exploring human uniqueness, evolution, and scientific perspectives. It won the Science Journalist Award and the Kodansha Science Publishing Award.

evolutionanthropologyscience communication

Dodo and the Solitary Bird

2023 Literary novel with non-fiction elements

A recent representative work dealing with extinction and solitude; it received the Nitta Jirō Literary Prize.

extinctionsolitudenature

Bibliography

  • Catching Whales and Thinking About It
  • Summer Rocket
  • Risk Taker
  • Nicotiana
  • The S.O.U.P.
  • The Age of Dragons and Us
  • Sechiyan: The One Who Listens to the Stars
  • The Name of the River
  • Funyuu (retitled: Together with Dad)
  • Searching for the First Song: Red Wind Songlines
  • We Who Are Here Now
  • Let's Ride the Buggy Together
  • Galaxy World Cup
  • The Universe in the Palm of Your Hand
  • Sea of Stars and Half Moon
  • Sakuragawa Picnic
  • Epidemic
  • At Midnight in School
  • King of Clouds
  • Gang Age
  • Promise of the Sky
  • Work of Voices
  • Blue Sea Spaceport (Spring/Summer & Autumn/Winter)
  • Dodo and the Solitary Bird

Adaptations

  • The TV anime 'Ginga e Kickoff!!' based on 'Galaxy World Cup'

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Nature-writing style that carefully weaves scientific facts into narrativeAccessible, plainspoken prose for explaining science and nature
Recurring Motifs
animals (especially whales and penguins)science and educationspace and astronomysolitude and coexistence

Legacy

He has a dual career as a science journalist and novelist, conveying the appeal of science and nature to general readers through nature writing and popular science. His oeuvre ranges from children's books to adult literature, including works adapted for screen. He has been recognized with both science and literary awards.

Academic Societies

  • Space Writers Club

Archives

  • Holdings in the National Diet Library (Japan)
  • Registered in international authority databases such as VIAF

In Popular Culture

  • Media adaptation as the TV anime 'Ginga e Kickoff!!' (2012)

Trivia

  • He is fond of whales and has done onboard reporting on Antarctic whaling research vessels.
  • Former blog name: 'Leviathan's Daily Deeds.'
  • He has publicly criticized the 'game brain' theory.
  • Regarding the film 'The Cove' and Rick O'Barry, he acknowledged some valid points but criticized the film's intolerant portrayal of dolphin hunting.
  • He has served as a judge for the Citizen ZOO Network's Enrichment Award.