Japanese Literary Awards

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Mariko Koike

こいけ まりこ

Koike Mariko

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1952-10-28 （Nakano, Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Nakano, Tokyo, Japan → Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan → Sendai, Miyagi, Japan → Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Essayist
Active Years
1978-
Influenced By
Yukio Mishima, Albert Camus, Ango Sakaguchi

Education

Seikei University
Faculty of Literature / Department of English and American Literature
Degree: 学士（文学）
Period: 1972年4月 - 1976年3月
Year of Graduation: 1976
Country: Japan
Began writing novels while in university.

Awards

Mystery Writers of Japan Award (Short Story)
1989
Work: Wife's Female Friend
Category: 短編および連作短編集部門
Organization: Mystery Writers of Japan
Result: 受賞
Naoki Prize
1995
Work: Love
Organization: Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Shimase Award for Love Stories
1998
Work: Desire
Organization: Shimase Award for Love Stories Committee
Result: 受賞
Shibata Renzaburo Prize
2006
Work: Beyond the Rainbow
Organization: Shibata Renzaburo Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Art Encouragement Prize by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Literature Division)
2012
Work: Forest of Figs
Category: 文学部門
Organization: Japan Art Academy
Result: 受賞
Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for Literature
2013
Work: The Silent Person
Organization: Yoshikawa Eiji Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Japan Mystery Literature Award
2022
Organization: Mystery Writers of Japan
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Love

1995 Romance Novel

Representative work published in 1995.

LoveErosWeariness
Adaptations
  • [TV Drama] Love (2013)

A Cappella

1990 Mystery

Mystery work.

Mystery
Adaptations
  • [Film] A Cappella / 矢崎仁司 (2016)
Translations
  • A Cappella (Russian)

Grave of Minazuki

1996 Horror

A short story collection's piece.

Horror

Ghost Stories

2014 Horror

Short story collection.

Horror

The Silent Person

2012 Literature

Work awarded the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for Literature in 2013.

Life and DeathFamily

Adaptations

  • Many TV drama adaptations
  • Several film adaptations

Translations of Works

  • 'Love' Chinese translation
  • 'The Cat in the Coffin' French translation
  • 'Desire's Maze' Chinese translation
  • 'The Cat in the Coffin' English translation
  • 'A Cappella' English translation

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Delicate style depicting eros and wearinessMaster of short stories
Recurring Motifs
LoveLife and DeathAging

Legacy

Mariko Koike is a Japanese novelist known for delicate psychological depictions and diverse genres. She has won numerous literary awards and served as a selection committee member. Living long in Karuizawa, her works reflect life's subtleties.

Trivia

  • Her husband, Yoshinaga Fujita, died of lung cancer in 2020.
  • She participated in student movements during high school, wearing a helmet in street demonstrations.
  • Her debut was an essay collection 'Guide to Intelligent Vamps' (1978).
  • Many of her works have been adapted into TV dramas and films.