Japanese Literary Awards

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Japan Children’s Literature Association Award

にほんじどうぶんがくしゃきょうかいしょう

The Japan Children’s Literature Association (a public interest incorporated association) awards outstanding single-volume books in children’s literature creative works, criticism, and research every year.

Creative WorksCriticism and Research
Established
1961
Organizer
Japan Children’s Literature Association
Category
Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Target
Professional
Frequency
1 per year
Announcement Period
around April–May
Status
Active

Description

The Japan Children’s Literature Association Award is presented annually by the Japan Children’s Literature Association (a public interest incorporated association) to outstanding single-volume books in children’s literature creative works, criticism, and research published from January to December of the previous year.

Related Awards

  • Japan Children’s Literature Association Newcomer Award
  • Mitsukoshi Sakahito Boys’ Poetry Award
  • Japan Children’s Literature Association Criticism Newcomer Award
  • Long Children’s Fiction Newcomer Award

Official Resources

https://jibunkyo.or.jp/

Past Winners

Miku Ito いとうみく award
Hiko Tanaka ひこ・たなか award
Etsuko Yamamoto やまもと えつこ award
Mikie Ando あんどう みきえ award

『夜叉神川』は、川の上流から海へと続く五つの物語を収めた安東みきえの短編集。

Yashajin-gawa is a short-story collection by Mikie Ando, gathering five stories that move from the upper reaches of the river down to the sea.

242 pages
児童文学短編集家族
Tetsuya Tanaka たなか てつや award

『オイモはときどきいなくなる』は、犬のオイモがときどき姿を消す不思議な日常を描く田中哲弥の創作童話。

Oimo wa Tokidoki Inakunaru is a children’s story by Tetsuya Tanaka about the mysterious everyday life of a dog named Oimo who disappears from time to time.

128 pages
児童文学創作童話不思議
Hirochika Ishikawa いしかわ ひろちか award

若者たちの感情や反骨心を丁寧に描いた長編。日本児童文学者協会賞受賞作。

拝啓パンクスノットデッドさま

青春反骨心自己表現
Susumu Yamaguchi やまぐち すすむ award

トンボ(アキアカネ)を題材に、日本の自然と文化を繋ぐ視点でまとめた著作。児童文学者協会賞を受賞。

万葉と令和をつなぐアキアカネ

生態と文化の接点地域の自然保護
Madoka Sato さとう まどか award

A coming-of-age novel set in an Italian town about a boy choosing whether to continue pursuing music.

In a world where talent alone is not enough, a boy chooses his own path forward.

240 pages
children's literaturecoming of agemusicchoiceItaly
Kana Yasuda やすだ なつな award

Mukogishi is a work of children's literature about Kazuma, who transfers to a public junior high school after failing to keep up at an elite school, and Itsuki, who lives with her family on public assistance. Beginning from mutual incomprehension, the novel examines poverty and inequality from the perspective of junior high school students and searches for ways to face them.

As each learns the pain of someone they thought was on the far shore, their worlds begin to change.

258 pages
child povertyinequalitypublic assistancesafe placessolidarity among junior high students
Kyoko Imai いまい きょうこ award

Konpira Inu is a children's novel about the custom of sending a dog to make a pilgrimage from Edo to Konpira in Sanuki on behalf of its owner. Mutsuki, a dog devoted to his owner Yayoi, travels through encounters that convey a time when faith and everyday life were closely connected.

A carefully researched historical children's novel in which Mutsuki the dog travels from Edo to Konpira.

344 pages
historical children's literaturedogjourneyfaithEdo period
Hiko Tanaka ひこ・たなか award

The Junior High Fledgling trilogy follows Narita Tetsuo, known as Tetsuo, as he moves from the end of elementary school into junior high. With humor and a lived-in Kansai voice, it traces his anxiety at entering a different school from his friends and the way club activities, the PR committee, and the school festival change how he sees his new world.

Even a hesitant boy can become a junior high student. This trilogy follows Tetsuo through a school life full of firsts.

394 pages
junior high school lifegrowing upfriendshipclub activitiesschool festivals
Hidetaka Okazaki おかざき ひでたか award

トンヤンクイがやってきた is a 小説 work by 岡崎ひでたか associated with the 2016 受賞 record. The entry summarizes the work from award records and bibliographic checks, focusing on its subject, publication status, and reading context.

トンヤンクイがやってきた by 岡崎ひでたか is a work whose subject and publication status can be traced through award and bibliographic records.

31 pages
award-winning workbibliographic verificationcontemporary literature
Shō Kutsuki くちき しょう award

あひるの手紙 by 朽木祥 is introduced here as a work centered on 児童文学, 手紙. The story and background are summarized from publisher, library, and award information checked during research.

