Kodansha Essay Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 30 (2014) award
Akira Suei
すえい あきら
Suei Akira
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1948-06-14 （Yoshinaga, Okayama, Japan (now Bizen)）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Religion
- Christianity
- Residence History
- Yoshinaga, Okayama (now Bizen) → Kawasaki, Kanagawa → Shibuya, Tokyo → Osaka (short-term employment)
Career
- Occupations
- editor, writer, saxophonist
- Active Years
- 1975-
- Influenced By
- Masaaki Hiraoka, Nobuyoshi Araki
- Influenced
- Rieko Saibara
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okayama Prefectural Bizen Ryokuyo High School | Mechanical Department | Mechanical Department | — | — | Japan |
| Aoyama Design School (night course) | Graphic Design | Graphic Design (night course) | — | 1967 - | Japan |
Okayama Prefectural Bizen Ryokuyo High School
Mechanical Department
/ Mechanical Department
Country:
Japan
After high school worked briefly as a factory worker
Aoyama Design School (night course)
Graphic Design
/ Graphic Design (night course)
Period:
1967 -
Country:
Japan
Studied in the night course while working on signboard design
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Kodansha Essay Award | Suicide | — | Kodansha | 受賞 |
Kodansha Essay Award
2014
Work:
Suicide
Organization:
Kodansha
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
A Wonderful Dynamite Scandal
1982 Autobiography / EssayAn autobiographical essay recounting his time as a factory worker, his career as an editor, personal setbacks and recovery, told with humor and sharpness.
autobiographysubculturegamblingpoverty and recovery
Adaptations
- [Film] A Wonderful Dynamite Scandal (2018)
Suicide
2013 EssayA collection of essays on death and life from the author's perspective. Recipient of the Kodansha Essay Award.
views on life and deathsocial criticismpersonal experience
Bibliography
- A Wonderful Dynamite Scandal (1982)
- Tokyo Explosion Kid (1985)
- The Lesson of ¥174,140 (1989)
- Suicide (2013)
- To Live (2018)
- What Will You Do If You Live to 100? (2022)
Adaptations
- A Wonderful Dynamite Scandal (film adaptation, 2018)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- frank first-person narrationhumor combined with sharp self-critiquea subcultural perspective
- Recurring Motifs
- gamblingthe loser’s perspectiveworking-class liferedemption and confession
Legacy
As a magazine editor he helped cultivate subcultural publications and gained support for candid, down-to-earth essays. His autobiographical works were adapted for film and have left a mark on popular culture.
In Popular Culture
- Film adaptation of his autobiographical essay (A Wonderful Dynamite Scandal)
Trivia
- At age seven his mother died in a dynamite suicide with a young man.
- He launched and made the pachinko magazine 'Pachinko Hissho Guide' a hit, but suffered large debts after the bubble economy collapsed.
- He participates as a saxophonist in the band 'Pathos'.
- He remarried in his 40s and practices teachings of the Bible.