Japanese Literary Awards

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Keralino Sandorovich

ケラリーノ・サンドロヴィッチ

Kerarīno Sandorovitch

Aliases: ケラ / KERA / 小林 一三
Pen Names: Kera（Stage name used for music activities）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1963-01-03 （Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

Career

Occupations
Playwright, Theatre director, Film director, Musician, Actor
Active Years
1976-
Affiliations
Nylon 100°C (Founder/Artistic director), Cube (management), Nagomu Records (indie label founder/operator)
Influenced By
Marx Brothers, Classic comedy films
Influenced

Education

Nihon University Tsurugaoka High School
Period: 1979-1981
Year of Graduation: 1981
Country: Japan
Member of the drama club
Yokohama Broadcasting and Film College (now Nihon Eiga University)
Period: 1981-1985
Year of Graduation: 1985
Country: Japan
Studied film and theatre (attendance years vary by source)

Awards

Kishida Kunio Drama Award
1999
Work: Frozen Beach
Organization: Hakusuisha / Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Tokyo Millennium Arts Festival Excellence Award
2000
Work: Nice Age (Nylon 100°C)
Organization: Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Result: 受賞
Asahi Performing Arts Award
2002
Work: For activities in 2001 (overall)
Organization: The Asahi Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Tsuruyananboku Drama Award
2002
Work: Room Temperature: Night Music
Organization: Kobunsha
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Theatre Awards
2002
Work: Room Temperature: Night Music
Category: 優秀演出家賞
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Theatre Awards (Best Production)
2007
Work: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (production)
Category: 最優秀作品賞
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Kikuta Kazuo Theatre Award
2014
Work: Pan-ya Bunroku no Shian / Three Sisters (directing)
Organization: Kikuta Kazuo Theatre Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Theatre Awards (Best Production)
2016
Work: Goodbye
Category: 最優秀作品賞
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Art Award
2016
Work: Goodbye
Category: 演劇部門
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs
Result: 受賞
Kinokuniya Theatre Award (Individual Prize)
2016
Work: Hitler, The Last 20,000 Years / Kinema and Lovers
Category: 個人賞
Organization: Kinokuniya Theatre Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Literature Prize (Play/Scenario)
2016
Work: Kinema and Lovers
Category: 戯曲・シナリオ賞
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Hayakawa 'Tragedy Comedy' Prize
2017
Work: Kinema and Lovers
Organization: Hayakawa Foundation
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Theatre Awards (Best Director)
2017
Work: August: Osage County (production)
Category: 最優秀演出家賞
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Medal with Purple Ribbon
2018
Work: For achievements in playwriting and direction
Organization: Cabinet Office
Result: 受章
Yomiuri Theatre Awards (Best Production)
2019
Work: A Century's Secret (Nylon 100°C)
Category: 最優秀作品賞
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Theatre Awards (Outstanding Director Award)
2025
Work: The Cherry Orchard
Category: 優秀演出家賞
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Frozen Beach

1999 Play (theatre) 120 pages

A play staged by Nylon 100°C. It blends fantastical elements and black humor within a family drama.

FamilyMemoryReality vs. fantasy

Goodbye ~A life comedy that begins with a lie~

2015 Play (theatre) / later adapted to film 160 pages

A KERA·MAP production exploring human relationships with humor and cynicism; later adapted into a film.

Lies and truthInterpersonal relationshipsComedy
Adaptations
  • [Film] Goodbye (film) / ケラリーノ・サンドロヴィッチ (2019)

1980

2003 Film (directorial work)

Keralino's directorial debut feature film, dealing with youth culture and nostalgia of the 1970s-80s.

NostalgiaMusicYouth

Bibliography

  • Kera's Testament
  • Private Playwright
  • Frozen Beach
  • Goodbye
  • Worker K
  • I Hate Movies: From '1980' to 'Crime and Punishment'

Adaptations

  • Goodbye (stage → film adaptation)
  • Some Nylon 100°C stage works adapted to film/video

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Black comedySurreal humorPop, urban dialogue style
Recurring Motifs
Family breakdownUrban landscapes and local colorNostalgia and memory

Legacy

One of contemporary Japan's leading playwrights and directors, founder of Nylon 100°C, influential across theatre, film and music. His distinctive humor and directing sensibility have impacted younger theatre artists and musicians.

Quotes

  • We cannot let a country that is scattering so much radiation hold the Olympics.
    Source: X (formerly Twitter) post (2013)

Trivia

  • The stage name 'Kera' originates from singing 'Mushikera no Uta' at a drama club audition in school.
  • Married actress Tamaki Ogawa in 2009.
  • Uses the name 'Kera' / 'KERA' for music activities and founded the indie label Nagomu Records.