Japanese Literary Awards

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Azusa Nakajima

なかじま あずさ

Nakajima Azusa

Aliases: 栗本 薫 / 京堂 司 / ジュスティーヌ・セリエ / あかぎはるな / アラン・ラクトリフ
Pen Names: Kaoru Kurimoto（Pen name used primarily for novels and long series）, Kyodo Tsukasa（Alternate name used for early short stories）, Justine Célier（Pseudonym presented as a French female novelist for certain aesthetic/BL works）, Haruna Akagi（Alternate byline used in JUNE magazine contributions (as translator/column byline)）, Alan Ratcliffe（Another pen name used for several short stories）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1953-02-13 （Katsushika, Tokyo, Japan）
Died
2009-05-26 age 56
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Katsushika, Tokyo (birthplace) → Kagurazaka, Tokyo (base of activities)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Critic, Screenwriter, Director (stage/musical), Lyricist, Composer, Pianist/Keyboardist, Editor
Active Years
1976-2009
Affiliations
Science Fiction Writers Club of Japan, Mystery Writers of Japan, Japan PEN Club, Japan Literary Writers' Association, Japan–China Cultural Exchange Association
Memberships
Science Fiction Writers Club of Japan, Mystery Writers of Japan, Japan PEN Club, Japan Literary Writers' Association
Influenced By
Mori Mari, Kobo Abe, Kenzaburo Oe, Jean-Paul Sartre, Yasutaka Tsutsui
Influenced
Koo Akizuki, Yuri Enokida, ,

Education

Waseda University, Faculty of Letters (First Faculty of Letters)
Faculty of Letters / Department of Literary Arts
Degree: 学士（文学）
Period: 1971-1975
Year of Graduation: 1975
Country: Japan
Wrote a thesis 'The Structure of Imagination'. Noted as a graduate of the then-new literary department.

Awards

Gunzō New Writers' Award (Criticism)
1977
Work: The Contours of Literature
Category: 評論部門
Organization: Gunzō (magazine)
Result: 受賞
Edogawa Rampo Prize
1978
Work: Our Era
Category: 小説
Organization: Edogawa Rampo Prize
Result: 受賞
Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Newcomer Award
1981
Work: The Sanctuary of Strings
Organization: Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Newcomer Award
Result: 受賞
Genei-jo Newcomer Prize (Honorable Mention, Criticism)
1976
Work: Tsuzuki Michio: Life and Detective Fiction
Category: 評論部門（佳作）
Organization: Genei-jo (magazine)
Result: 佳作
Sense of Gender Award (Special/Service Award)
2009
Category: 特別賞（功労賞）
Organization: Sense of Gender Award
Result: 受賞（特別賞）
Japan SF Grand Prize (Special Award)
2009
Work: Guin Saga
Category: 特別賞
Organization: Japan SF Award
Result: 受賞（特別賞）
Seiun Award (Japanese Long Work)
2010
Work: Guin Saga
Category: 日本長編部門
Organization: Seiun Award
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Guin Saga

1979 Heroic fantasy

A vast heroic-fantasy saga centered on Guin, a warrior wearing a leopard-headed mask. The series explores power struggles, fate, friendship and tragedy across an expansive world.

heroic epicfate and tragedypower strugglesadventure and fellowship
Adaptations
  • [Stage (musical)] Guin Saga: Flames of the Multitude (1995)
Translations
  • Partial English translation (early volumes)
  • German translation (early volumes)
  • French translation (early volumes)
  • Italian translation (early volumes)
  • Russian translation (early volumes)
  • Korean translation (early volumes)

Makai Suikoden

1981 Occult / speculative SF

A long occult-SF narrative combining Cthulhu Mythos elements with traditional Japanese gods, portraying a three-way conflict over the fate of Earth.

myth-SF fusionplanetary-scale conflictencounters between ancient and modern

The Sanctuary of Strings (Ijuin Daisuke series)

1980 Mystery / Detective

A work in the detective series featuring the sleuth Ijuin Daisuke. It centers on crimes entwined with music and theater and the human dramas surrounding them.

detective fictionmusic and crimepsychological drama

Our Era

1978 Youth mystery

A youth mystery focusing on young protagonists; the first volume of the series that won the Edogawa Rampo Prize.

youthfriendshipmystery-solving

Bibliography

  • Guin Saga (series)
  • Makai Suikoden (series)
  • Ijuin Daisuke (series)
  • Our Era (series)
  • Shosetsu Dojo (essays/guide on novel writing)
  • Like an Amazon (illness memoir)
  • Peter Rabbit in the Cancer Ward (illness memoir)
  • Metastasis (final illness memoir)

Adaptations

  • Cabaret (film adaptation)
  • Epitaph at the Dead End (film adaptation)
  • Guin Saga: Flames of the Multitude (stage/musical)

Translations of Works

  • Guin Saga (partial translations into English, German, French, Italian, Russian and Korean)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Narrative-focused prose advocating the revival of storytellingGenre-blending with decorative, aesthetic (decadent) descriptionsBrisk dialogue and authorial afterwords addressing readers
Recurring Motifs
beautiful youthsmusic (jazz, saxophone)kimono and Japanese fashionsfate and destinylong-form epic storytellingaesthetic/BL (boys' love) elements

Health

  • Breast cancer
    1990 - 1991
    Hospitalized and operated on for breast cancer in 1990; subsequently wrote and published an illness memoir 'Like an Amazon'.
  • Pancreatic cancer
    2007 - 2009
    Underwent surgery in 2007 and battled pancreatic cancer until death in 2009. Left illness memoirs including 'Peter Rabbit in the Cancer Ward' and the posthumous 'Metastasis'.

Legacy

A prolific, genre-spanning author with roughly 400 publications, best known for the Guin Saga. She influenced the development of BL and contemporary genre fiction in Japan. Her tendency not to re-read or heavily revise published works was notable. Posthumous continuations and digital editions of her works have continued.

Museums

  • Yayoi Museum (Kurimoto Kaoru / Nakajima Azusa Exhibition) Taito, Tokyo, Japan Opened in 2010

Academic Societies

  • Science Fiction Writers Club of Japan
  • Mystery Writers of Japan
  • Japan PEN Club
  • Japan Literary Writers' Association

Archives

  • Tenro (Tenrou) Production (estate / archive holder)
  • Kagurazaka Club (official website archive)

In Popular Culture

  • Kentaro Miura publicly cited Guin Saga as an influence; Guin Saga has been noted as influential on works such as the manga Berserk.
  • Contributed to the early formation of aesthetic/BL genres through involvement with JUNE magazine, exerting notable cultural influence.

Quotes

  • Kurimoto wrote in one go without revising and hardly proofread.
    Source: Kiyoshi Imaoka (recollection), cited in 'Sekai de ichiban fukou de, ichiban koufuku na shoujo' (2019) (2019)
  • She advocated for the restoration of narrative in literature.
    Source: Azusa Nakajima, 'Shosetsu Dojo' and other writings (1986)

Trivia

  • A prolific author who published approximately 400 books during her lifetime.
  • Used multiple pen names (Kaoru Kurimoto, Azusa Nakajima, Kyodo Tsukasa, Justine Célier, Haruna Akagi, etc.).
  • Wrote on an IBM ThinkPad.
  • Appeared as a regular on the quiz TV show 'Zojirushi Quiz Hint de Pinto' under the name Azusa Nakajima.
  • Performed musically as a keyboardist in the band 'Pandora' and engaged in composing for musicals.
  • Produced more than ten new books per year in some years and was known not to reread her own published works.
  • Posthumous organization of manuscripts and digital editions of her works have continued.