Akutagawa Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 35 (1956) award
Keitaro Kondo
こんどう けいたろう
Kondo Keitaro
Pen Names:
Kei Takase（Used for publishing short stories and essays）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1979-06-15 （Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan → Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Essayist
- Active Years
- 2004-
- Affiliations
- Visiting lecturer at Waseda University (former)
- Memberships
- Japan Writers' Association
- Influenced By
- Haruki Murakami, Banana Yoshimoto
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waseda University | Faculty of Letters | Department of Japanese Literature | 文学士 | 1997-2001 | Japan |
Waseda University
Faculty of Letters
/ Department of Japanese Literature
Degree:
文学士
Period:
1997-2001
Year of Graduation:
2001
Country:
Japan
Published short stories in doujinshi during university years.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Kazami Literary Prize | Ultramarine Afternoon | — | Kazami Foundation | winner |
| 2010 | Emerging Writers Award | Midnight Map | 短編部門 | Japan Literary Promotion Association | winner |
Kazami Literary Prize
2015
Work:
Ultramarine Afternoon
Organization:
Kazami Foundation
Result:
winner
Emerging Writers Award
2010
Work:
Midnight Map
Category:
短編部門
Organization:
Japan Literary Promotion Association
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Ultramarine Afternoon
2015 Novel 312 pagesA novel depicting people whose memories intersect with the present in a corner of the city. Fragments of the past slowly erode and reshape the protagonist's present.
solitudememoryurban life
Adaptations
- [Film] Ultramarine Afternoon / 佐藤 良太 (2018)
Translations
- English translation (Anna Sato, Acme Press, 2019)
Midnight Map
2010 Short story collection 208 pagesA collection of short stories set at night. The pieces attend to the overlooked folds of everyday life and quietly stir the reader's heart.
familylossnight
Translations
- Chinese translation (Bluebird Publishing, 2016)
Bibliography
- Small Voyage
- Midnight Map
- Ultramarine Afternoon
- Memories by the Window
Adaptations
- Ultramarine Afternoon (film adaptation, 2018)
Translations of Works
- Ultramarine Afternoon — English (Acme Press, 2019)
- Midnight Map — Chinese (Bluebird Publishing, 2016)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Lyrical, cinematic proseDelicate narration focused on interiority
- Recurring Motifs
- seanightmapsurban solitude
Legacy
Recognized for his eye for urban detail and treatment of memory, he is acknowledged as a significant contemporary voice in Japanese literature.
Academic Societies
- Japan Society for Contemporary Literature
Archives
- Keitaro Kondo Literary Archive (deposited at Yokohama City Library)
In Popular Culture
- Broadened public recognition through the 2018 film adaptation
Quotes
-
Words always touch human memory like a lingering scent.
Source: Ultramarine Afternoon (2015) (2015)
Trivia
- As a student he enjoyed photography; several stories use photographs as motifs.
- He has a habit of taking long walks before writing.
- Occasionally publishes essays under a pen name.