Japanese Literary Awards

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Sawa Takabayashi

たかばやし さわ

Takabayashi Sawa

Pen Names: Sawa Takabayashi (as 高林 左和)（Pen name used for the 1981 submission to the 37th Shosetsu Gendai New Writer's Prize）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1945-05-03 （Chiba Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Lives in Chiba Prefecture, Japan

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Mystery writer, Former junior high school teacher, Former cram school instructor
Active Years
1981-
Influenced By
Ellery Queen, S. S. Van Dine, Agatha Christie, Tetsuya Ayukawa, Soji Shimada

Awards

37th Shosetsu Gendai New Writer's Prize
1981
Work: Morning on the Wabash River
Organization: Shosetsu Gendai
Result: winner
5th Bara-no-Machi Fukuyama Mystery Newcomer Award
2012
Work: Bilingual
Organization: Fukuyama Mystery Newcomer Award Committee
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Bilingual

2013 Mystery

A classical-style mystery involving family and language themes. The story won the Fukuyama Mystery Newcomer Award in 2012 and was published in book form in 2013.

Detective/mysteryFamilyCaregivingLanguage

Bibliography

  • Morning on the Wabash River
  • Bilingual

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Plain prose that incorporates classical mystery techniquesEmphasis on logical puzzles and narrative tricks
Recurring Motifs
Language / bilingualismFamily and caregivingClassical puzzle-solving

Legacy

After a career as a junior high teacher and cram-school instructor, she resumed writing later in life, won newcomer awards and debuted in book form. She is known for her appreciation of classical mystery writers and for applying traditional puzzle techniques in contemporary fiction.

Quotes

  • This writer has already reached a distinctive level of expression.
    Source: Soji Shimada (comment as a juror for the Fukuyama Mystery Newcomer Award) (2012)

Trivia

  • Won the 37th Shosetsu Gendai New Writer's Prize in 1981 under the name '高林 左和'.
  • Resumed writing around 2000 while caring for her mother.