Japanese Literary Awards

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Maijo Otarō

まいじょう おうたろう

Maijō Ōtarō

Pen Names: Maijo Otarō（Primary pen name used for novels, scripts and manga originals）, Echizen Mataro（Alternate name used for some collaborative/light-novel projects (e.g. Makai Tantei Meiousei O)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1973-01-01 （Imajō, Nanjo District, Fukui Prefecture (now Minamiechizen), Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Fukui Prefecture (birthplace) → Chōfu, Tokyo (one activity base)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Screenwriter, Manga original author
Active Years
2001-
Affiliations
REALCOFFEE
Influenced By
isakusan, Reisuke Kaneko
Nominations
Japan Mystery Writers Association Award (Short Story) nominee: "Piko-n!" (2001), Mishima Yukio Prize nominee: "Kuma no Basho" (2002), Akutagawa Prize nominee (131st): "Suki Suki Daisuki Chō Aishiteru." (2004, first half), Akutagawa Prize nominee (142nd): "Bitch Magnet" (2009, second half), Akutagawa Prize nominee (147th): "Short Stories: Five-Point Star" (2012, first half), Akutagawa Prize nominee (148th): "Oishii Shower Head" (2013), University Readers Award preliminary nominee (5th): "Disco Detective Wednesday" (2012)

Awards

Mephisto Prize
2001
Work: Smoke, Soil or Sacrifices
Organization: Kodansha (Mephisto editorial)
Result: 受賞
Mishima Yukio Prize
2003
Work: Ashura Girl
Organization: Mishima Yukio Prize committee
Result: 受賞
University Readers Award
2009
Work: Suki Suki Daisuki Chō Aishiteru.
Organization: University Readers Award organizers
Result: 第1位（受賞）
Twitter Literary Award
2016
Work: King of the Abyss
Organization: Twitter Literary Award organizers
Result: 第1位（受賞）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Smoke, Soil or Sacrifices

2001 Mystery 320 pages

Debut work. A collection of strange, layered mystery stories set in regional locales, noted for winning the Mephisto Prize.

regional identitymysterysurrealism

Ashura Girl

2003 Literary fiction / Short stories 240 pages

A collection centered on short stories. It was favorably received by prize judges and won the Mishima Yukio Prize.

modern lonelinesscontrast between countryside and city

Suki Suki Daisuki Chō Aishiteru.

2004 Short stories / Contemporary fiction 180 pages

A short-story collection noted for its provocative title and colloquial style. It was nominated for the Akutagawa Prize and generated debate.

experiments in language and expressionaspects of youth culture

Disco Detective Wednesday

2008 Novel (mystery / slipstream) 1100 pages

A novel exceeding 1000 pages. It drew attention for its complex structure, slipstream elements, and overwhelming density.

epic narrative structuremixing of the surreal and the everyday

NECK

2010 Novel / screenplay origin 200 pages

Includes works tied to stage and film origins; the material was developed into stage performances and a feature film.

cross-media storytellingtheatricality
Adaptations
  • [Stage] NECK (stage) (2010)
  • [Film] NECK (film) (2010)

King of the Abyss

2015 Novel (contemporary fiction) 400 pages

A recent novel that broadened readership and won first place in the domestic category of the Twitter Literary Award.

ruptures in everyday lifedistorted human relationships

Bibliography

  • Smoke, Soil or Sacrifices (2001)
  • The Childish Darkness (2001)
  • The World Is Made Out of Closed Rooms (2002)
  • Kuma no Basho (2002)
  • Ashura Girl (2003)
  • Suki Suki Daisuki Chō Aishiteru. (2004)
  • Minna Genki. (2004)
  • SPEEDBOY! (2006)
  • Disco Detective Wednesday (2008)
  • Bitch Magnet (2009)
  • Tree of Beasts (2010)
  • NECK (2010)
  • King of the Abyss (2015)
  • I Am the Apple in Your Eyes (2018)
  • Her Pomegranate of Oreiirya (2021)

Adaptations

  • NECK (film & stage)
  • ID:INVADED (anime, series composition & script)
  • The Dragon Dentist (original concept, screenplay, storyboards, director)

Translations by Author

  • Cold Snap (by Tom Jonson, translated into Japanese, 2014)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
use of slipstream elementsfast-paced colloquial proseprovocative, experimental narration
Recurring Motifs
regional settings centered on Fukuidialect (Fukui-ben) and local identityintermingling of reality and the surreal

Legacy

A writer who established a distinctive position in Japanese literature and mystery fiction since the 2000s. Noted for constructing interconnected regional narratives, employing slipstream techniques and colloquial rhythms, and influencing cross-media works in film, theater and manga.

In Popular Culture

  • Works adapted into media such as the anime ID:INVADED and the film/stage NECK, spreading into popular culture

Quotes

  • I felt sick just by looking at the title.
    Source: Shintaro Ishihara (comment during Akutagawa Prize deliberations) (2004)

Trivia

  • Known to operate as an author who keeps his real name private (masked writer).
  • Absent from the Mishima Yukio Prize ceremony after winning (reported as a rare occurrence among winners).
  • Often involved in cover design and illustrations for his own books.
  • Many works are set in Fukui Prefecture.