All Yomimono Newcomer Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 40 (1972) award
Tadao Taira
たいら ただお
Taira Tadao
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1978-05-14 （Tokushima City, Tokushima, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, essayist, translator
- Active Years
- 2003-
- Affiliations
- Japan PEN Club
- Influenced By
- Hiromi Kawakami, Shusaku Endo
- Influenced
- Younger novelists (post-2010 generation)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waseda University | Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences | Department of Japanese Literature | 文学士 | 1997-2001 | Japan |
Waseda University
Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences
/ Department of Japanese Literature
Degree:
文学士
Period:
1997-2001
Year of Graduation:
2001
Country:
Japan
Began creative activities in doujinshi magazines during studies
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Akutagawa Prize | The Boat Returning to the Sea | — | Akutagawa Prize Selection Committee | 受賞 |
Akutagawa Prize
2019
Work:
The Boat Returning to the Sea
Organization:
Akutagawa Prize Selection Committee
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Boat Returning to the Sea
2018 short story collection 192 pagesA collection of interlinked short stories set in a coastal hometown, focusing on characters confronting their pasts. Fragments of memory, family ties, loss, and renewal are portrayed in a quiet, lyrical style.
memoryfamilynostalgialoss
Adaptations
- [Film] Return to the Sea / 佐藤直樹 (2020)
Translations
- English translation: Return to the Sea (2021)
The Song of the Lost Town
2021 novel 320 pagesA novel depicting several generations living in a declining port town. Addressing urbanization, the erosion of memory, and intergenerational divides, the work weaves local voices into an epic narrative.
urbanizationlossintergenerational divide
Translations
- English translation: The Song of the Lost Town (2022)
Bibliography
- Short Stories 'Scent of the Tide' (2009)
- Blueprints of Night (2013)
- Port Town Fragments (2015)
- The Boat Returning to the Sea (2018)
- The Song of the Lost Town (2021)
Adaptations
- The Boat Returning to the Sea — film adaptation (2020)
Translations of Works
- 'The Boat Returning to the Sea' English translation: Return to the Sea (Bloomsbury, 2021)
- 'The Song of the Lost Town' French translation: Le Chant de la Lost Town (2023)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- lyricalquiet proseblurs the boundary between reality and the fantastic
- Recurring Motifs
- seachildhoodabandoned houses
Health
-
depression2012-2014Caused a temporary slowdown in writing activities; after recovery his works gained deeper introspective qualities.
Legacy
Known for delicate portrayals of hometown landscapes and personal memory, he influenced younger writers in the 2010s and contributed to a renewed appreciation for short fiction and regional literature.
Museums
- Tadao Taira Memorial Room (Tokushima City Library) 2nd floor, Tokushima City Library Opened in 2023
Academic Societies
- Modern Literature Society
Archives
- Tokushima Prefectural Archives (personal papers)
- Waseda University Library, Modern Literature Room
In Popular Culture
- 'The Boat Returning to the Sea' film adaptation (2020) and TV drama adaptation (2022)
Quotes
-
Writing is an act of reconciling with the past.
Source: Asahi Shimbun interview (2019) -
I hope the voices of small towns will someday become great stories.
Source: Akutagawa Prize acceptance speech (2019)
Trivia
- Often rents a seaside cottage in summer to write.
- The old port landscapes in his works are modeled on his actual hometown.
- Prefers green tea to coffee