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Masaki Kinoshita

きのした まさき

Kinoshita Masaki

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1974-09-01 （Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan → Nara Prefecture, Japan

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Freelance writer
Active Years
2012-
Nominations
152nd Naoki Prize (candidate): Ukita's Abandoned Bride (2015), 6th Yamada Futaro Award (candidate): Mermaid's Flesh (2015), 5th Booksellers' Choice Historical Novel Award (candidate): Mermaid's Flesh (2015), 6th Booksellers' Choice Historical Novel Award (candidate): Sengoku 24 Hours: The Final Moment (2016), 157th Naoki Prize (candidate): The Enemy Is Miyamoto Musashi (2017), 7th Yamada Futaro Award (candidate): The Enemy Is Miyamoto Musashi (2017), 30th Yamamoto Shugoro Prize (candidate): The Enemy Is Miyamoto Musashi (2017), 159th Naoki Prize (candidate): Ukita's Paradise (2018), 10th Booksellers' Choice Historical Novel Award (candidate): Mamushi: Three Generations Chronicle (2020), 172nd Naoki Prize (candidate): Hisoku no Chigiri (2025)

Education

Nara Prefectural Heijo High School
Country: Japan
Kinki University
Faculty of Engineering / Department of Architecture
Country: Japan

Awards

All Yomimono New Writers' Prize
2012
Work: Ukita's Abandoned Bride
Category: 新人賞
Organization: Bungeishunju
Result: 受賞
Naoki Prize
2015
Work: Ukita's Abandoned Bride
Organization: Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result: 候補
Historical and Period Writers' Club Award
2015
Work: Ukita's Abandoned Bride
Category: 新人賞
Organization: Historical & Period Writers' Club
Result: 受賞
Funahashi Seiichi Literary Prize
2015
Work: Ukita's Abandoned Bride
Organization: Funahashi Seiichi Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
High School Naoki Prize
2015
Work: Ukita's Abandoned Bride
Organization: High School Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Yamada Futaro Award
2015
Work: Mermaid's Flesh
Organization: Yamada Futaro Award Committee
Result: 候補
Booksellers' Choice Historical Novel Award
2015
Work: Mermaid's Flesh
Organization: Booksellers' Choice Historical Novel Award Committee
Result: 候補
Sakuya Konohana Award
2015
Work: Ukita's Abandoned Bride
Category: 文芸その他部門
Organization: Sakuya Konohana Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Booksellers' Choice Historical Novel Award
2016
Work: Sengoku 24 Hours: The Final Moment
Organization: Booksellers' Choice Historical Novel Award Committee
Result: 候補
Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Newcomer Award
2017
Work: The Light-mouthed Man of the Realm
Organization: Yoshikawa Eiji Award Committee
Result: 候補
Historical and Period Writers' Club Award
2017
Work: Sengoku 24 Hours: The Final Moment
Category: 作品賞
Organization: Historical & Period Writers' Club
Result: 候補
Yamamoto Shugoro Prize
2017
Work: The Enemy Is Miyamoto Musashi
Organization: Yamamoto Shugoro Prize Committee
Result: 候補
Naoki Prize
2017
Work: The Enemy Is Miyamoto Musashi
Organization: Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result: 候補
Yamada Futaro Award
2017
Work: The Enemy Is Miyamoto Musashi
Organization: Yamada Futaro Award Committee
Result: 候補
Naoki Prize
2018
Work: Ukita's Paradise
Organization: Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result: 候補
Osaka Honma-hon Book Award
2019
Work: The Light-mouthed Man of the Realm
Organization: Osaka Honma-hon Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Japan Historical Writers Association Award
2019
Work: The Tower of Kongo
Category: 作品賞
Organization: Japan Historical Writers Association
Result: 候補
Nomura Kodō Literary Prize
2019
Work: Ekin: Painting the Darkness
Organization: Nomura Kodō Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Japan Historical Writers Association Award
2020
Work: Mamushi: Three Generations Chronicle
Category: 作品賞
Organization: Japan Historical Writers Association
Result: 受賞
Nakayama Yoshihide Literary Prize
2020
Work: Mamushi: Three Generations Chronicle
Organization: Nakayama Yoshihide Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Booksellers' Choice Historical Novel Award
2020
Work: Mamushi: Three Generations Chronicle
Organization: Booksellers' Choice Historical Novel Award Committee
Result: 候補
Booksellers' Choice Historical Novel Award
2022
Work: To the End of the Lone Sword
Organization: Booksellers' Choice Historical Novel Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Oda Sakunosuke Prize
2024
Work: Gudō Ikkyū
Category: 大賞候補
Organization: Oda Sakunosuke Prize Committee
Result: 候補
Naoki Prize
2025
Work: Hisoku no Chigiri
Organization: Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result: 候補
Watanabe Junichi Literary Prize
2025
Work: Gudō Ikkyū
Organization: Watanabe Junichi Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Nitta Jirō Literary Prize
2025
Work: Gudō Ikkyū
Organization: Nitta Jirō Prize Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Ukita's Abandoned Bride

2014 Historical novel

A collection centered on Ukita Naoie (Ukita family) and related stories. Based on historical facts of the Sengoku period, it explores human relationships and fate.

