Japanese Literary Awards

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Natsuki Koyata

こやた なつき

Koyata Natsuki

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1981-10-05 （Abiko, Chiba, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Novelist
Active Years
2013-
Nominations
Nominated for the 30th Mishima Yukio Prize (2017) — 'Release', Nominated for the 159th Akutagawa Prize (2018) — 'Kazeshita no Shu', Nominated for the 40th Noma Literary New Face Award (2018) — 'Mugen no Gen / Kazeshita no Shu'

Education

NHK Gakuen High School
Country: Japan
Nishogakusha University
Faculty of Letters / Department of Japanese Literature
Degree: 学士
Country: Japan

Awards

Japan Fantasy Novel Award
2013
Work: The Christmas of the Star People
Organization: Japan Fantasy Novel Award
Result: 受賞
Oda Sakunosuke Prize
2017
Work: Release
Organization: Oda Sakunosuke Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Sense of Gender Award
2017
Work: What One Wishes For
Category: 大賞
Organization: Gender SF Research Group
Result: 受賞
Mishima Yukio Prize
2018
Work: Mugen no Gen
Organization: Shinchosha
Result: 受賞
Noma Literary New Face Award
2019
Work: Drunken Revelry at the Shrine
Organization: Kodansha
Result: 受賞
Watanabe Jun'ichi Literary Award
2023
Work: Fielder
Organization: Watanabe Jun'ichi Literary Award Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Christmas of the Star People

2013 Short fiction / Fantasy

Debut work composed of fantasy-tinged stories that sensitively depict communities, rituals, and memory.

fantasymemoryritualcommunity

Six Little Pieces for Jun

2014 Short story collection

A collection of short stories that carefully explores interpersonal relationships and subtle emotions.

relationshipseveryday lifeemotionloss

Release

2016 Novel

A novel questioning identity and human relationships, standing at the intersection of the ordinary and the uncanny and depicting psychological nuances.

identityrelationshipsalienation

What One Wishes For

2017 Novel / Short fiction

A work revolving around desire and gender; it won the Sense of Gender Award and strongly foregrounds thematic concerns.

desiregendersubjectivity

Mugen no Gen / Kazeshita no Shu

2018 Novel / Linked stories

A volume containing 'Mugen no Gen' and 'Kazeshita no Shu' that moves between fantasy and reality, focusing on memory and ritual. 'Mugen no Gen' won the Mishima Yukio Prize, while 'Kazeshita no Shu' was nominated for the Akutagawa Prize.

boundariesritualmemoryfantasy

Drunken Revelry at the Shrine

2019 Novel

A novel set against shrine rituals and festivals that portrays human relationships; it received the Noma Literary New Face Award in 2019.

festivalscommunityinebriationritual

Fielder

2022 Novel

A novel that uses a metaphorical field as its stage to depict human desire, memory, and movement; it was awarded the Watanabe Jun'ichi Literary Award in 2023.

mobilitydesirememory

Bibliography

  • The Christmas of the Star People
  • Six Little Pieces for Jun
  • Release
  • What One Wishes For
  • Mugen no Gen / Kazeshita no Shu
  • Drunken Revelry at the Shrine
  • Fielder
  • Torime no Otouto (uncollected)
  • Large Droplets of Dyna (uncollected)
  • Toko (uncollected)
  • I'd Like to Help Dou If Possible (uncollected)
  • Utako and Shishio (uncollected)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
a style that blends fantasy and realitypoetic and lyrical prosequiet, delicate psychological depiction
Recurring Motifs
memoryrituals and ceremoniescommunity and alienationdreams and boundaries

Legacy

Since debuting in 2013, Natsuki Koyata has drawn attention for a style that combines fantasy elements with delicate psychological depiction, winning multiple major literary awards. She is regarded as an important contemporary Japanese writer among the younger generation.

Trivia

  • Debuted in 2013 after winning the Japan Fantasy Novel Award.
  • 'Mugen no Gen' won the Mishima Yukio Prize; she has also been a nominee and winner of other major prizes such as the Akutagawa nomination and the Noma New Face Award.
  • In 2023 she won the Watanabe Jun'ichi Literary Award for 'Fielder'.