Japanese Literary Awards

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Yuko Miwa

みわ ひろこ

Miwa Yuko

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1951-11-06 （Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Children's literature author, Elementary school teacher (former)
Active Years
1982-
Affiliations
Japan Children's Literature Association
Memberships
Japan Children's Literature Association

Education

Tokyo Gakugei University
Faculty of Education / Department of Education
Country: Japan

Awards

Kodansha Children's Literature Newcomer Award
1982
Work: Children Go to the Mountain
Organization: Kodansha
Result: winner
Noma Children's Literature Newcomer Award (then: Noma Recommended Children's Literature Award)
1987
Work: Our Summer at the Mountain Hut
Organization: Kodansha (selection)
Result: winner
Noma Children's Literature Award
1989
Work: Papa's Garden
Organization: Kodansha (selection)
Result: winner
Niimi Nankichi Children's Literature Award
2010
Work: Gentle Sound
Organization: Niimi Nankichi Award Committee
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Our Summer at the Mountain Hut

1986 Children's literature

A story about children spending summer at a mountain hut, focusing on friendship, growth, and encounters with nature.

friendshipnaturesummer adventure

Papa's Garden

1989 Children's literature

A children's novel portraying family and intergenerational relationships in a gentle tone, exploring human connections through a garden.

familyintergenerational tiesnature

Children Go to the Mountain

1982 Children's literature

An early work that won the Kodansha Newcomer Award; a coming-of-age tale of children's experiences in the mountains.

adventurecoming of ageoutdoor experience

Gentle Sound

2009 Children's literature

A gentle short work that conveys tenderness through sounds, touching on memory and compassion.

memorykindnesssenses

Bibliography

  • Under the Zelkova Tree
  • Let's Go by Bicycle!
  • Let's Go by Blue Train!
  • Let's Go on a Cycling Camp!
  • Three Special Days with Grandma
  • Take-chan Is Not a Robot
  • Turnaround! Dodgeball
  • We Ride the Railway
  • Our Summer at the Mountain Hut
  • The Two Summer Beyond the Pass
  • Birth at Midnight
  • Save Chiisuke!
  • Green Recess
  • Secret Base in the Snowy Mountain
  • To the House of Flowers
  • White Christmas in the Forest
  • The God Tree
  • Riding the Train
  • Toward the Horizon
  • The Last Summer Vacation
  • Graduation Trip to the North
  • That Summer, We Were at the Secret Base
  • We, the Mysterious Mountain Expedition
  • From Above the Sky of Mount Chokai
  • Promise of the Starry Sky
  • To the Ancient Forest
  • Surely Under Some Sky

Style & Themes

Literary Style
gentle and plain narrative styledepicts from a child's perspectiveemphasis on natural description
Recurring Motifs
summer vacationmountainsnaturefriendshipfamily

Legacy

Yuko Miwa is a respected Japanese children's author active since the 1980s. She has received multiple awards including the Kodansha Newcomer Award and the Noma Children's Literature Award, and is known for works focusing on nature and friendship for young readers.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Children's Literature Association

Trivia

  • Born in Tokyo.
  • Graduated from Tokyo Gakugei University, Faculty of Education.
  • Worked as an elementary school teacher early in her career.
  • Maintains a blog titled "Guren no Pocket".