Dazai Osamu Award だざいおさむしょう
Edition 41 (2025)
Literary fictionNew writer award
Winners
1 peopleA part-time housewife in her forties, struggling with her son's school refusal, discovers she can summon her late grandmother's spirit after using a facial cleanser sample at a beauty shop. As she immerses herself in cleaning routines, the silent presence of her grandmother accompanies her through a quiet reckoning with family wounds and buried memories. A story of everyday hardship wrapped in whimsy and gentle pathos.
Armed with baking soda, facial cleanser, and memories of her childhood home, a part-time housewife endures the winter.
160 pages
spirit summoningschool refusalloneliness of middle-aged womencleaning as ritualgrandmother's memoryrootlessness in everyday life