Akutagawa Prize
1 appearances
Rei Ooka
おおおか れい
Ooka Rei
Aliases:
おおおか あきら
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1958-10-16 （Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese, Italian
- Residence History
- Tokyo, Japan
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Critic/Essayist, Translator, Professor, Commentator
- Active Years
- 1987-
- Affiliations
- Tokyo Keizai University (Professor, Faculty of Business Administration), Contributor, Mainichi Shimbun 'This Week's Books' (1993-2008)
- Influenced By
- Italo Calvino, Nobuhiko Kobayashi, Shin Ooka
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Musashi Junior & Senior High School | — | — | — | — | Japan |
| Tokyo University of Foreign Studies | Faculty of Foreign Studies | Department of Italian | 学士 | — | Japan |
| Graduate School, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (Graduate School of Foreign Languages) | Graduate School of Foreign Languages | Romance Languages | 修士 | — | Japan |
Musashi Junior & Senior High School
Country:
Japan
Developed strong interests in literature and film during secondary school.
Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
Faculty of Foreign Studies
/ Department of Italian
Degree:
学士
Country:
Japan
Began writing fiction while at university.
Graduate School, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (Graduate School of Foreign Languages)
Graduate School of Foreign Languages
/ Romance Languages
Degree:
修士
Country:
Japan
Completed master's course in Romance languages.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Mishima Yukio Prize | Twilight Storm Seeding | — | — | Winner |
| 1990 | Akutagawa Prize | Surface Life | — | — | Winner |
| — | Kawabata Yasunari Literature Prize | I Wanted to Be a Whale Shark | — | — | Winner |
| 2002 | Tanizaki Prize (candidate) | Black Magic | — | — | Nominated |
Mishima Yukio Prize
1989
Work:
Twilight Storm Seeding
Result:
Winner
Akutagawa Prize
1990
Work:
Surface Life
Result:
Winner
Kawabata Yasunari Literature Prize
Work:
I Wanted to Be a Whale Shark
Result:
Winner
Tanizaki Prize (candidate)
2002
Work:
Black Magic
Result:
Nominated
Awards & Nominations
Mishima Yukio Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 2 (1989) award
Works
Major Works
Twilight Storm Seeding
1989 NovelAn early novel exploring urban life, personal solitude, and fragments of memory.
urban lifesolitudememory
Surface Life
1990 Short storyA short story that incisively depicts the superficial aspects of modern life; winner of the Akutagawa Prize.
contemporary societyconsumerism and appearanceshuman relationships
Hi no Maru
1992 NovelA novel addressing cultural intersections and memory; translated into French and published by Seuil.
culturememoryinternationalism
Translations
- French translation: 'SOLEIL LEVANT' (Seuil, 1997)
Black Magic
2002 NovelA work from the 2000s notable for experiments in style and structure.
magical realismidentity
Help Me, Dad
2015 NovelA recent work that deals with family relationships and generational gaps.
familygenerationsparenting
Bibliography
- Twilight Storm Seeding (Bungei Shunju, 1989)
- Surface Life (Bungei Shunju, 1990)
- Hi no Maru (Shinchosha, 1992)
- Five Short Stories for Those Who Can't Become Rude (Bungei Shunju, 1992)
- Hey, Fix This (Kodansha, 1994)
- People of the Forest (Kodansha, 1994)
- Ikigai Quest 1996 (Iwanami Shoten, 1996)
- The Taste of Salt (Shueisha, 2000)
- Black Magic (Bungei Shunju, 2002)
- Help Me, Dad (Heibonsha, 2015)
- Real and Fuzzy Fantasy (TBS Britannica, 1993)
- Japanese Gourmet Lexicon (revised, Shogakukan Bunko, 1999)
- The Story of Wine (Bungeishunju Shinsho, 2000; new edition 2018)
- Ask the Books! (Kobunsha, 2011)
Translations by Author
- Thomas Fitzsimmons, 'Japan: (title in Japanese edition)' (co-translated with Shin Ooka), Iwanami Shoten, 1986
- W. Somerset Maugham, 'The Moon and Sixpence' (Shogakukan, 1995) — translation
- Edgar Allan Poe, 'The Cask of Amontillado' (Shogakukan, 1998) — translation
- Carlo Collodi, 'The Adventures of Pinocchio' (Kadokawa Bunko, 2003 / Kobunsha classical new translation, 2016) — translation
- Patricia Kendy, 'Prince Siddhartha' (3 volumes, Home-sha, 2003) — translation
- Konjaku Monogatari (Kobunsha classical new translation series, 2021) — edited/translated
Translations of Works
- Hi no Maru → French translation 'SOLEIL LEVANT' (Seuil, 1997)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Concise, refined proseFrequent figurative/metaphorical expressionStructural influences from Italian literature
- Recurring Motifs
- solitudeurban lifefragments of familyfood and wine
Legacy
One of the authors to receive both the Mishima Yukio Prize and the Akutagawa Prize in short succession. He has influenced contemporary literature as a critic, translator, and university professor, and has been active in cultural broadcasting and book criticism.
Archives
- National Diet Library (holdings)
- BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France) data
- VIAF / Virtual International Authority File
In Popular Culture
- Host of NHK 'Nichiyo Bijutsukan' (Sunday Art Museum) (1995-1997)
- Contributor to Mainichi Shimbun 'This Week's Books' (1993-2008)
Trivia
- Born into a literary family: father Shin Ooka (poet) and mother Saki Fukase (playwright).
- Graduated from Musashi Junior & Senior High School.
- Studied Italian at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and completed a master's course in Romance languages.
- Awarded the Mishima Yukio Prize in 1989 and the Akutagawa Prize in 1990; noted as one of the authors to win both prizes early in their career.
- Has a deep knowledge of art and hosted NHK's 'Nichiyo Bijutsukan' (Sunday Art Museum).
- His novel 'Hi no Maru' was translated into French as 'SOLEIL LEVANT' (Seuil, 1997).