Art Encouragement Prize for Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
1 appearances
-
Edition 20 (1970) award
Masato Otaka
おおたか まさと
Otaka Masato
Pen Names:
Seiun（Used for early essays and doujinshi）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1979-05-23 （Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan → Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Short story writer, Essayist
- Active Years
- 2002-
- Affiliations
- Contemporary Literature Study Group
- Influenced By
- Modern Japanese literature, European and American modernism
- Influenced
- Younger contemporary writers
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waseda University | School of Letters, Arts and Sciences | Department of Japanese Literature | Bachelor of Arts | 1997-2001 | Japan |
Waseda University
School of Letters, Arts and Sciences
/ Department of Japanese Literature
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Period:
1997-2001
Year of Graduation:
2001
Country:
Japan
Began publishing in doujinshi while enrolled
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Shinsei Literary Prize | The Summer Mirror | 長編小説部門 | Shinsei Literary Foundation | Winner |
| 2004 | New Writers' Award | Quiet Town | — | Regional Literary Promotion Association | Winner |
Shinsei Literary Prize
2015
Work:
The Summer Mirror
Category:
長編小説部門
Organization:
Shinsei Literary Foundation
Result:
Winner
New Writers' Award
2004
Work:
Quiet Town
Organization:
Regional Literary Promotion Association
Result:
Winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Summer Mirror
2014 Novel 320 pagesA novel that frames the memories and fragments of a family living in an urban corner as a mirror. Through the intersecting past and present and detailed everyday life, it weaves a story of loss and renewal.
memoryfamilytime
Adaptations
- [Film] The Summer Mirror / 鈴木大輔 (2017)
Translations
- English translation: The Summer Mirror (2016)
Night on Asagao Street
2010 Short story collection 240 pagesA collection of short stories that pieces together fragments of urban nights and the people who encounter them. It portrays overlapping moments of time highlighted by small incidents.
solitudechance encountersthe city
Translations
- Spanish translation: Night on Asagao Street (2019)
Quiet Town
2004 Novel 160 pagesDebut novel. With restrained prose, it描く the subtle unease of everyday life in a small suburban town and the recurring scents of memory within it.
everyday lifesuburbiafragments of memory
Bibliography
- Quiet Town (2004)
- Night on Asagao Street (2010)
- The Summer Mirror (2014)
- Dawn Short Stories (2018)
- Winter Garden (2020)
Adaptations
- The Summer Mirror — film (2017)
Translations of Works
- The Summer Mirror — English translation (2016)
- Night on Asagao Street — Spanish translation (2019)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Lyrical and detailed psychological descriptionA style that emphasizes details of contemporary urban life
- Recurring Motifs
- memoryfamilial tensionurban landscapesseasonal change
Legacy
A writer praised for delicate psychological depictions and detailed portrayals of everyday urban life, centered on themes of city and memory. He has been noted to influence younger authors and is seen as contributing to contemporary Japanese depictions of urbanity.
Academic Societies
- Contemporary Literature Study Group
Quotes
-
The past does not vanish; it layers itself into the landscape.
Source: Afterword of The Summer Mirror (2014) -
Writing is an act of arranging memories.
Source: Magazine interview (2015)
Trivia
- Often drinks coffee while writing
- Many fictional settings are based on real towns
- Was active in doujinshi before debut