A work in which 児童文学 shapes the reader's path into the story.

224 pages
identityfamilymemoryfear
Etsuko Bushika たけしか えつこ award

星(詩集) is a work by 武鹿悦子, recorded here as a 受賞 selection. The entry summarizes the award context and bibliographic findings in a form suitable for a work profile.

A concise profile of 星(詩集) by 武鹿悦子, including award and bibliographic context.

189 pages
award-winning workcontemporary literaturebibliographic verification
Rie Muranaka むらなか りえ award

Charshu no Tsuki is a Japanese literary work that explores memory, relationships, self-discovery. It presents its subject through a focused narrative or poetic frame shaped by the work's award context.

Charshu no Tsuki presents its award-winning themes in an accessible literary form.

222 pages
memoryrelationshipsself-discovery

Masamoto Nasu's Hiroshima trilogy follows memories and everyday life in Hiroshima from the atomic bombing through postwar recovery and later decades, seen through three generations of women. It turns history into family life, local language, and daily choices rather than distant knowledge.

A trilogy that views postwar Hiroshima through the lives of three generations of women and carries memory forward.

Hiroshimapostwar historyfamily memory
Mutsumi Ishii いしい むつみ award

Yuka, a high school student raised in a potters’ village, finds her daily life unsettled by rumors about a transfer student from Tokyo. The novel traces the fixed rhythm of place and the changes of adolescence through signs as fragile as a paper airplane.

In an unchanging potters’ village, a girl’s heart begins to move.

223 pages
adolescencepotters’ villagetransfer studentfamily and placechildren’s literature
Michiko Yoshida よしだ みちこ award

Lonely Kanko meets Fusuke, who calls a flat stone in an empty lot “the table of the Yamato shijimi butterfly.” Through a warm relationship beyond blood ties, the story portrays childhood loneliness and mutual support.

The name of a small table gives a lonely child a place to belong.

121 pages
lonelinessfamily-like bondsa child’s place to belongencouragementchildren’s literature
Naoko Uozumi award

園芸少年 is a work by 魚住直子. Children's literature that stays close to a young reader's view and presents moments of growth and discovery.

園芸少年 draws readers into its world through concentrated language and the force of its subject.

162 pages
memorytimehuman relationshipsthe force of expression

風の陰陽師 is a work by 三田村信行. Children's literature that stays close to a young reader's view and presents moments of growth and discovery.

風の陰陽師 draws readers into its world through concentrated language and the force of its subject.

391 pages
memorytimehuman relationshipsthe force of expression

やぶ坂に吹く風 is a work by 高橋秀雄. 『やぶ坂に吹く風』は高橋秀雄による作品。受賞歴を通じて知られ、人物の感情や時代性を軸にした読み味を持つ。

やぶ坂に吹く風 presents 高橋秀雄's literary concerns through a compact and memorable form.

196 pages
文学賞受賞作
Joko Iwase award

そのぬくもりはきえない is a work by 岩瀬成子 selected for the 日本児童文学者協会賞. It was published as a book, so both its award status and its book publication can be identified.

そのぬくもりはきえない

285 pages
children's literaturecoming of agefamily

猫町五十四番地 is a work by 間中ケイ子 selected for the 日本児童文学者協会賞. It was published as a book, so both its award status and its book publication can be identified.

猫町五十四番地

83 pages
children's literaturecoming of agefamily
Taki Kusano award

ハーフ is a 児童文学 by 草野たき. The work develops its subject through a focused narrative voice and leaves room for readers to consider the emotions and social questions behind the story.

A focused 児童文学 that follows the pressure points hidden in everyday life and memory.

210 pages
family and memoryself-discoverysocial pressure

A historical fantasy set in the late Heian period, following a boy gifted with the flute and a girl bound to dance. Art, spirits, faith, and war draw their love and destiny into a larger tale.

Flute and dance open a path through a darkening age and set two young lives in motion.

590 pages
late Heian periodperforming artslovehistorical fantasy

A critical study of representations of disabled people in children's literature. Through bodies, society, discrimination, and coexistence in fiction, it considers how books for children shape human understanding.

Reading the ethics and imagination of children's books through their portrayals of disability.

214 pages
children's literature criticismdisability representationcoexistencerepresentation
Makiko Satou award

A linked collection about four sixth-grade classmates, Ayako, Marina, Shogo, and Ryohei, each experiencing an unforgettable first. It portrays the pain, expectation, and loneliness of growing up with a warm gaze.

Four children in the same classroom encounter first experiences they will never forget.

