Sakigake Literary Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 37 (2020) selected
Gaku Kitahara
きたはら がく
Kitahara Gaku
Aliases:
柳井貴士
Pen Names:
Gaku Kitahara（Pen name used for fiction）,
Takashi Yanai（Real name used for academic work）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1975-01-01 （Tochigi Prefecture, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Tochigi Prefecture (birthplace) → Tokyo (Waseda studies/residence) → Lanzhou, China (worked at Lanzhou University) → Aichi Prefecture (worked at Aichi Shukutoku University)
Career
- Occupations
- Japanese literature scholar, Writer, University lecturer, Associate professor
- Active Years
- 2001-
- Affiliations
- Aichi Shukutoku University, Faculty of Creative Expression, Hosei University Okinawa Culture Research Center (domestic researcher), The Japan Foundation (visiting researcher), Lanzhou University, School of Foreign Languages (lecturer)
- Memberships
- Japanese Society for Social Literature, The Japan Literary Society, The Society for Modern Japanese Literature, Showa Literature Society, National Association of University Japanese Language and Literature
- Influenced By
- Sakunosuke Oda, Shun Medoruma, Shōhei Imamura
- Nominations
- Finalist, Gentosha NET Student Literary Prize (2001) — "Spring Has Come!", Finalist, 45th Shin Okinawa Literary Prize (2019) — "Second Life"
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosei University | Faculty of Letters | Department of Japanese Literature | 学士（文学） | — | Japan |
| Waseda University | First Faculty of Letters | Department of Japanese Literature | 学士（文学） | — | Japan |
| Waseda University Graduate School, Graduate School of Letters | Graduate School of Letters | Japanese Language and Literature Course (Master's program) | 修士（文学） | 2010 修了 | Japan |
| Waseda University Graduate School, Graduate School of Letters | Graduate School of Letters | Japanese Language and Literature Course (Doctoral program) | 博士（文学） | 2016 博士（文学）取得 | Japan |
Hosei University
Faculty of Letters
/ Department of Japanese Literature
Degree:
学士（文学）
Country:
Japan
Waseda University
First Faculty of Letters
/ Department of Japanese Literature
Degree:
学士（文学）
Country:
Japan
Waseda University Graduate School, Graduate School of Letters
Graduate School of Letters
/ Japanese Language and Literature Course (Master's program)
Degree:
修士（文学）
Period:
2010 修了
Year of Graduation:
2010
Country:
Japan
Completed master's program in Japanese Language and Literature
Waseda University Graduate School, Graduate School of Letters
Graduate School of Letters
/ Japanese Language and Literature Course (Doctoral program)
Degree:
博士（文学）
Period:
2016 博士（文学）取得
Year of Graduation:
2016
Country:
Japan
Doctoral dissertation: "Research on Modern Okinawan Literature—Focusing on Representations of War"
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Sakigake Literary Prize (37th) | Hikari Sasu ("Light Shines") | — | Akita Sakigake Shinpo | 入選 (Selected) |
| 2020 | Akegarasu Bin Prize | A Perspective on the Literature and Thought of Ōshiro Tatehiro — Problem Consciousness in Questioning Okinawa | 第1部門 | Hakusan City (organizing body) | 奨励賞 (Encouragement Prize) |
| 2020 | Ryukyu Shimpo Short Story Prize (48th) | Ghost Tour | — | Ryukyu Shimpo | 佳作 (Honorable Mention) |
Sakigake Literary Prize (37th)
2020
Work:
Hikari Sasu ("Light Shines")
Organization:
Akita Sakigake Shinpo
Result:
入選 (Selected)
Akegarasu Bin Prize
2020
Work:
A Perspective on the Literature and Thought of Ōshiro Tatehiro — Problem Consciousness in Questioning Okinawa
Category:
第1部門
Organization:
Hakusan City (organizing body)
Result:
奨励賞 (Encouragement Prize)
Ryukyu Shimpo Short Story Prize (48th)
2020
Work:
Ghost Tour
Organization:
Ryukyu Shimpo
Result:
佳作 (Honorable Mention)
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Hikari Sasu ("Light Shines")
2020 Short story (serial)A short story serialized in Akita Sakigake Shinpo. Themes include Okinawa and memory.
OkinawaMemoryEffects of warCommunity
Ghost Tour
2020 Short storyA short story that won an honorable mention in the Ryukyu Shimpo Short Story Prize. Deals with historical and place-based memory.
MemorySense of placeHistory
Second Life
2019 Short storyA work shortlisted for the 45th Shin Okinawa Literary Prize.
Postwar OkinawaPersonal history
Spring Has Come!
2001 Short story (competition entry)An entry that became a finalist for the Gentosha NET Student Literary Prize.
YouthComing of age
Bibliography
- "Hikari Sasu" — Akita Sakigake Shinpo (serial, Nov 2020)
- "Ghost Tour" — Honorable Mention, 48th Ryukyu Shimpo Short Story Prize
- "Second Life" — Finalist, 45th Shin Okinawa Literary Prize (2019)
- "Spring Has Come!" — Finalist, Gentosha NET Student Literary Prize (2001)
- Numerous academic papers on Okinawan literature, film, and representations of war
- Doctoral dissertation: "Research on Modern Okinawan Literature—Focusing on Representations of War" (Waseda University, 2016)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Prose grounded in scholarly and critical perspectiveIn short fiction, blends lyricism with historical consciousness
- Recurring Motifs
- OkinawaWar and memoryVisual cultureCommunityPlace-based memory (locality)
Legacy
A scholar and writer known for research on modern and contemporary Okinawan literature and visual culture. Has produced both academic studies and short fiction, contributing to debates on regional memory and representations of war. Fiction is published under the pen name Gaku Kitahara.
Academic Societies
- Japanese Society for Social Literature
- Japan Literary Society
- Society for Modern Japanese Literature
- Showa Literature Society
- National Association of University Japanese Language and Literature
Archives
- Aichi Shukutoku University Research Output Database (faculty publications)
- Waseda University bulletins and related publications (doctoral dissertation and related articles)
Trivia
- Publishes fiction under the pen name Gaku Kitahara (real name: Takashi Yanai).
- Received a Ph.D. (Doctor of Letters) from Waseda University in 2016.
- Served as a lecturer and, from 2024, as an associate professor at Aichi Shukutoku University.
- Research focuses primarily on modern and contemporary Okinawan literature and visual culture.