Japanese Literary Awards

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Japan Children's Literature Association Newcomer Award

にほんじどうぶんがくしゃきょうかいしんじんしょう

Annual award for single-volume works by new writers in children's literature creative writing, criticism, and research

Creative writingCriticism and research
Established
1951
Organizer
Japan Children's Literature Association
Category
Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Selection Method
Open call
Target
Newcomer
Frequency
1 per year
Announcement Period
around May
Status
Active

Description

The Japan Children's Literature Association honors new talents in children's literature creative writing, criticism, and research by awarding single-volume works up to the third by newcomers published between January and December of the previous year. Established in 1951, it underwent changes in name and regulations, adopting its current name from 1968.

Related Awards

  • Japan Children's Literature Association Award
  • Japan Children's Literature Association Criticism Newcomer Award
  • List of literary awards

Official Resources

https://jibunkyo.or.jp/release_category/002/

Past Winners

『かすみ川の人魚』は、かすみ川で見つけた人魚をめぐる少年たちの友情と秘密を描く長谷川まりるの物語。

Kasumigawa no Ningyo is a story by Mariru Hasegawa about boys, friendship, and a secret mermaid found in Kasumi River.

178 pages
児童文学友情人魚秘密
Masakazu Hara はら まさかず award

『うさぎとハリネズミ きょうもいいひ』は、うさぎとハリネズミの穏やかな日々を描く、はらまさかずのやさしい物語。

Usagi to Harinezumi Kyo mo Iihi is a gentle story by Masakazu Hara about the calm days shared by a rabbit and a hedgehog.

64 pages
児童文学友情動物日常
Ayako Komatsu こまつ あやこ award

日本児童文学者協会新人賞受賞作。10代に寄り添う視点を持つ物語。

ハジメテヒラク

思春期共感自己発見
Shin Tanaka たなか しん award

A children’s novel about a father and child confronting loss through a single wish.

A wish made in a dream comes true in real life.

149 pages
children’s literaturefamilylosswishes
Mugiho Omata おまた むぎほ award

Fifth-grader Hibine worries that her older sister Chizuru can no longer enjoy the sound of her own piano. As family ties grow strained, Hibine tries to reach her sister through an original musical for a local cultural festival and restore the joy of music.

A younger sister tries to reach an older sister who has nearly forgotten the joy of music through a stage of their own making.

226 pages
children's literaturemusicsistersfamilyfriendshiprenewal
Mitsuko Hiruta ひるた やこ award

In the town where third-grader Fumio lives, ordinary moments such as shopping, going to the pool, or meeting a pair of shoes quietly turn strange. This children's book gathers four short stories shaped by wordplay and playful nonsense.

In a peculiar town, Fumio's ordinary day gradually becomes anything but ordinary.

111 pages
children's literaturehumornonsenseeveryday strangenessshort stories
Momoko Yoshida よしだ ももこ award

Lovely! is a children's novel by Momoko Yoshida about a girl searching for her own way to be herself within a new school life. In a light voice, it handles friendship, family, romantic longing, and self-acceptance, capturing feelings close to its young readers.

A story of a girl who admires cuteness while learning the shape of her own self.

234 pages
children's literatureearly adolescenceself-acceptancefriendshipfamily
Hikaru Fujishige ふじしげ ひかる award

Hiomi Fushigi Zoshi is a children's short story collection set in Hiomi, an old castle town surrounded by mountains and a river. It recounts five strange events from the Edo period, uncovering the true stories that never survived as folklore, and combines the flavor of old tales with the readability of contemporary children's literature.

Five strange stories from Hiomi, a town no one can quite locate and whose true tales were never passed down.

231 pages
Edo periodcastle townfolk talesshort storieschildren's literature
Akiko Kusano くさの あきこ award

おばけ道、ただいま工事中!? is a 小説 work by 草野あきこ 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.

おばけ道、ただいま工事中!? by 草野あきこ is a work whose subject and publication status can be traced through award and bibliographic records.

144 pages
award-winning workbibliographic verificationcontemporary literature
Sakuko Ichikawa いちかわ さくこ award

ABC!曙第二中学校放送部 is a 小説 work by 市川朔久子 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.

ABC!曙第二中学校放送部 by 市川朔久子 is a work whose subject and publication status can be traced through award and bibliographic records.

32 pages
award-winning workbibliographic verificationcontemporary literature
Saito Rin さいとう りん award

どろぼうのどろぼん by 斉藤倫 is introduced here as a work centered on 児童文学, 孤独. 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.

280 pages
identityfamilymemoryfear
Kae Arisawa ありさわ かえい award

かさねちゃんにきいてみな is a work by 有沢佳映, 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 かさねちゃんにきいてみな by 有沢佳映, including award and bibliographic context.