231 pages
children's literaturefirst experiencesgrowing upfriendshipelementary school
Masamoto Nasu special award

A long-running children's series by Masamoto Nasu. Centered on a trio from Hanayama No. 2 Elementary School, it crosses adventure, incidents, school life, and local community.

A long series that follows a trio's adventures and children's curiosity about everyday life and society.

children's literatureseriesadventurefriendshipschool life
Yu Ito award

Keita, a soccer-loving boy in suburban Sapporo, keeps meeting transfer students named Yuki at turning points in his elementary school life. Through his encounter with the fourth Yuki in sixth grade, the novel vividly portrays children’s hopes, anxieties, isolation, and growth.

Each Yuki appears and leaves, marking a new season in the boy’s heart.

208 pages
transfer studentsfriendshipcoming of ageelementary school life
Hiroshi Sunada special award

This volume gathers Hiroshi Sunada’s criticism on children’s literature from the 1960s through the 1990s. Moving across society, war, media, and writer studies, it reconsiders literature for children amid historical change.

The book gathers the work of a critic who read children’s literature within society and history.

375 pages
children’s literature criticismpostwar literaturewriter studiessocial critique
Naoko Okada award

ひなこちゃんと歩く道 by 岡田なおこ is an award-winning work that conveys the author's voice through compressed language and a focused treatment of its themes.

ひなこちゃんと歩く道 by 岡田なおこ is an award-winning work that conveys the author's voice through compressed language and a focused treatment of its themes.

award-winning workcontemporary literature

水底の棺 by 中川なをみ is an award-winning work that conveys the author's voice through compressed language and a focused treatment of its themes.

水底の棺 by 中川なをみ is an award-winning work that conveys the author's voice through compressed language and a focused treatment of its themes.

award-winning workcontemporary literature
Chiyoko Okii award

空ゆく舟 by Chiyoko Okii is known as a 日本児童文学者協会賞 winning work, shaping its subject through relationships, memory, and the atmosphere of its time.

空ゆく舟 is an award-recognized work by Chiyoko Okii.

167 pages
award-winning workcontemporary literaturerelationships

ぎりぎりトライアングル by Mitsuru Hanagata is known as a 日本児童文学者協会賞 winning work, shaping its subject through relationships, memory, and the atmosphere of its time.

ぎりぎりトライアングル is an award-recognized work by Mitsuru Hanagata.

205 pages
award-winning workcontemporary literaturerelationships
Ippei Mogami award

A children’s book set in a depopulated mountain village, centering on old Otra and the fox of Nukui Mountain. Around the brief happiness of an elderly woman who gains someone to talk to, it portrays the humor and resilience of people living carefully in a rural community.

A small encounter in a mountain village brings warmth to days of old age.

174 pages
mountain villageagingsolitudepeople and naturehumor
Nahoko Uehashi うえはし なほこ award

闇の守り人 is 刊行作品 by 上橋菜穂子. It is presented here as the award-recognized work.

The work offers a way into 上橋菜穂子's literary expression.

award-recognized literature
Natsumi Nagasaki ながさき なつみ award

トゥインクル is 作品 by 長崎夏海. It is presented here as the award-recognized work.

The work offers a way into 長崎夏海's literary expression.

award-recognized literature
Atsuko Asano あさの あつこ award

"バッテリーII" is a children's literary work by あさのあつこ. Reliable book identifiers for a standalone volume could not be confirmed.

"バッテリーII" is recognized as a children's literary work.

children's literary workaward-winning work
Nobuo Sakurai さくらい のぶお award

"ハテルマシキナ よみがえりの島 波照間" is a children's literary work by 桜井 信夫. Its publication as a book is confirmed, and it is treated as the award-winning work.

"ハテルマシキナ よみがえりの島 波照間" is recognized as a children's literary work.

183 pages
children's literary workaward-winning work
Takako Sato さとう たかこ award

A children's novel in which a family's daily life changes after an iguana arrives, humorously portraying life with a living creature.

A children's novel in which a family's daily life changes after an iguana arrives, humorously portraying life with a living creature.

children's literaturefamilyiguanadaily life
No winner
Kenji Kitamura きたむら けんじ award

A children's novel that portrays nature and moments of growth through a child's perspective.

A children's novel that portrays nature and moments of growth through a child's perspective.

324 pages
work overview
Masamoto Nasu なす まさみき award

お江戸の百太郎 乙松、宙に舞う is a literary work recognized by an award. Through character choices, the atmosphere of time and place, and shifts in feeling, it conveys the author's central concerns.

