Japanese Literary Awards

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Mahiro Sawaki

さわき まひろ

Sawaki Mahiro

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1965 （Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Screenwriter
Active Years
2006-

Education

Aoyama Gakuin University
Faculty of Letters / Department of Japanese Literature
Country: Japan

Awards

Da Vinci Literary Award
2006
Work: But Beautiful
Category: 優秀賞
Organization: Media Factory
Result: 受賞
Japan Love Story Award
2012
Work: The Last Love With You
Category: 大賞
Organization: Japan Love Story & Entertainment Award Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

44-Year-Old Department Head Woman

2012 Romance

First in the 'Department Head Woman' series. Follows a 44-year-old female department head, depicting workplace concerns and romance later in life.

middle-age romanceworkplacefemale growth

45-Year-Old Department Head Woman: Long-Distance Love Crisis

2013 Romance

Second in the series; centers on a long-distance relationship and portrays clashes in relationships and values.

long-distance romanceworkplaceclashing values

46-Year-Old Department Head Woman: Our Decision

2014 Romance

Third in the series. Portrays the decisions characters face at life crossroads and their consequences.

decision-makingmiddle-age romancelife choices

Heavenly Heaven

2008 Short story collection

A short story collection including pieces such as 'Farfalla', 'Lazy Lover', 'Kyoto Tower', 'Message from a Goddess', 'Sweet Relations', 'End of Vacation', 'Heavenly Heaven', 'Adventure', and 'A Day of Hers'. Delicate portrayals of small everyday events and emotions.

short storieseveryday liferomance

Blanket Time

2008 Romance

A novel/collection featuring gentle-toned romance stories and short pieces.

romanceeveryday lifecomfort

I Drown in Your Back

2008 Short stories / Romance

A collection of short stories that includes 'But Beautiful', the work awarded the Excellence Award at the 1st Da Vinci Literary Award, among others such as 'But Beautiful' and 'What's New?'.

short storiesromancelove across ages

The Night the Frozen Back Thaws

2009 Romance

A collection centered on love-themed short stories. As the title suggests, it depicts nights when frozen hearts begin to thaw.

emotional healingshort storiesromance

My Back and Your Sigh

2010 Romance

Contains longer and mid-length pieces portraying relationships and emotional fluctuations with a gentle touch.

subtle emotionsinterpersonal relationshipsromance

Something More Beautiful Than Love

2012 Romance

A set of short and mid-length pieces about love, beauty, loss, and renewal.

loss and renewalbeautyromance

The Last Love With You

2012 Romance

Winner of the 7th Japan Love Story Award. Originally submitted under the title 'Warinakikana'. Retitled and published in paperback in 2013 as 'Bitter Sweet Bitter'. Depicts middle-age romance and new beginnings.

middle-age romancenew beginningslife choices

I Can't Write Anymore! The Trials of Midlife New Author Kazane Tokida

2015 Fiction

A humorous novel about a midlife debut novelist, depicting the struggles and joys surrounding writing and publishing.

writer's lifehumormidlife

I'll Share Time Alone With You

2015 Romance / Short stories

A short story collection themed around spending time alone and the distances between people, depicting quiet everyday moments.

loneliness and connectioneveryday liferomance

The World Where You Were Twenty

2017 Romance

Explores youth and memories of the past contrasted with the present, centered on the theme of being twenty.

youthreminiscenceromance

Your Eyes Tell (Novelization)

2020 Novelization

A novelization of the film of the same name. Based on the screenplay by Yuichi Tome, the film was novelized and published (Takarajimasha Bunko).

novelizationfilm-literature relationromance

If You See Them, You'll Understand (screenplay)

2020 TV drama (screenplay)

Served as the screenwriter for the WOWOW drama '彼らを見ればわかること'. An example of collaboration with directors and cast in a screen production.

screenwritingadaptation to screencollaborative production

Bibliography

  • 44-Year-Old Department Head Woman
  • 45-Year-Old Department Head Woman: Long-Distance Love Crisis
  • 46-Year-Old Department Head Woman: Our Decision
  • Heavenly Heaven
  • Blanket Time
  • I Drown in Your Back
  • The Night the Frozen Back Thaws
  • My Back and Your Sigh
  • Something More Beautiful Than Love
  • The Last Love With You
  • Bitter Sweet Bitter (retitled)
  • I Can't Write Anymore! The Trials of Midlife New Author Kazane Tokida
  • I'll Share Time Alone With You
  • The World Where You Were Twenty
  • Your Eyes Tell (Novelization)

Adaptations

  • WOWOW drama '彼らを見ればわかること' (screenwriter, 2020)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Accessible contemporary proseRealistic female perspectivesMix of short stories and linked tales
Recurring Motifs
backs (physical/figurative)workplace romancemiddle-age romanceeveryday details

Legacy

Mahiro Sawaki is known for romance novels and short story collections, enjoying popularity especially among middle-aged female readers. She has received the Da Vinci Literary Award (Excellence Award) and the Japan Love Story Award, and has worked across media through novelizations and screenwriting.

In Popular Culture

  • Wrote the screenplay for the WOWOW drama '彼らを見ればわかること' (2020).
  • Her works have frequently appeared in Takarajimasha paperback editions and various anthologies, introduced as accessible light reads.

Trivia

  • Born in 1965 in Tokyo.
  • Graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University, Department of Japanese Literature.
  • Won the Excellence Award at the 1st Da Vinci Literary Award (2006) for 'But Beautiful'.
  • Won the 7th Japan Love Story Award (2012) for 'The Last Love With You'.
  • Official social account: @m_sawaki (X/formerly Twitter).
  • In addition to novels, she has written novelizations and TV drama screenplays.