Japanese Literary Awards

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Tokuro Nukui

ぬくい とくろう

Nukui Tokuro

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1968-02-25 （Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Mystery writer
Active Years
1993-
Affiliations
Mystery Writers of Japan
Memberships
Mystery Writers of Japan
Influenced By
Kazumasa Hirai
Nominations
Finalist, 4th Ayukawa Tetsuya Award (Doukoku, 1993), Candidate, 50th Japan Mystery Writers Association Award (short story/collection category, 'A Darkness Remembering a Child', 1997), Candidate, 58th Japan Mystery Writers Association Award ('Fragments of Reminiscence', 2005), Candidate, 135th Naoki Prize ('Gukoroku', 2006), Candidate, 141st Naoki Prize ('Ranhansha', 2009), Candidate, 147th Naoki Prize ('Shingetsutan', 2012), Candidate, 151st Naoki Prize ('A Person Like Me', 2014)

Education

Waseda University
School of Commerce
Degree: 学士
Country: Japan
Graduated from Waseda University, School of Commerce (after attending Tokyo Metropolitan Aoyama High School)

Awards

Japan Mystery Writers Association Award (63rd, Best Long Work / Short Story Collection)
2010
Work: Ranhansha (Ran-hansha / Reflected Chaos)
Category: 長編および連作短編集部門
Organization: Mystery Writers of Japan
Result: 受賞
Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize (23rd)
2010
Work: The Color of Regret and Truth
Organization: Shinchosha (Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Doukoku (Wailing)

1993 Mystery

Debut novel written during a period of unemployment; an early long work exploring social darkness and the passions behind crime.

familylosscrime

Gukoroku (Record of Folly)

2006 Mystery

An ensemble mystery about family and guilt. Later adapted into a film directed by Kei Ishikawa.

familyguiltcover-up
Adaptations
  • [Film] Gukoroku / 石川慶 (2017)

Ranhansha (Reflected Chaos)

2009 Mystery

A multi-perspective layered novel; winner of the Japan Mystery Writers Association Award.

truthmemorymultiple perspectives
Adaptations
  • [TV drama] Ranhansha (2018)

The Color of Regret and Truth

2009 Mystery

A novel about family and the weight of the past; winner of the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize.

familythe pastredemption

Bibliography

  • Doukoku (1993)
  • Gukoroku (2006)
  • Ranhansha (2009)
  • The Color of Regret and Truth (2009)
  • Disappearance Syndrome (1995)
  • Kidnapping Syndrome (1998)
  • Murder Syndrome (2002)

Adaptations

  • Gukoroku (2017 film, dir. Kei Ishikawa)
  • Ranhansha (2018 TV drama)
  • Haiiro no Niji (2012 TV drama)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
intricate plottingmulti-perspective narrationpsychological focus
Recurring Motifs
family secretsmemory disjunctionsin and atonement

Legacy

A Japanese mystery writer acclaimed for intricate plotting and themes of family and memory. A prominent figure in contemporary literature with major prize recognition and multiple film/TV adaptations.

Academic Societies

  • Mystery Writers of Japan

In Popular Culture

  • Several works have been adapted for film and television, including the film adaptation of 'Gukoroku'.

Quotes

  • "'Ranhansha' is a work that hides a honkaku (classic mystery) armor beneath the clothing of a novel."
    Source: Selection committee member Kaoru Kitamura (comment at press conference) (2010)

Trivia

  • Debut novel 'Doukoku' became a bestseller exceeding 500,000 copies after a blurb on the paperback edition.
  • In 2010 received both the Japan Mystery Writers Association Award (for 'Ranhansha') and the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize (for 'The Color of Regret and Truth').