A work in which the author's themes emerge through characters and the atmosphere of their time.

literaturerelationshipstime and placeemotion
Sumiko Yatsuka やつか すみこ award

青春航路ふぇにっくす丸 by 八束澄子 is a work recognized by japan-children-literature-association-award. No standalone book identifiers were confirmed, so the entry focuses on the work itself.

An introduction to 青春航路ふぇにっくす丸 by 八束澄子 in its award context.

award-winning workliterary prize青春航路ふぇにっくす丸
Yasuko Funasaki ふなさき やすこ award

亀八 is a work of children’s literature by 舟崎靖子. It was honored by the 日本児童文学者協会賞 and presents the writer's concerns and style in a focused form.

A useful entry point into 舟崎靖子's work.

a work of children’s literatureaward-winning work
Masako Shimizu しみず まさこ award

子どもの本のまなざし is a work of children’s literature by 清水真砂子. It was honored by the 日本児童文学者協会賞 and presents the writer's concerns and style in a focused form.

A useful entry point into 清水真砂子's work.

282 pages
a work of children’s literatureaward-winning work
Yamashita Haruo やました あきお award

Kamome no Ie is a work of children’s literature written by Haruo Yamashita with illustrations by Akira Uno. It layers the atmosphere of the seaside with a child’s shifting emotions, reflecting thoughts of home, family, and belonging.

Around a house by the sea, a child’s feelings begin to move quietly.

366 pages
children’s literatureseaside storyfamily
Aquirax Uno うの あきら award

The illustrations for Kamome no Ie visually support the seaside atmosphere and the child’s inner life. Akira Uno’s line and use of space add fantasy and delicate shading to Haruo Yamashita’s prose.

Image and language resonate together, giving the seaside story a distinctive afterglow.

366 pages
children’s literaturepicture-book imaginationseaside story
Makoto Oishi おおいし まこと special award

The Sleepless Child is a children's novel about Taku, a fifth-grade boy who wanders through town at night because he cannot sleep. Through his longing for a mysterious glowing house, it portrays urban childhood loneliness, emotional thirst, and the border between reality and fantasy.

A glowing house found on a sleepless night quietly unsettles a boy's lonely heart.

221 pages
children's literatureurban lonelinessnightfantasy
Hiro Miyagawa みやがわ ひろ award

桂子は風のなかで is a children's literary work by 宮川ひろ. It follows a child-centered perspective and presents growth, family, friendship, and changes in everyday life as a story.

桂子は風のなかで is an important work for reading 宮川ひろ's expression in the context of 日本児童文学者協会賞.

206 pages
growthfamilychild's perspective
Takashi Kawamura かわむら たかし award

A long children's-literature series set in Shintotsukawa, Hokkaido, depicting migration and settlement as the history of family and community. Hardship and hope across generations are built into a story accessible to young readers.

The time of people living on settled land is passed down across generations.

Hokkaidosettlementfamily history
Michio Yoshihashi よしはし みちお award

A children's work set in Kyoto, layering children's daily lives with the presence of history. The light motion of a pinwheel reflects the memory of the city and the time of growth.

A pinwheel turning in Kyoto's wind carries the children's time.

162 pages
Kyotogrowthurban memory
Tatsuya Saragai さらかい たつや award

海のメダカ is a work by 皿海達哉 selected in the 1988 cycle of 日本児童文学者協会賞. As a prize-recognized work, it presents the author's concerns and distinctive mode of expression.

海のメダカ by 皿海達哉, recognized by 日本児童文学者協会賞.

277 pages
prize-recognized workcontemporary literatureauthorial expression
Shinta Chō なが しんた award

海のメダカ is a work by 長新太 selected in the 1988 cycle of 日本児童文学者協会賞. As a prize-recognized work, it presents the author's concerns and distinctive mode of expression.

海のメダカ by 長新太, recognized by 日本児童文学者協会賞.

277 pages
prize-recognized workcontemporary literatureauthorial expression
Jun Okada おかだ じゅん award

学校ウサギをつかまえろ is a 児童文学 by 岡田淳. It presents its subject through a clear artistic perspective, giving shape to personal experience, historical context, and the texture of expression in a way suitable for readers encountering the work today.

学校ウサギをつかまえろ condenses the qualities of 岡田淳's work in the form of a 児童文学.

110 pages
子ども成長家庭学校
Masao Kogure こぐれ まさお award

街かどの夏休み is a 児童文学 by 木暮正夫. It presents its subject through a clear artistic perspective, giving shape to personal experience, historical context, and the texture of expression in a way suitable for readers encountering the work today.

街かどの夏休み condenses the qualities of 木暮正夫's work in the form of a 児童文学.

