Art Encouragement Prize for Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
1 appearances
-
Edition 16 (1966) award
Kyu Sugai
すがい きゅう
Sugai Kyu
Pen Names:
Sakai Kyu（Pen name used for early short stories）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1980-06-22 （Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan → Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan → Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Short story writer, Essayist
- Active Years
- 2004-
- Affiliations
- Waseda University Literary Circle
- Memberships
- Japan PEN Club
- Influenced By
- Haruki Murakami, Kobo Abe
- Influenced
- Akiko Kobayashi
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waseda University | Faculty of Letters | Department of Japanese Literature | 学士 | 1999-2003 | Japan |
Waseda University
Faculty of Letters
/ Department of Japanese Literature
Degree:
学士
Period:
1999-2003
Year of Graduation:
2003
Country:
Japan
Studied creative writing
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Nisshin Literary Prize | Rift of the Wind | 長編小説部門 | Nisshin Newspaper | 受賞 |
| 2010 | Wakaba Newcomer Award | Sleeping City | 新人賞 | Wakaba Literary Foundation | 受賞 |
Nisshin Literary Prize
2019
Work:
Rift of the Wind
Category:
長編小説部門
Organization:
Nisshin Newspaper
Result:
受賞
Wakaba Newcomer Award
2010
Work:
Sleeping City
Category:
新人賞
Organization:
Wakaba Literary Foundation
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Rift of the Wind
2019 Novel 312 pagesSet in a provincial town, the novel follows a protagonist confronting lost memories and uncovering family secrets. Mixing reality and fantasy, its lyrical prose explores solitude and personal renewal.
memoryalienationfamily
Adaptations
- [Film] Rift of the Wind / 中村秀一 (2021)
Translations
- English translation: 'Rift of the Wind' — translated by Anna Smith (2021)
Sleeping City
2015 Short story collection 220 pagesA short story collection linking fragmented perspectives of people walking through a sleeping city. It quietly portrays anxiety and kindness lurking in everyday life.
lonelinessurban lifenight
Adaptations
- [Stage play] Sleeping City / 森田香 (2017)
Translations
- English translation: 'Sleeping City' — translated by John Doe (2017)
Bibliography
- Garden of Short Nights (Short stories, 2010)
- Transparent Portrait (Novella, 2013)
- Sleeping City (Short story collection, 2015)
- Rift of the Wind (Novel, 2019)
- Memories by the Window (Essays, 2022)
Adaptations
- Film 'Rift of the Wind' (2021) — film adaptation
- Stage 'Sleeping City' (2017) — theatrical adaptation
Translations by Author
- Selected Short Stories by Raymond Carver (translator, 2012)
Translations of Works
- 'Rift of the Wind' — English translation by Anna Smith (2021)
- 'Sleeping City' — English translation by John Doe (2017)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- lyrical and poetic descriptionsintrospective first-person narrationblurring boundaries between reality and fantasy
- Recurring Motifs
- windfragmented memorythe sleeping city at night
Legacy
Kyu Sugai is a contemporary writer known for delicate depictions of urban peripheries and memory. Through film and stage adaptations his work reached broader audiences while retaining literary acclaim.
Academic Societies
- Japan Society for Contemporary Literature
Archives
- National Diet Library — Literature Section (holds materials)
In Popular Culture
- Film adaptation broadened public recognition
Quotes
-
Memory always appears after the wind has split.
Source: Rift of the Wind (2019) (2019)
Trivia
- Always prepares black coffee when writing
- Prefers window-side views and often changes writing locations