Japanese Literary Awards

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Yuma Mochizuki

もちづき ゆま

Mochizuki Yuma

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1987-07-14 （Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
poet
Active Years
2006-
Memberships
Mensa member
Nominations
12th Nakahara Chuya Prize nominee (2007), 18th Nakahara Chuya Prize nominee (2013), 4th Ayukawa Nobuo Prize nominee (2013), 21st Nakahara Chuya Prize nominee (2015), 70th H Prize nominee (2019), 73rd H Prize nominee (2023)

Awards

Modern Poetry Techo Prize (44th)
2006
Work: Umi no Daikōen (The Sea's Grand Park)
Organization: Gendai-shi Techo
Result: winner
Rekitei Newcomer Prize (26th)
2015
Work: Mizube ni Sukitootteiku (Becoming Transparent by the Waterside)
Organization: Rekitei (Fujimura Memorial Rekitei)
Result: winner
Rekitei Prize (62nd, Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Prize)
2024
Work: Shiroku Nureta Niwa ni Ateru Tegami (A Letter to the White, Wet Garden)
Organization: Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Prize
Result: winner
Nakahara Chuya Prize (12th)
2007
Work: Umi no Daikōen (The Sea's Grand Park)
Organization: Nakahara Chuya Prize
Result: nominated
Nakahara Chuya Prize (18th)
2013
Work: Yakeato (Burnt Ruins)
Organization: Nakahara Chuya Prize
Result: nominated
Ayukawa Nobuo Prize (4th)
2013
Work: Yakeato (Burnt Ruins)
Organization: Ayukawa Nobuo Prize
Result: nominated
H Prize (70th)
2019
Work: Mō Ano Mori e wa Ikanai (I Will No Longer Go to That Forest)
Organization: H Prize
Result: nominated
H Prize (73rd)
2023
Work: Moeru Niwa, Kowabaru Kawa (Burning Garden, Stiffening River)
Organization: H Prize
Result: nominated

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Umi no Daikōen (The Sea's Grand Park)

2006 poetry collection

Debut collection blending fable-like imagery with urban scenes; notable for vivid colors and youthful sensibility.

fable-like imageryurban lifeyouth culture

Yakeato (Burnt Ruins)

2012 poetry collection

Second collection containing many prose-poems; marks a shift toward sparser lineation and use of whitespace.

lossmemoryregeneration
Adaptations
  • [musical composition] Kagu no Ongaku (Music of Furniture) — motif used by Yuki Nakahashi / 中橋祐紀

Mizube ni Sukitootteiku (Becoming Transparent by the Waterside)

2015 poetry collection

Third collection focusing on lineated poems with ample whitespace; rich in delicate visual imagery.

watersidetransparencytranquility

Mō Ano Mori e wa Ikanai (I Will No Longer Go to That Forest)

2019 poetry collection

Fourth collection exploring contemporary landscapes and memory from a more mature perspective.

memorynaturefarewell

Shiroku Nureta Niwa ni Ateru Tegami (A Letter to the White, Wet Garden)

2024 poetry collection

Sixth collection and award-winning work; praised for mature craft and fable-like worldbuilding.

gardenletterswhiteness

Bibliography

  • Umi no Daikōen (poenique, 2006)
  • Shi no Relay (co-authored, Furansudo, 2007)
  • Yakeato (Shichosha, 2012)
  • Shiroku Nureta Niwa ni Ateta Tegami (Kanie Naha Produce, 2014)
  • Mizube ni Sukitootteiku (Shichosha, 2015)
  • Suimon e (archaeopteryx, 2017)
  • Mō Ano Mori e wa Ikanai (Shichosha, 2019)
  • Moeru Niwa, Kowabaru Kawa (Shichosha, 2022)
  • Hikari o Iyo! (Kanie Naha Produce, 2023)
  • Shiroku Nureta Niwa ni Ateru Tegami (Shichigatsudō, 2024)

Adaptations

  • 'Kagu no Ongaku' from Yakeato used as a motif by composer Yuki Nakahashi
  • 'Chiffon no Uta' from Yakeato read at concert performances

Style & Themes

Literary Style
fusion of fable-like worlds and urban scenesshift from prose-poems to lineated poems using whitespacerich sense of color and imagery
Recurring Motifs
fable motifsgardens and waterside landscapesyouth culturewhitespace and line breaks

Legacy

Recognized as a prominent contemporary poet of the younger generation; noted for blending fable-like imagery with urban depiction. Multiple awards and nominations have cemented a growing presence in the modern poetry scene.

In Popular Culture

  • Media presence includes radio appearances and poems serving as motifs for musical compositions.

Trivia

  • Member of MENSA.
  • A poem from his collection was used as a motif by a composer.
  • Has collaborated with painter Yudai Takeuchi.
  • Has contributed to various literary magazines (Gendai-shi Techo, Bungei Shunjū, Bungakukai, etc.).