Kodansha Essay Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 11 (1995) award
Sadao Shoji
しょうじ さだお
Shōji Sadao
Aliases:
庄司 禎雄
Pen Names:
Sadao Shoji（Used as pen name）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1937-10-30 （Koenji Minami, Suginami, Tokyo, Japan (then Tokyo City, Tokyo Prefecture)）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Koenji Minami (Suginami, Tokyo) → Otsuki, Yamanashi (evacuation during war) → Mumotamura, Nasu District, Tochigi (later Bato Town) → Nishi-Ogikubo (work residence) → Hachioji (family home)
Career
- Occupations
- manga artist, essayist
- Active Years
- 1967-
- Influenced By
- Osamu Dazai, Syohei Kiyama, Kouji Kashima, Morio Kita, Kokontei Shinsho (rakugo performer)
- Influenced
- Housuke Fukuchi (cartoonist; contemporary, friend/colleague), Hideo Iura (assistant; later manga artist)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Metropolitan Tachikawa High School | — | — | — | — | Japan |
| Waseda University, First Faculty of Letters (Russian Literature) | First Faculty of Letters | Department of Russian Literature | — | — | Japan |
Tokyo Metropolitan Tachikawa High School
Country:
Japan
Graduated high school
Waseda University, First Faculty of Letters (Russian Literature)
First Faculty of Letters
/ Department of Russian Literature
Country:
Japan
Attended but did not complete degree (dropped out)
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 16th Bungeishunju Manga Award | Tanma-kun / Shin Manga Bungaku Zenshu | — | Bungeishunju | 受賞 |
| 1995 | 11th Kodansha Essay Award | Buta no Marukajiri | — | Kodansha | 受賞 |
| 1997 | 45th Kikuchi Kan Prize | — | — | Kikuchi Kan Prize | 受賞 |
| 2000 | Medal with Purple Ribbon | — | — | Government of Japan | 受章 |
| 2001 | 30th Japan Cartoonists Association Award (Grand Prize) | Asatte-kun | — | Japan Cartoonists Association | 大賞 |
| 2011 | Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays | — | — | Government of Japan | 受章 |
16th Bungeishunju Manga Award
1970
Work:
Tanma-kun / Shin Manga Bungaku Zenshu
Organization:
Bungeishunju
Result:
受賞
11th Kodansha Essay Award
1995
Work:
Buta no Marukajiri
Organization:
Kodansha
Result:
受賞
45th Kikuchi Kan Prize
1997
Organization:
Kikuchi Kan Prize
Result:
受賞
Medal with Purple Ribbon
2000
Organization:
Government of Japan
Result:
受章
30th Japan Cartoonists Association Award (Grand Prize)
2001
Work:
Asatte-kun
Organization:
Japan Cartoonists Association
Result:
大賞
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays
2011
Organization:
Government of Japan
Result:
受章
Awards & Nominations
Kikuchi Kan Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 51 (1997) award
Works
Major Works
Asatte-kun
1974 4-panel mangaA long-running 4-panel comic strip serialized in the Mainichi Shimbun, mixing daily-life humor and social satire.
everyday lifesalaryman lifenonsense humor
Tanma-kun
1968 mangaOne of his early representative works serialized in Weekly Bunshun, a series of short humorous and satirical pieces.
humorsocial satire
Salaryman Senka
1969 manga (salaryman comedy)A long-running series depicting salaryman life with unique humor. A live-action film adaptation was made in 1995.
salarymanworkplace scenesobservation of human nature
Adaptations
- [live-action film] Salaryman Senka (film) (1995)
I Want to Eat This and That (Marukajiri series)
1987 essay (food & life observation)An essay series focused on food and everyday observations. Many pieces were published as books and paperbacks.
food culturelife observationtravel writing
Bibliography
- Manga Bungaku Zenshu (multiple volumes)
- Shoji-kun series (multiple volumes)
- Tanma-kun (volumes & paperbacks)
- Marukajiri series (essay collections)
Adaptations
- Salaryman Senka (live-action film)
- Seishun Zengo Fuku (TV drama adaptation from 'Shoji-kun no Seishunki')
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Showa light-flippant style (short lines, frequent breaks at periods)heavy use of onomatopoeiadeliberately unpolished 'heta-uma' drawing style
- Recurring Motifs
- salaryman daily lifefood and dining outbaseball (amateur enthusiast)nonsense humor
Health
-
liver cancer2015Underwent surgery and treatment in 2015. Wrote and published an essay based on the hospitalization experience; recovery allowed continuation of writing.
Legacy
A widely known writer and cartoonist for humor essays and long-running newspaper strips. His long serializations and distinctive style have had significant influence on Japanese lighthearted essay culture.
Archives
- Broadcast Library (holds archived commercials and related material)
In Popular Culture
- Long-running strips like 'Asatte-kun' became part of newspaper culture and influenced essay/manga styles that followed
Quotes
-
My trade tool is humor.
Source: Interview / quoted remark (2014)
Trivia
- Serialized 'Asatte-kun' in Mainichi Shimbun from 1974 to 2014, achieving 13,749 installments (a record later surpassed).
- An avid amateur baseball player who once rented the Tokyo Dome for a game; played infield.
- Many essays have been published as books and paperbacks, notably the 'Marukajiri' series.