Shosetsu Subaru Newcomer Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 7 (1994) award
Ayumu Ueno
うえの あゆむ
Ueno Ayumu
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1962-05-27 （Sumida, Tokyo, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Sumida, Tokyo (downtown), Japan
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Writer, Essayist, Former journalist, Part-time lecturer
- Active Years
- 1994-
- Affiliations
- Senshu University, part-time lecturer (1995–1998, 2003–2006)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senshu University | Faculty of Letters | Department of Japanese Literature | — | — | Japan |
Senshu University
Faculty of Letters
/ Department of Japanese Literature
Country:
Japan
There is an anecdote that his graduation thesis was submitted three minutes late and he repeated a year, but he is reported to have graduated from Senshu University.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Shosetsu Subaru Newcomer Prize | You'll Be Together with Your Lover | — | Shueisha | Winner |
| 2018 | Kappie Award | Kiri's Barbershop | — | Kappie Award Committee | Winner |
| 2023 | Selected by the National School Library Association | The Candy Ship | — | National School Library Association (Japan) | Selected |
Shosetsu Subaru Newcomer Prize
1994
Work:
You'll Be Together with Your Lover
Organization:
Shueisha
Result:
Winner
Kappie Award
2018
Work:
Kiri's Barbershop
Organization:
Kappie Award Committee
Result:
Winner
Selected by the National School Library Association
2023
Work:
The Candy Ship
Organization:
National School Library Association (Japan)
Result:
Selected
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
You'll Be Together with Your Lover
1994 NovelDebut work; a piece that sensitively depicts human relationships and love.
LoveHuman relationshipsContemporary life
Charcoal Grey
1995 NovelA novel focusing on urban life and the inner world of individuals.
Urban lifeLonelinessSelf-exploration
Gently Like the Morning Sun
1998 NovelA work that quietly portrays small everyday events and human relationships.
Everyday lifeFamilyRebirth
Love in the Afternoon
2001 NovelA novella with autobiographical elements; motifs include his personal experience such as the late submission of his graduation thesis.
Autobiographical fictionReminiscenceLove
Narimono-shi: Otonashi Yukari Case Files
2011 MysteryA series-like work featuring the heroine Otonashi Yukari, who calls herself a 'narimono-shi', and the cases she is involved in.
MysteryDetectiveHuman relationships
Translations
- Retitled and reissued in 2017 by Bungeisha Bunko NEO
The Shaver
2015 NovelOne of the works focusing on occupations and craftsmen; depicts detailed aspects of workplaces and work.
OccupationCraftsmenWorkplace
Kiri's Barbershop
2018 NovelA novel set in a barbershop that explores occupations and human relationships. Winner of the 17th Kappie Award.
WorkBarbershopLocal community
My Workplace Is a Screw Factory
2019 NovelA novel about factories and working people; themed around labor.
LaborFactoryWorkplace
The Foundry That Can Make Anything
2020 NovelA story depicting the world of foundry craftsmen and the local community.
CraftsmenCommunityManufacturing
The Candy Ship
2023 NovelA work with an accessible voice for younger readers that weaves stories of family and community. Selected by the National School Library Association.
FamilyCommunityComing of age
Bibliography
- You'll Be Together with Your Lover (1994)
- Charcoal Grey (1995)
- Gently Like the Morning Sun (1998)
- Love in the Afternoon (2001)
- Narimono-shi: Otonashi Yukari Case Files (2011)
- Narimono-shi: Otonashi Yukari — The Client's Kotodama (2017)
- The Shaver (2015)
- I'll Become the President of the Mold Shop (2015)
- From Azumacho, Sumida-ku to a Black Hole (2016)
- Detective Dazai Osamu (2017)
- Kiri's Barbershop (2018)
- My Workplace Is a Screw Factory (2019)
- A City Hall That Does This Much!? (2020)
- The Foundry That Can Make Anything (2020)
- The Labor G-Men Are Coming! (2021)
- I'll Make It My Vocation! (2021)
- Welcome to the Cookware Shop (2022)
- I Will Slash Into Your Workplace! (2022)
- The Candy Ship (2023)
- To Bury (2023)
- Neighborhood Trouble Shooter (2024)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- A realist-leaning style that carefully depicts occupations and craftsmenAn approachable, conversational tone
- Recurring Motifs
- Occupation and workDowntown Tokyo (shitamachi)CraftsmenWorkplace detailLocal community
Legacy
Known for warmly depicting occupations and working people; his works on local communities and craftsmen have been well regarded. Selections by school libraries indicate reach among younger readers.
Quotes
-
I was actually hibernating for a long time. I had lost sight of what kind of novels I should write. During that time I met professionals from various fields. They all had pride and spirit in their work, and they taught me to write novels with 'work' as the theme.
Source: Shosetsu Subaru, March 2017 issue (essay "Curtain Call") (2017) -
There is a self-mocking anecdote that he attached a tanzaku wishing 'May I win the Nobel Prize in Literature'.
Source: Anecdote about a Tanabata wish from his university days
Trivia
- There is an anecdote that his graduation thesis was submitted three minutes late, causing him to repeat a year.
- Born and raised in downtown Sumida, Tokyo; his family ran a small plastic molding workshop.
- He wrote that his uncle gave him beer for the first time in junior high, and by high school he had become a person who could 'hold his liquor'.
- Debuted in 1994 by winning the 7th Shosetsu Subaru Newcomer Prize with "You'll Be Together with Your Lover".
- He experienced a long period without new novels until 2011, after which he began writing novels themed on work.