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Kotaro Tsunekawa

つねかわ こうたろう

Tsunekawa Kotaro

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1973-08-18 （Musashino, Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Musashino, Tokyo (birthplace) → Okinawa Prefecture (moved around age 29)

Career

Occupations
novelist, horror writer
Active Years
2005-
Memberships
Mystery Writers of Japan
Nominations
134th Naoki Prize nominee (Night Market, 2005), 20th Yamamoto Shugoro Prize nominee (The End of the Season of Thunder, 2006), 29th Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Writers nominee (Prison of Autumn, 2007), 22nd Yamamoto Shugoro Prize nominee (Kusamatsuri, 2008), 25th Yamamoto Shugoro Prize nominee (The Golden Beast, 2011), 35th Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Writers nominee (The Gold-Colored Machine, 2014), 9th Yamada Fuutarou Prize nominee (Garden of Ruin, 2018)

Education

Daito Bunka University
Faculty of Economics
Degree: 学士（経済学）
Country: Japan
Graduated from Daito Bunka University, Faculty of Economics

Awards

Japan Horror Novel Award
2005
Work: Night Market
Organization: Kadokawa
Result: winner
Mystery Writers of Japan Award
2014
Work: The Gold-Colored Machine
Category: 長編および連作短編集部門
Organization: Mystery Writers of Japan
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Night Market

2005 Horror/Fantasy

A collection centered on the award-winning Night Market, featuring short stories mixing Okinawan settings with fantastical horror.

fantasylonelinesscontact between otherworld and mundaneislands/sea
Adaptations
  • [manga] Night Market / 奈々巻かなこ（作画） (2018)

The Gold-Colored Machine

2013 Novel / Fantastical Mystery

A long novel combining fantastical elements and mystery. Its distinct worldbuilding and precise prose earned the Mystery Writers of Japan Award.

fantasymachines and humansmemory and loss

The Golden Beast Moves Beyond

2011 Short story collection / Fantasy

A short story collection including tales of otherworldly beings and journeys.

journeystrange beingsfantasy

Kusamatsuri

2008 Short story collection / Fantastical horror

A set of short stories with a nostalgic, fantastical tone, incorporating nature and folk elements.

naturefolklorefantasy

Bibliography

  • Night Market
  • The End of the Season of Thunder
  • Prison of Autumn
  • Kusamatsuri
  • Where Southern Children Go at Night
  • Where the Dragon Returns Last
  • The Golden Beast Moves Beyond
  • I Am Fu-yi (retitled: Island Crossing by Moonlight)
  • The Gold-Colored Machine
  • Star Player
  • Heaven Maker: Star Player II
  • The Faceless God
  • Garden of Ruin
  • The Girl of the Daydream Forest
  • Midnight Visitor
  • Monster Garden
  • Pilgrims of the Miniature Garden

Adaptations

  • Night Market (manga by Nanamaki Kanako) - manga (Bonita Comics, 2018)
  • Kaze no Furumichi / Matsurohanu Mono (manga by Kine Osamu) - serialized (Weekly Young Sunday, 2006-2009)
  • Star Player (radio drama on NHK-FM 'Seishun Adventure', 2015)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
fantastical and delicate proselyrical description with detailed scene-setting
Recurring Motifs
contact with otherworldsislands and sea landscapeslonely travelersmemory and loss

Legacy

A contemporary Japanese horror/fantasy writer noted for fantastical elements and meticulous description. Winner of the Japan Horror Novel Award and the Mystery Writers of Japan Award; several works have been adapted into manga and radio dramas.

Academic Societies

  • Mystery Writers of Japan

In Popular Culture

  • Known widely through manga adaptations and radio dramatizations of his works.

Trivia

  • He moved to Okinawa around age 29 and debuted with Night Market, written while working as a cram-school instructor.
  • Notable works include The Gold-Colored Machine and Night Market.
  • Several works have been adapted into manga and radio dramas.