Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Housuke Nojiri

のじり ほうすけ

Nojiri Housuke

Pen Names: Shiri-P（Handle name used on Nico Nico Douga and other online platforms）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1961-01-01 （Mie Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Mie Prefecture, Japan

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Science fiction writer, Game designer, Programmer
Active Years
1992-
Affiliations
Space Writers Club (Uchu Sakka Club)
Memberships
Space Writers Club
Influenced By
Houeij Nojiri (Nojiri Houei)

Awards

Hayakawa's S-F Magazine Reader's Award (Japan)
1999
Work: The Usurper of the Sun
Category: 日本部門
Organization: Hayakawa Publishing / S-F Magazine
Result: 受賞
Seiun Award (Japanese Short Story)
2000
Work: The Usurper of the Sun (short version)
Category: 日本短編部門
Organization: Seiun Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Seiun Award (Japanese Long Form)
2002
Work: The Fluffy Fountain
Category: 日本長編部門
Organization: Seiun Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Seiun Award (Japanese Long Form)
2003
Work: The Usurper of the Sun (novel)
Category: 日本長編部門
Organization: Seiun Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Seiun Award (Japanese Short Story)
2007
Work: Big Promises and a Spider's Thread
Category: 日本短編部門
Organization: Seiun Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Seiun Award (Japanese Short Story)
2008
Work: Silent Flyby
Category: 日本短編部門
Organization: Seiun Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Seiun Award (Japanese Short Story)
2009
Work: Piapia Videos from the South Pole
Category: 日本短編部門
Organization: Seiun Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Seiun Award (Japanese Short Story)
2012
Work: The Singing Submarine and Piapia Videos
Category: 日本短編部門
Organization: Seiun Award Committee
Result: 受賞
University Readers' Award (Grand Prize)
2013
Work: Piapia Videos from the South Pole
Category: 大賞
Organization: University Readers' Award Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Rocket Girl (series)

1995 Science fiction 280 pages

A sci-fi series in which a high-school girl becomes an astronaut; the stories emphasize realistic physical constraints such as mass ratios for rockets.

Space explorationYouthTechnology and humanity

The Usurper of the Sun

2002 Science fiction 480 pages

A hard-SF novel in which minerals lofted from Mercury form a ring around the Sun, threatening Earth's sunlight; a scientist risks everything to investigate the mystery.

Astronomical-scale crisisScientific inquiryCivilization and resources
Adaptations
  • [Radio drama] The Usurper of the Sun (NHK-FM Youth Adventure) (2006)

The Fluffy Fountain

2002 Science fiction (novel) 360 pages

A novel about the invention and ambitions surrounding a dream material called 'fluffy', with scientific justification for its properties.

Materials scienceTechnology and societyInvention and ethics

Piapia Videos from the South Pole

2008 Science fiction (short story cycle) 320 pages

A cycle of short stories themed around Nico Nico Douga, VOCALOID, and space development, linking internet culture with science.

Internet cultureSpace developmentMedia and society

Bibliography

  • Veiss no Mouten (1992)
  • Rocket Girl (1995〜)
  • The Fluffy Fountain (2002)
  • The Usurper of the Sun (2002/2003)
  • Silent Flyby (short stories)
  • Piapia Videos from the South Pole (2008)

Adaptations

  • The Usurper of the Sun — NHK-FM 'Youth Adventure' (radio drama, 2006)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Hard-SF orientationEmphasis on scientific plausibility
Recurring Motifs
Planetary physicsRockets and launch technologyInternet culture and media

Legacy

One of contemporary Japan's notable SF authors. Praised for scientifically grounded hard-SF and works that incorporate internet culture; his activities have helped stimulate interest in science and space among younger audiences.

Academic Societies

  • Space Writers Club

Archives

  • National Diet Library of Japan - authority record

In Popular Culture

  • Use of 'Rocket Girl' title for a STEM outreach program for female middle/high school students (Rocket Girl training course)
  • Works themed on Nico Nico Douga and VOCALOID noted as examples linking literature with internet culture

Quotes

  • Hatsune Miku is science fiction.
    Source: Statement by the author (blog/interview) (2008)

Trivia

  • Pen name derives from writer Nojiri Houei.
  • Active on Nico Nico Douga under the handle 'Shiri-P'.
  • Involved in game design (tabletop RPG).
  • 'The Usurper of the Sun' won the Seiun Award in both short and long forms.