159 pages
子ども成長家庭学校
Iida Yoshihiko いいだ えいひこ award

Once, There Was a Forest is a long children's novel written by Eihiko Iida and illustrated by Daihachi Ota. Students and teachers turn into animals after passing through a tunnel of trees on the way to school, and the mystery is linked to an ancient adventure and tragedy.

Beyond a tunnel of trees, school life becomes connected to memories from ancient times.

575 pages
children's literaturetransformationschoolancient memoryadventure
Daihachi Ota おおた だいはち award

Once, There Was a Forest is a long children's novel written by Eihiko Iida and illustrated by Daihachi Ota. Students and teachers turn into animals after passing through a tunnel of trees on the way to school, and the mystery is linked to an ancient adventure and tragedy.

Beyond a tunnel of trees, school life becomes connected to memories from ancient times.

575 pages
children's literaturetransformationschoolancient memoryadventure
Taichi Kato かとう たいいち award

Grassland: The Land of Me and the Calf is a children's novel by Taichi Kato with illustrations by Shinta Cho. Set on the broad grasslands of Hokkaido, it follows a boy and a calf while portraying the harshness of nature, the feel of life, and the process of growing up.

On the Hokkaido grasslands, a boy learns the weight of life through his bond with a calf.

149 pages
children's literatureHokkaidograsslandranch lifecoming of age
Shinta Chō なが しんた award

Grassland: The Land of Me and the Calf is a children's novel by Taichi Kato with illustrations by Shinta Cho. Set on the broad grasslands of Hokkaido, it follows a boy and a calf while portraying the harshness of nature, the feel of life, and the process of growing up.

On the Hokkaido grasslands, a boy learns the weight of life through his bond with a calf.

149 pages
children's literatureHokkaidograsslandranch lifecoming of age
Seki Hideo せき ひでお award

体験的児童文学史 is a critical and research-oriented work by 関英雄. It reads literary and cultural history through concrete works and figures, making the subject accessible beyond a specialist readership.

体験的児童文学史 conveys the qualities recognized at the time of the award through its period context, expression, and reach to readers.

419 pages
児童文学史戦後文学評論
Iku Takenaka たけなか いく special award

子ども闘牛士 is a poetry work by 竹中郁. Its compressed language brings together memory, landscape, and bodily sensation, leaving a quiet resonance after the page is closed.

子ども闘牛士 conveys the qualities recognized at the time of the award through its period context, expression, and reach to readers.

少年詩子どもの感性詩的想像力
Kakuko Sasaki ささき あきこ award

A children’s novel about children in the years shortly after the war. Through school life and family atmosphere, it observes classmates’ relationships, growth, and the shadow of the times.

Postwar time emerges through the children gathered in one classroom.

276 pages
children’s literaturepostwar Japanschoolfriendshipcoming of age
Ryo Ueno うえの りょう award

"ひげよ、さらば" is recorded as an award-winning work for japan-children-literature-association-award. This entry is prepared from the award record, while book identifiers are left blank because no independently confirmed public bibliographic record has been verified here.

ひげよ、さらば. Recorded in the award data, this work serves as a starting point for bibliographic verification.

award-winning workJapanese literaturebibliographic verification
Gotō Ryūji ごとう りゅうじ award

"少年たち" is recorded as an award-winning work for japan-children-literature-association-award. This entry is prepared from the award record, while book identifiers are left blank because no independently confirmed public bibliographic record has been verified here.

少年たち. Recorded in the award data, this work serves as a starting point for bibliographic verification.

award-winning workJapanese literaturebibliographic verification
Teiji Seta せた ていじ special award

"落穂ひろい" is recorded as an award-winning work for japan-children-literature-association-award. This entry is prepared from the award record, while book identifiers are left blank because no independently confirmed public bibliographic record has been verified here.

落穂ひろい. Recorded in the award data, this work serves as a starting point for bibliographic verification.

award-winning workJapanese literaturebibliographic verification
No winner
Kinya Katsuo かつお きんや award

七つばなし百万石 by 勝尾金弥 is an award-winning work whose publication context and genre are identified from the award entry.

七つばなし百万石 is one of the works associated with 勝尾金弥's award record.

Takashi Kawamura かわむら たかし award

昼と夜のあいだ by 川村たかし is an award-winning work whose publication context and genre are identified from the award entry.

昼と夜のあいだ is one of the works associated with 川村たかし's award record.

Miyoko Matsutani まつたに みよこ award

My Anne Frank is a children's novel in which thirteen-year-old Yuko begins writing a diary addressed to Anne Frank after receiving The Diary of Anne Frank. Yuko's daily life intersects with her mother's thoughts on war and Auschwitz, bringing questions of freedom and human dignity into focus through the voices of a family.

A diary addressed to Anne links a girl's everyday life with her mother's memories, asking what war does to human dignity.

