Japanese Literary Awards

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Shion Miura

みうら しをん

Miura Shion

Pen Names: Shion Miura（Pen name (same as birth name)）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1976-09-23 （Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Tokyo, Japan (birthplace) → Machida, Tokyo (worked part-time)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Essayist
Active Years
2000-
Affiliations
Boiled Eggs (former agency/management), Takahara Bookstore (part-time), Freelance writer
Memberships
Cobalt Short Story Prize judge (from 2004), Dazai Osamu Prize judge (from 2008), Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize judge (from 2009), R-18 Literary Prize judge (from 2012), Naoki Prize judge (from 2020)
Influenced By
Haruki Murakami, Kyouka Izumi, Ango Sakaguchi, Kenji Maruyama
Nominations
Yamamoto Shugoro Prize nominee (2005), Naoki Prize nominee (2005)

Education

Yokohama Futaba Junior & Senior High School
Period: 〜1995年
Year of Graduation: 1995
Country: Japan
Waseda University, First Faculty of Letters
First Faculty of Letters / Department of Theatre Studies
Degree: 文学士
Period: 1995-1999
Year of Graduation: 1999
Country: Japan
Began writing while enrolled

Awards

Naoki Prize
2006
Work: Mahoro Station Front: Tada Benriken
Organization: Naoki Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Booksellers Award (Honya Taisho)
2012
Work: The Great Passage
Organization: Honya Taisho Committee
Result: 受賞
Oda Sakunosuke Award
2015
Work: Four Women Living in That House
Organization: Oda Sakunosuke Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Shima Kiyoshi Love Literature Award
2018
Work: Nonohana Tsushin
Organization: Shima Kiyoshi Love Literature Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Kawai Hayao Story Award
2019
Work: Nonohana Tsushin
Organization: Kawai Hayao Story Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Japanese Society for Plant Science Award (Special Prize)
2019
Work: A World Without Love
Category: 特別賞
Organization: Japanese Society for Plant Science
Result: 受賞
Osaka Book One Project (Selected Work)
2014
Work: No Attainment of Buddhahood
Organization: Osaka Book One Project
Result: 選定作
Nail of the Year
2024
Organization: Nail of the Year Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Mahoro Station Front: Tada Benriken

2006 Fiction (series) 320 pages

Centered on the handyman shop 'Tada Benriken' in front of Mahoro Station, the work warmly and humorously portrays intersecting lives and relationships of its characters.

FriendshipEveryday lifeWork
Adaptations
  • [Film] Mahoro Station Front: Tada Benriken / 大森立嗣 (2011)
  • [TV drama] Mahoro Station Bangaichi (TV series) (2013)
Translations
  • Example English title: 'Mahoro Station Tada Benriken' (unofficial)

Run with the Wind

2006 Sports novel (coming-of-age) 336 pages

An ensemble coming-of-age story about university students aiming for the Hakone Ekiden; focusing on personal setbacks, growth, and team bonds.

TeamworkChallengePersonal growth
Adaptations
  • [Film] Run with the Wind / 大森寿美男 (2009)
  • [TV animation] Run with the Wind (TV anime) (2018)
Translations
  • Example English title: 'Run with the Wind' (unofficial)

The Great Passage

2011 Literary fiction / Novel about dictionary compilation 336 pages

A sensitive portrayal of editors and staff involved in compiling a dictionary, focusing on their work and interpersonal relations.

LanguageLexicographyWork and ethics
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Great Passage / 石井裕也 (2013)
  • [TV animation] The Great Passage (TV anime) (2016)
Translations
  • English title: 'The Great Passage'

Nonohana Tsushin

2018 Short story collection 256 pages

A collection of short stories centered on plants and daily observations, exploring family and interpersonal subtleties; an award-winning book.

NatureFamilyObservation

A World Without Love

2018 Novel 320 pages

Follows a graduate student in botany, depicting research and interpersonal relations; received a prize from the Japanese Society for Plant Science.

ScienceResearchIsolation

Four Women Living in That House

2015 Novel 288 pages

An ensemble novel about four women living in the same house and their secrets; awarded the Oda Sakunosuke Award in 2015.

Communal livingWomenSecrets
Adaptations
  • [TV drama] Four Women Living in That House (TV drama) (2019)

Bibliography

  • For Those Who Fight ○
  • Moonfish
  • White Serpent Island
  • Secret Garden
  • Seven Days of Romance Novels
  • He I Began to Tell
  • Tales of Long Ago
  • Mahoro Station Front: Tada Benriken
  • Run with the Wind
  • You Are Polaris
  • No Attainment of Buddhahood
  • Light
  • Interstellar Corporation: Corporate History Editing Office
  • Heavenly Travel
  • Kogureso Stories
  • The Great Passage
  • Masa and Gen
  • Four Women Living in That House
  • Nonohana Tsushin
  • A World Without Love
  • Elegy Does Not Flow
  • Ink's Flicker

Adaptations

  • Mahoro Station Front: Tada Benriken — Film (2011) & TV drama (2013)
  • The Great Passage — Film (2013) & TV anime (2016)
  • Run with the Wind — Film (2009), TV anime (2018), and stage adaptations
  • Kami-saru Naanaa Nichijo — Film 'WOOD JOB! (2014)'
  • Light — Film adaptation (2017)

Translations of Works

  • The Great Passage — English title (widely used)
  • Run with the Wind — English title (unofficial)
  • Mahoro Station Front: Tada Benriken — Example English rendering

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Narrative voice that blends humor with melancholyDialogue-driven, delineating characters' subtle psychologyDetailed, observational depiction of professions and everyday life
Recurring Motifs
Family and domestic relationshipsPeople devoted to their workUnderstated sorrow or unsettling shadows beneath everyday life

Legacy

One of contemporary Japan's notable authors. Winner of major literary prizes (Naoki Prize, Honya Taisho, etc.) with numerous film/TV/anime adaptations, she maintains a prominent presence among readers and in media.

Academic Societies

  • Japanese Society for Plant Science (awarding organization)

In Popular Culture

  • Multiple film, TV and anime adaptations of her works (e.g., 'Mahoro Station', 'The Great Passage', 'Run with the Wind')
  • Contributed a catchphrase for Studio Ghibli's 'When Marnie Was There'

Trivia

  • Her given name was inspired by the shion (Aster) flowers in the family garden.
  • She wrote the catchphrase used for Studio Ghibli's 'When Marnie Was There'.
  • She is knowledgeable about shoujo manga and boys' love genres and has spoken openly about these interests.
  • Her father is Yusuke Miura, an emeritus professor at Chiba University (specialist in ancient and folklore literature).
  • Won the Naoki Prize at age 29 (one of few recipients in their twenties)