Akutagawa Prize あくたがわりゅうのすけしょう
Edition 171 (2024)
Pure literatureNew talent awardShort story / Medium-length story
Winners
2 peopleThe Forty-Nine Days of the Salamander follows An and Shun, conjoined twin sisters who share one body. Their thoughts and memories are shared, yet their two consciousnesses never merge, inviting reflection on the boundaries between self and other, body and life.
A story of sisters who share one body while living as distinct consciousnesses.
144 pages
conjoined twinsself and otherbody and consciousnessfamilylife and death
Bari Sanko follows Hata, an employee at a building-renovation company who joins a company hiking group in the Rokko Mountains. When he learns that the isolated veteran worker Shika practices demanding off-trail climbing, Hata is drawn into a journey that sets mountain risk alongside the pressures of work and everyday life.
168 pages
mountaineeringworkplace relationshipsrisk and safetyisolationself-discoverynature and everyday life