253 pages
children's literatureAnne Frankwarfamilyfreedom and dignity
Tsukasa Osamu つかさ おさむ award

Thirteen-year-old Yuko begins keeping a diary addressed to Anne Frank, while her mother Fukiko writes of her journey to Auschwitz and the memories it awakens. By crossing a girl's everyday life with her mother's encounter with history, the story asks young readers to think about war, discrimination, freedom, and human dignity.

Diaries addressed to Anne lead a girl and her mother toward the pain of history.

253 pages
Anne Frankwar and peacemother and daughterdiarieshuman dignity
Toshiko Kanzawa かんざわ りこ award

いないいないばあや is an award-recognized work by 神沢利子. It can be read through its subject, form, and the literary concerns that surrounded the award year.

いないいないばあや conveys 神沢利子's voice and the literary atmosphere in which the work was recognized.

children's literaturegrowthimagination
Ryusuke Saito さいとう りゅうすけ award

天の赤馬 is an award-recognized work by 斎藤隆介. It can be read through its subject, form, and the literary concerns that surrounded the award year.

天の赤馬 conveys 斎藤隆介's voice and the literary atmosphere in which the work was recognized.

children's literaturegrowthimagination
Jiro Takidaira たきひら じろう award

天の赤馬 is an award-recognized work by 滝平二郎. It can be read through its subject, form, and the literary concerns that surrounded the award year.

天の赤馬 conveys 滝平二郎's voice and the literary atmosphere in which the work was recognized.

children's literaturegrowthimagination
Gennosuke Nagasaki ながさき げんのすけ award

トンネル山の子どもたち is an award-recognized work by 長崎源之助. It can be read through its subject, form, and the literary concerns that surrounded the award year.

トンネル山の子どもたち conveys 長崎源之助's voice and the literary atmosphere in which the work was recognized.

children's literaturegrowthimagination
Toshio Kajiyama かじやま としお award

トンネル山の子どもたち is an award-recognized work by 梶山俊夫. It can be read through its subject, form, and the literary concerns that surrounded the award year.

トンネル山の子どもたち conveys 梶山俊夫's voice and the literary atmosphere in which the work was recognized.

children's literaturegrowthimagination
Gotō Ryūji ごとう りゅうじ award

Set in northeastern Japan at the end of the Edo period, this historical children's novel follows Mankichi, a boy who returns home and confronts the lives and resistance of farmers and fishers burdened by harsh taxes. It powerfully depicts a community moving toward revolt through a child's eyes.

Poverty and anger seen through a boy's eyes widen into a story of popular resistance.

365 pages
late Edo perioduprisingfarmers and fisherscoming of age
Takezaki Yuhi たけざき ゆうひ award

Set around a stone quarry near Kumamoto, this novel portrays adults and children living under the shadow of the Pacific War. Local life, labor, and wartime pressure overlap, bringing out both a child's growth and a community's memory.

Through life around a stone quarry, the novel depicts children looking out at wartime society.

281 pages
wartime lifeKumamotolaborchildren's perspective
Hiroyuki Tomita とみだ ひろゆき award

This study traces the history of children's theatre, school drama, and puppet theatre in Japan from the Meiji period onward. It surveys the relationship between children and theatre from both performance history and educational history.

A scholarly work that follows the modern history of children and theatre with chronologies and sources.

509 pages
children's theatretheatre historyschool dramamodern Japan
Shin Torigoe とりごえ しん award

A chronology of children's literature compiled by Shin Torigoe. It traces modern Japanese children's literature over time and supported both creative and scholarly understanding of the field.

A chronological work that broadened the foundation for studying and writing children's literature.

children's literatureresearchchronologyliterary history
Mado Michio まど みちお award

A poetry collection by Michio Mado centered on plants. In concise language accessible to children, it looks closely at familiar grasses, trees, and flowers, conveying wonder and affection for living things.

Quiet wonder rises from the forms of small plants.

80 pages
poetryplantschildren's literaturenature
Ko Samyong award

Ikiru Koto no Imi connects children's literature with educational questions, asking how the meaning of living can be conveyed to children. In the award context, it matters as a work that treats children's literature as both thought and practice.

A work that looks at the question of life at the root of literature for children.

children's literaturelifeeducationthought
Teru Yokotani special award

The second volume of Yokotani Teru Jido Bungaku Ronshu, including Gendai Jido Bungaku e no Toikake, gathers Teru Yokotani's criticism of children's literature. It asks how modern children's literature should face children's realities and shows the meeting point of creation and criticism.

