Japanese Literary Awards

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Satoru Sato

さとう さとる

Sato Satoru

Pen Names: Satoru Sato（Pen name used for children's literature）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1928-02-13 （Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan）
Died
2017-02-09 age 88
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Yokosuka (birth to about age 10) → Yokohama (later base for creative activity)

Career

Occupations
children's author, writer, editor
Active Years
1946-2017
Affiliations
Member of the Japan Writers' Association
Memberships
Japan Writers' Association
Influenced By
Hans Christian Andersen, Grimm's Fairy Tales, Narehane Goto

Education

Kanto Gakuin University (formerly Kanto Gakuin Technical School)
Faculty of Engineering / Department of Architecture
Period: 1946-1949
Year of Graduation: 1949
Country: Japan
Graduated from the former Kanto Gakuin Technical School

Awards

Mainichi Publishing Culture Award
1959
Work: Nobody Knows the Little Country
Organization: Mainichi Newspapers
Result: 受賞
Hans Christian Andersen Award (national selection)
1959
Work: Nobody Knows the Little Country
Organization: International Board on Books for Young People (national award)
Result: 受賞
Japan Children's Literature Association Newcomer Award
1960
Organization: Japan Children's Literature Association
Result: 受賞
Children's Welfare Culture Award (Ministry of Health and Welfare)
1967
Work: Grandmother's Airplane
Organization: Ministry of Health and Welfare
Result: 受賞
Noma Children's Literature Award
1967
Work: Grandmother's Airplane
Organization: Kodansha (Noma Award)
Result: 受賞
Iwaya Sazanami Literary Award
1988
Organization: Iwaya Sazanami Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Kanagawa Culture Award
2005
Organization: Kanagawa Prefecture
Result: 受賞
Akai Tori (Red Bird) Literary Prize
2007
Work: Honcho Kidan: Tengu Doji
Organization: Akai Tori Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
ExxonMobil Children's Culture Award
2007
Organization: ExxonMobil (sponsoring organization)
Result: 受賞
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays
2010
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
Children's Culture Merit Award
2015
Organization: Relevant organizations
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Nobody Knows the Little Country

1959 Children's literature / Fantasy

A fantasy depicting interactions between tiny people (Korobokkuru) and children. It became a series and influenced Japanese children's literature.

tiny peoplecoexistence with natureadventure
Translations
  • Translated into English by Ruth McClellar (1988)

I Want a Big Tree

1971 Children's literature

A short children's tale about a child's wishes and imagination.

growthwishesnature

Honcho Kidan: Tengu Doji

2006 Children's literature / Folktale elements

A work drawing on Japanese folktales and traditions; considered one of his notable later works.

folktaletraditionmystery

Bibliography

  • Nobody Knows the Little Country (1959)
  • A Dog as Small as a Bean (1959)
  • The Little Person Who Fell from a Star (1965)
  • Grandmother's Airplane (1966)
  • I Want a Big Tree (1971)
  • Honcho Kidan: Tengu Doji (2006)

Translations by Author

  • Ueda Akinari's 'Ugetsu Monogatari' (translated by Sato, 1992)
  • Jules Verne's 'Mysterious Island' (translated by Sato, 1998)

Translations of Works

  • Ruth McClellar translation: 'Nobody Knows the Little Country' (English, 1988)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Fantasy-oriented children's narrative styleTechnique of inserting realistic situational details into tales
Recurring Motifs
tiny people (Korobokkuru)coexistence with natureadventure and discovery

Health

  • Suspected tuberculosis (youth)
    1945（青年期）
    Resulted in evacuation and changes in living circumstances
  • heart failure
    2017（死去）
    Died of heart failure on 2017-02-09

Legacy

Through the Korobokkuru series and other fantasy works, he contributed to establishing fantasy in Japanese children's literature. He received numerous awards and official honors and helped popularize children's literature.

Museums

  • Kanagawa Museum of Modern Literature (Satoru Sato Korobokkuru Exhibition) Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Japan Writers' Association

Archives

  • National Diet Library (works and reference materials)

In Popular Culture

  • Exhibitions and events related to the Korobokkuru series

Trivia

  • Real name: Sato Akira (same reading)
  • His father was a naval officer who died in the Battle of Midway
  • Graduated from Kanto Gakuin (former technical school), worked as an editor before becoming a writer