Sengoku periodLords and retainersHuman relationships

Mermaid's Flesh

2015 Historical short stories

A short story collection depicting Bakumatsu figures such as Sakamoto Ryōma, Okita Sōji and Kondō Isami, focusing on their human aspects.

BakumatsuHumanity of heroesFate

The Light-mouthed Man of the Realm

2016 Historical novel

A work centered on the first Yonezawa Hikohachi, depicting wit and social scenes while weaving in local-historical perspectives.

Edo/early modernBiographical storytellingLocal history

Sengoku 24 Hours: The Final Moment

2016 Historical short stories

A short story collection featuring Sengoku warlords such as Toyotomi Hideyori, Date Masamune, and Imagawa Yoshimoto; blends historical fact and imagination.

Sengoku warlordsFinal momentsHistorical detail

The Enemy Is Miyamoto Musashi

2017 Historical novel

A long novel focusing on Miyamoto Musashi, portraying his swordsmanship and life grounded in historical sources.

SwordsmanshipBushidoSolitude

Hideyoshi's Deeds

2017 Historical novel

A work tracing Toyotomi Hideyoshi's life and achievements, depicting the conflict between power and humanity.

History of powerSengoku periodCharacter study

Warriors

2018 Historical linked short stories

A linked short story collection about figures like Takeda Shingen, Oda Nobunaga and Sanada Masayuki, depicting battles and human life.

History of warlordsBattlesFate

Ukita's Paradise

2018 Historical novel

A novel depicting Ukita Hideie; through his domain and family it portrays aspects of Sengoku history.

Domain governanceFamily historyEnd of Sengoku era

Ekin: Painting the Darkness

2018 Historical novel

A work about the Bakumatsu ukiyo-e artist Ekin, portraying his life and the darker aspects of his expression.

ArtBakumatsuDarkness and expression

The Tower of Kongo

2019 Historical long novel

A linked long novel inspired by Kongo-gumi, carefully depicting craftsmen and organizational history.

Craftsman cultureArchitectural historyGenerational succession

Mamushi: Three Generations Chronicle

2020 Historical novel

A multi-generational tale centered on Saitō Dōsan, depicting succession and shifts of power.

Power successionSengoku politicsFamily history

To the End of the Lone Sword

2022 Historical novel

A novel following Miyamoto Musashi as he investigates the curse of the 'Five Spirit Demons'.

BushidoOccultInvestigation

Gudō Ikkyū

2024 Historical novel

A novel about Ikkyū Sōjun, examining Zen and the life of a maverick monk; delves into Muromachi-era thought and character.

ZenRogue monkMuromachi period

Hisoku no Chigiri

2024 Historical novel

A story about the Tokushima Domain's financial crisis and the efforts of feudal lord Hachisuka Shigeyoshi and his retainers to reform and revive it.

Domain reformEconomic historyDomain reconstruction

Nobunaga: 130 Days of Absence

2020 Non-fiction / historical study (trade paperback)

A study that uses Shinchō Kōki as a hint to explore the little-known 130-day blank period in Oda Nobunaga's life.

Source researchNobunaga studiesHistorical lacunae

Bibliography

  • Ukita's Abandoned Bride
  • Mermaid's Flesh
  • The Light-mouthed Man of the Realm
  • Sengoku 24 Hours: The Final Moment
  • The Enemy Is Miyamoto Musashi
  • Hideyoshi's Deeds
  • Warriors
  • Ukita's Paradise
  • Ekin: Painting the Darkness
  • Keigan ni Soro (title untranslated)
  • The Tower of Kongo
  • Sengoku Twelve Hours: The Time of Beginning
  • Nobunaga, Bringing Down the Heavens
  • Mamushi: Three Generations Chronicle
  • Love Boy Dream Fantasy (title transliteration)
  • Onin Riot: Legends of Rogues
  • To the End of the Lone Sword
  • Sengoku Twelve Hours: Women Asuras
  • Sword, Sacrificed to Flowers
  • Gudō Ikkyū
  • Hisoku no Chigiri
  • Nobunaga: 130 Days of Absence

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Narrative prose grounded in historical factDetail-oriented period-accurate descriptionAnalytic depiction of characters' inner lives
Recurring Motifs
Sengoku warlordsPower and successionFamily and generationsFate and occult elements

Legacy

Masaki Kinoshita is a prominent contemporary historical novelist in Japan; since his debut he has received and been nominated for numerous literary prizes. He is known for meticulous, fact-based depictions of Sengoku and Bakumatsu-era figures.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Historical Writers Association

Archives

  • National Diet Library of Japan (holdings)
  • Kinki University Library (holdings)

In Popular Culture

  • Stage appearance: Performed as Kurihara in the 2024 inaugural production of 'Nanige ni Bunshigeki' – 'Houkago'
  • Social media: Active on X (formerly Twitter) as @musketeers10

Trivia

  • Graduated from Kinki University Faculty of Engineering, Department of Architecture.
  • Worked for a housing manufacturer and later as a freelance writer before debuting as a novelist.
  • Debuted in 2012 after winning the All Yomimono New Writers' Prize for 'Ukita's Abandoned Bride'.
  • Has activities beyond writing, including stage appearances and social media engagement.