A critical reconsideration of the responsibilities and possibilities of modern children's literature.

children's literature criticismcriticismmodern children's literaturechildren's realities
Shouchi Imae いまえ しょうち award

ぼんぼん is a children's literature work by 今江祥智. It is recognized as a winning work of the 日本児童文学者協会賞, reflecting the author's style and the literary concerns of its period.

ぼんぼん offers an entry point into 今江祥智's literary expression through the context of the 日本児童文学者協会賞.

394 pages
children's literaturecoming of agefamily
Kyoko Iwasaki いわさき きょうこ award

花咲か is a children's literature work by 岩崎京子. It is recognized as a winning work of the 日本児童文学者協会賞, reflecting the author's style and the literary concerns of its period.

花咲か offers an entry point into 岩崎京子's literary expression through the context of the 日本児童文学者協会賞.

children's literaturecoming of agefamily
Takashi Kubo くぼ たかし award

赤い帆の舟 is a children's literature work by 久保喬. It is recognized as a winning work of the 日本児童文学者協会賞, reflecting the author's style and the literary concerns of its period.

赤い帆の舟 offers an entry point into 久保喬's literary expression through the context of the 日本児童文学者協会賞.

296 pages
children's literaturecoming of agefamily
Ando Mikio あんどう みきお award

でんでんむしの競馬 is a children's literature work by 安藤美紀夫. It is recognized as a winning work of the 日本児童文学者協会賞, reflecting the author's style and the literary concerns of its period.

でんでんむしの競馬 offers an entry point into 安藤美紀夫's literary expression through the context of the 日本児童文学者協会賞.

children's literaturecoming of agefamily
Seki Hideo せき ひでお award

A children's novel about emotional growth and a journey. Through travel, family, friendship, anxiety, and discovery are brought together as a young heart opens toward the wider world.

With each step of the journey, a child's heart encounters landscapes it had not known.

258 pages
growthjourneyfamilychildren's literature
Tamao Fujita ふじた かつお award

A broad critical history of Japanese children's songs. Linking writers, poets, magazines, and historical background, it traces how children's songs changed alongside modern Japan's view of childhood.

The history of children's songs emerges as a history of language addressed to children.

657 pages
children's songschildren's culturemodern literaturecriticism
Hiroshi Sunada すなだ ひろし award

さらばハイウェイ is a work by 砂田弘; a book edition was published by 偕成社 in 1975.

さらばハイウェイ stands in 砂田弘's award record.

222 pages
award-winning workworkJapanese publication
Yasuo Maekawa まえかわ やすお award

魔神の海 is a work by 前川康男 recognized by the japan-children-literature-association-award in 1970. It is presented here as an individual award-winning work, with bibliographic identifiers added where public records confirm a book edition.

魔神の海, a work recognized by the japan-children-literature-association-award.

297 pages
award-winning workliterary prizepublication status
Kurusu Yoshio くるす よしお award

A children's story centered on a large cherry tree in a village, depicting nature and community through children's eyes. Memory rooted in familiar places and a child's power of perception support the narrative.

A single cherry tree connects the children with the village's time.

children's literaturenaturecommunity
Hisashi Yamanaka やまなか こう declined

A children's work that connects everyday anxieties and hopes with a cosmic breadth. Beneath the softness of the title lies the sensitivity of children living in their time.

The sound of a lullaby expands a child's time toward the stars.

222 pages
children's literaturechild's viewpointcosmos
Gennosuke Nagasaki ながさき げんのすけ award

ヒョコタンの山羊 is a 児童文学 by 長崎源之助. It is presented here as a work shaped by 児童文学, 動物, 生活.

ヒョコタンの山羊 preserves 長崎源之助's voice in the form of 児童文学.

児童文学動物生活
Taruhi Furuta ふるた あしひ award

宿題ひきうけ株式会社 is an award-winning work by 古田足日, portraying personal choices and the weight of memory against the atmosphere of its time.

宿題ひきうけ株式会社 reads the shadows of an era through individual experience.

206 pages
memorysocietyhuman experience
Minoru Nasuda なすだ みのる award

シラカバと少女 is an award-winning work by 那須田稔, portraying personal choices and the weight of memory against the atmosphere of its time.

シラカバと少女 reads the shadows of an era through individual experience.

memorysocietyhuman experience
Sukeyuki Imanishi いまにし すけゆき award

肥後の石工 is an award-winning work by 今西祐行, portraying personal choices and the weight of memory against the atmosphere of its time.

肥後の石工 reads the shadows of an era through individual experience.

memorysocietyhuman experience
Masako Inagaki いながき まさこ award

Set in Tokyo just after the war, this story follows Aunt Maa, who loves cats, along with children, cats, and ducks sharing everyday life. Beyond the delight of animal stories, it warmly portrays the joys, mishaps, and kindness of humans and animals living together.

