Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Makoto Yoshikawa

よしかわ まこと

Yoshikawa Makoto

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1937-02-24 (Tokyo, Japan)
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Writer, Horse racing writer, Sportswriter
Active Years
1978-
Nominations
Akutagawa Prize nominee (1979, 'Receive the August Light'), Akutagawa Prize nominee (1979, 'Those Tearful Days'), Akutagawa Prize nominee (1980, 'Kandamura')

Education

Shiba High School
Country: Japan
Graduated (year unknown)
Komazawa University
Faculty of Buddhist Studies
Country: Japan
Withdrew after one year

Awards

Subaru Literary Prize
1978
Work: My Battlefield
Organization: Subaru editorial department (Shueisha)
Result: 受賞
JRA Award - Equestrian Culture Prize
1999
Work: Blood, Knowledge and Land: The Horse, Yoshida Zenya and Shadai
Organization: Japan Racing Association (JRA)
Result: 受賞
Mizuno Sportswriter Award (Excellence Prize)
1999
Work: Blood, Knowledge and Land: The Horse, Yoshida Zenya and Shadai
Category: 優秀賞
Organization: Mizuno
Result: 優秀賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

My Battlefield

1979 Fiction

Debut work; a collection of stories exploring personal struggles and ways of life.

midlife conflictpersonal struggleisolation

Receive the August Light

1979 Short fiction

An Akutagawa-nominated short story about loss and reflections on light.

lossmemorythe ordinary vs. the extraordinary

Those Tearful Days

1980 Fiction

A work depicting emotional subtleties; was nominated for the Akutagawa Prize.

emotionhuman relationshipsreminiscence

Kandamura

1980 Fiction

Depicts urban life and intersecting lives; was an Akutagawa Prize nominee.

urban lifehuman dramaintersecting lives

Blood, Knowledge and Land: The Horse, Yoshida Zenya and Shadai

1999 Non-fiction / Biography

Biographical non-fiction chronicling Yoshida Zenya, the Shadai Group, and the horse-racing world.

horse racingbiographyindustrial history

Letters to a Thoroughbred

2003 Non-fiction

An essay collection expressing thoughts and feelings about horse racing and thoroughbreds.

horse racingaffection for animalsreminiscence

Bibliography

  • My Battlefield
  • Those Tearful Days
  • Kandamura
  • Men Standing Still
  • Middle Age Aspires to Be a Writer
  • Farewell, Central and Pacific Professional Baseball
  • Teacher, A Question: For Moms and Dads Who Couldn't Do Arithmetic
  • Birds That Cannot Fly
  • If You're Going to Wander, Laugh: Talk, Joke, Walk
  • Ossu! High School Baseball (vols. 1–2, coauthored with Dousuke Satou)
  • If You're Going to, Be Middle Class
  • Kimigayo and My World
  • Connections: People Living at Shadai Farm
  • Race Town Intersection
  • Song of the Good-for-Nothings
  • Roku-chan Embracing the Sea
  • Horse Racing Anecdotes: Midlife Jump
  • Sea of Pleasure: A Youthful Erotic Novel
  • Kiss the Dream, Roku-chan
  • I Want to Be Called a Happy Horse-Racing Fan
  • Continued Connections: Shadai Farm and Its Companions
  • I Am Anti-Giants
  • Horse Racing Sentiments
  • Horse Racing Dreamscapes
  • Rain Falls on Aoyama Cemetery
  • Northern Stories: Hokkaido Within Tokyo
  • Smile Is Invincible: Giant Baba
  • Blood, Knowledge and Land: The Horse, Yoshida Zenya and Shadai
  • Sound of Life: Suhyun Who Became a Bridge
  • Letters to a Thoroughbred
  • The Famous Horses That Gave Me Life (2 vols.)
  • Haruurara of Kochi Horse Racing

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realisticsports literature with non-fictional reporting elementsbiographical/portrait-style narration
Recurring Motifs
horse racingprofessional baseballmiddle-aged male perspectivebiographical portraitsrural vs urban contrast

Legacy

A writer known for works on horse racing and professional sports. Noted for biographical accounts of figures related to the Shadai Group and for contributions to sports literature and reportage.

Archives

  • VIAF: 258066852
  • National Diet Library authority ID: 00109796
  • CiNii Books author ID: DA05396995
  • CiNii Research CRID: 1140845216730883712

Trivia

  • Entered Komazawa University's Faculty of Buddhist Studies but withdrew after one year.
  • Worked in various jobs including pharmaceutical sales, bartender, and jewelry company sales.
  • Many works focus on horse racing and professional sports.
  • Won the 2nd Subaru Literary Prize in 1978 for 'My Battlefield'.