Japanese Literary Awards

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Kumi Kimura

きむら くみ

Kimura Kumi

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1976-01-05 （Amagasaki, Hyōgo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Amagasaki, Hyōgo, Japan → Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan → Suginami, Tokyo, Japan → Fukuoka City, Fukuoka, Japan → Chiba City, Chiba, Japan → Sendai, Miyagi, Japan

Career

Occupations
novelist, writer
Active Years
2006-
Influenced By
Inuhiko Yomota
Nominations
Candidate, 139th Akutagawa Prize (2008) — 'The Day of the Lunar Eclipse', Candidate, 35th Noma Literary Newcomer Prize (2013) — 'The Atelier at the Edge of Night', Candidate, 158th Akutagawa Prize (2017) — 'Yukiko-san's Footsteps', Candidate, 40th Noma Literary Newcomer Prize (2018) — 'Yukiko-san's Footsteps', Candidate, 40th Oda Sakunosuke Prize (2023) — 'Someone's Shore at Night'

Education

Miyagi Prefectural Sendai Mukaiyama High School
Country: Japan
Meiji Gakuin University
Faculty of Letters / Department of Arts
Country: Japan

Awards

Bungakukai Newcomer Award
2006
Work: The Weathering Woman
Organization: Bungakukai (literary magazine)
Result: 受賞
Akutagawa Prize
2008
Work: The Day of the Lunar Eclipse
Organization: Akutagawa Prize
Result: 候補
Noma Literary Newcomer Prize
2013
Work: The Atelier at the Edge of Night
Organization: Noma Literary Newcomer Prize
Result: 候補
Akutagawa Prize
2017
Work: Yukiko-san's Footsteps
Organization: Akutagawa Prize
Result: 候補
Noma Literary Newcomer Prize
2018
Work: Yukiko-san's Footsteps
Organization: Noma Literary Newcomer Prize
Result: 候補
Bunkamura Dumago Literary Prize
2022
Work: A Safe Person for You
Organization: Bunkamura Dumago
Result: 受賞
Oda Sakunosuke Prize
2023
Work: Someone's Shore at Night
Organization: Oda Sakunosuke Prize
Result: 候補

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Weathering Woman

2007 short story collection

A short story collection including the title piece 'The Weathering Woman.' It delicately portrays women's emotional wounds, memories, and subtle shifts in everyday life.

womenmemoryemotional woundseveryday life

Island Night

2007 novel

A collection featuring pieces set on an island. Themes of solitude and seaside time are central.

islandsolitudesea

The English Shore: Ihatov Short Stories

2008 short story collection

A collection of short stories mixing nostalgia, travel, and fragments of everyday life.

nostalgiatraveleveryday life

Bouquet

2008 novel

A work compiled after serialization. A novel-leaning piece that quietly depicts human relationships and the passage of time.

relationshipstimepersonal growth

The Day of the Lunar Eclipse

2009 short story collection

A collection including the titular story. The pieces often center on dusk and moments of change.

duskchangerelationships

Congratulations to a Stranger

2010 short story collection

A short story collection including the title piece. It treats the gaze toward strangers and chance encounters.

othersencountersloneliness

The Souls of the Black Rabbits

2011 short story collection

A short story collection that, through varied characters, suggests themes of identity and borders.

identityoriginmovement

Spring-Waiting Coast Carnival

2011 novel

A novel depicting people's interactions against the backdrop of coastal scenery and seasonal change.

coastseasonscommunity

The Atelier at the Edge of Night

2012 novel

A work that depicts solitude and the struggles of creation through the night and artistic spaces. It was a candidate for the Noma Literary Newcomer Prize.

creationsolitudenight

The Split Teacher

2016 novel

A linked series-like story centered on a teacher, depicting fractures in relationships and memory.

teachermemoryrelationships

Yukiko-san's Footsteps

2018 novel

A story where protagonists' everyday lives and pasts intersect. It was an Akutagawa Prize candidate in 2017 and adapted into a film released in 2019.

pastmemoryeveryday lifefootsteps
Adaptations
  • [film] Yukiko-san's Footsteps (2019)

A Safe Person for You

2021 novel

A novel that questions intimacy and safety. It won the 32nd Bunkamura Dumago Literary Prize.

safetyintimacytrust

Someone's Shore at Night

2023 novel

A story set against night and the shore. It was a candidate for the Oda Sakunosuke Prize in 2023.

nightshoreothers

Where Is the Bear?

2025 novel

Published in 2025. A new work that unfolds layered questions about whereabouts and loss (based on publication information).

losssearchfamily

Bibliography

  • The Weathering Woman (2007)
  • Island Night (2007)
  • The English Shore: Ihatov Short Stories (2008)
  • Bouquet (2008)
  • The Day of the Lunar Eclipse (2009)
  • Congratulations to a Stranger (2010)
  • The Souls of the Black Rabbits (2011)
  • Spring-Waiting Coast Carnival (2011)
  • The Atelier at the Edge of Night (2012)
  • The Split Teacher (2016)
  • Yukiko-san's Footsteps (2018)
  • A Safe Person for You (2021)
  • Someone's Shore at Night (2023)
  • Where Is the Bear? (2025)

Adaptations

  • Yukiko-san's Footsteps — film (released 2019)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
quiet, delicate proseclose psychological depiction of women's inner livesmeticulous structure often in short stories
Recurring Motifs
nightseamemorymovementfootstepswomen

Legacy

A contemporary Japanese writer known for centering women's voices. She has won the Bungakukai Newcomer Award and the Bunkamura Dumago Literary Prize, received nominations for the Akutagawa and Noma prizes, and had a major work adapted into film, earning broad recognition.

In Popular Culture

  • Yukiko-san's Footsteps (film, released 2019)

Quotes

  • Novels where women's voices resonate; each bears wounds within the heart.
    Source: Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Evening edition) (2025)

Trivia

  • Not the same person as the actress Kumi Kimura (木村久美).
  • Worked at the Village Vanguard store in Shimokitazawa.
  • Studied under Inuhiko Yomota at university.
  • Operates the X (formerly Twitter) account @waremokouko1.
  • 'Yukiko-san's Footsteps' was adapted into a film released in 2019.