Beyond the commotion of the cats, the story reveals the human kindness that sustains everyday life.

195 pages
catspostwar lifefamilyhumans and animals
Takashi Yoichi たかしよいち award

A nonfiction book for young readers that introduces Japanese archaeology. Through sites such as Toro and Togariishi, it follows the work, convictions, and passion of people who excavated the past, conveying the excitement of learning history through remains.

Through objects emerging from the soil, readers approach ancient life in Japan and the passion of researchers.

230 pages
archaeologyJapanese historyexcavationnonfiction for young readers
Teruo Jingū じんぐう てるお award

A critical guide in which Teruo Jingu surveys the history of world children's literature. It traces the field from its beginnings through its international development and includes a useful list of works.

A guide to children's books around the world, read through the flow of literary history and key works.

218 pages
history of children's literatureworld literaturecriticismreading guide
Eiji Shono しょうの えいじ award

A full-length fantasy about Momiichi, a demobilized soldier led by the memory and sound of the horse he lost in war. Carrying trauma and loss, he gradually rediscovers light and music through encounters on a ranch and in the mountains.

In deep darkness, the sound of a lost horse's hooves begins to light the heart again.

272 pages
memory of warloss and renewalmusicfull-length fantasy
Yoshiko Koyama かやま みこ award

Ariko no Ki is a children's novel about an adolescent girl living near the mouth of the Edogawa River on the eastern edge of Tokyo. It follows the girl's feelings and daily life while touching on the realities of family and community.

In life near the mouth of the Edogawa River, a girl's inner world gradually finds its own shape.

222 pages
a girl's growthEdogawa Riverlocal lifepostwar children's literature
Chiyo Hayafune はやふね ちよ award

A children's novel set in Kawaguchi, a foundry town, following junior-high student Jun and her family. Through poverty, labor, family conflict, and her relationship with a Korean resident friend, it views postwar society through a child's eyes.

In a town lit by cupola furnaces, Jun searches for her future amid poverty.

317 pages
children's literaturepostwar societylaborfamilyKawaguchi
Minoru Suzuki すずき みのる award

Yama ga Naiteru is a jointly written children's novel by Minoru Suzuki, Tokuyoshi Takahashi, Toshio Sasahara, Sennichiro Maki, and Yosaku Uematsu. It portrays children's lives and local realities around a mountain, and is significant as a postwar children's literary work engaging with region and society.

A postwar children's novel, collaboratively written, about children living with the realities of a mountain community.

267 pages
children's literaturecollaborative writingmountain villageregionpostwar Japan
高橋徳義 たかはし とくよし award

Yama ga Naiteru is a jointly written children's novel by Minoru Suzuki, Tokuyoshi Takahashi, Toshio Sasahara, Sennichiro Maki, and Yosaku Uematsu. It portrays children's lives and local realities around a mountain, and is significant as a postwar children's literary work engaging with region and society.

A postwar children's novel, collaboratively written, about children living with the realities of a mountain community.

267 pages
children's literaturecollaborative writingmountain villageregionpostwar Japan
笹原俊雄 ささはら としお award

Yama ga Naiteru is a jointly written children's novel by Minoru Suzuki, Tokuyoshi Takahashi, Toshio Sasahara, Sennichiro Maki, and Yosaku Uematsu. It portrays children's lives and local realities around a mountain, and is significant as a postwar children's literary work engaging with region and society.

A postwar children's novel, collaboratively written, about children living with the realities of a mountain community.

267 pages
children's literaturecollaborative writingmountain villageregionpostwar Japan
槇仙一郎 まき せんいちろう award

Yama ga Naiteru is a jointly written children's novel by Minoru Suzuki, Tokuyoshi Takahashi, Toshio Sasahara, Sennichiro Maki, and Yosaku Uematsu. It portrays children's lives and local realities around a mountain, and is significant as a postwar children's literary work engaging with region and society.

A postwar children's novel, collaboratively written, about children living with the realities of a mountain community.

267 pages
children's literaturecollaborative writingmountain villageregionpostwar Japan
Uematsu Yosaku うえまつ ようさく award

Yama ga Naiteru is a jointly written children's novel by Minoru Suzuki, Tokuyoshi Takahashi, Toshio Sasahara, Sennichiro Maki, and Yosaku Uematsu. It portrays children's lives and local realities around a mountain, and is significant as a postwar children's literary work engaging with region and society.

A postwar children's novel, collaboratively written, about children living with the realities of a mountain community.

267 pages
children's literaturecollaborative writingmountain villageregionpostwar Japan