298 pages
award-winning workcontemporary literaturebibliographic verification
Miku Itou いとう みく award

Itoko no Taijukei 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.

Itoko no Taijukei presents its award-winning themes in an accessible literary form.

255 pages
memoryrelationshipsself-discovery
Kazusa Kisaragi きさらぎ かずさ award

A school-broadcast project to create a masked idol leads to a juvenile story about a boy who secretly loves singing in a female voice and a solitary girl. Through song, secrecy, and first love, it explores the fear and longing involved in letting someone know who you are.

Around the secret identity of a mysterious songstress, hidden wishes and first love begin to move.

252 pages
gendersinging voicefirst love
Megumi Okuyama おくやま めぐみ award

This collection of criticism examines instability of the self, social precarity, and possible exits in contemporary children's literature. It rereads childhood not as a fixed state but within changing relationships and the atmosphere of the times.

In an age when stable stories are hard to see, it reads the instability of self and society reflected in children's literature.

256 pages
children's literature criticisminstability of selfcontemporary society
Akane Kashizaki かしざき あかね award

Centered on Mei, a fifth grader with an extra tooth, the story gathers people who carry something missing or excessive in body and heart. Like the moon’s phases, a girl’s inner life is shown with pain and tenderness.

Carrying both lack and excess, a girl learns the phases of the heart.

195 pages
body and hearta girl’s growthpaindifferencechildren’s literature
Hirochika Ishikawa いしかわ ひろちか award

ユリエルとグレン is a work by 石川宏千花. Children's literature that stays close to a young reader's view and presents moments of growth and discovery.

ユリエルとグレン draws readers into its world through concentrated language and the force of its subject.

235 pages
memorytimehuman relationshipsthe force of expression
Etsuko Kawashima かわしま えつこ award

花火とおはじき is a work by 川島えつこ. 『花火とおはじき』は川島えつこによる作品。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。

花火とおはじき presents 川島えつこ's literary concerns through a compact and memorable form.

131 pages
文学賞受賞作
本多明 ほんだ あきら award

幸子の庭 is a work by 本多明 selected for the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞. It was published as a book, so both its award status and its book publication can be identified.

幸子の庭

250 pages
children's literaturecoming of agefamily
Kanno Yukimushi かんの ゆきむし award

天山の巫女ソニン ①黄金の燕 is a 児童向けファンタジー by 菅野雪虫. 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 児童向けファンタジー that follows the pressure points hidden in everyday life and memory.

262 pages
family and memoryself-discoverysocial pressure
鈴木レイ子 すずき れいこ award

冬を飛ぶ蝶 is a 詩集 by 鈴木レイ子. 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 詩集 that follows the pressure points hidden in everyday life and memory.

family and memoryself-discoverysocial pressure
Raku Kutsuki くつき しょう award

A children's novel set around Sanzaigaike in Kamakura, following a young kappa who enters the human world in the form of a cat and befriends a girl. It blends loneliness, family, and nature with the pleasure of a yokai tale.

A summer shared by a young kappa in cat form and a girl gently illuminates loneliness and friendship.

272 pages
kappafriendshipfamilynature
Etsuko Shindo しんどう えつこ award

An adventure set in sixteenth-century Istanbul, following the fates of people drawn to the legendary blue tulip. As the shepherd boy Nefi and a professor try to create the flower, a mysterious power hidden in beauty begins to emerge.

A legendary blue tulip changes the fate of a city that loves flowers.

309 pages
children's literatureIstanbulflowersadventurebeauty and power
Saiki Kimiko さいき きみこ award

A scholarly study of modern Okinawan children's culture and literature, centered on Iha Fuyu's Taisho-period Kodomo no Kai. It also examines children's cultural activities in Yaeyama and the work of Iwasaki Takuji and Miyara Choho.

A study that reads modern Okinawan children's culture through regional and educational history.

334 pages
Okinawachildren's culturechildren's literature studiesIha FuyuYaeyama
村上しいこ むらかみ しいこ award

Third-grader Kamekichi spends summer vacation facing all kinds of “why is that?” questions and thinking them through for himself. Using a school research project as its frame, the story humorously captures a child’s curiosity and delight in discovery.

Kamekichi’s summer vacation becomes a time for turning everyday questions into answers of his own.

112 pages
summer research projectchildren’s questionssummer vacationdiscovery
Chihiro Honma ほんま ちひろ award

Chihiro Homma’s illustrated poetry collection traces time spent with a cat. Brief poems and open, spacious images quietly preserve intimate memories, hints of parting, and the feel of living with an animal.

The memory of one cat breathes softly between poem and picture.

65 pages
illustrated poetrycatsmemoryparting
Noriko Imanishi いまにし のこ award

ドッグ・シェルター 犬と少年たちの再出航 by 今西乃子 is an award-winning work that conveys the author's voice through compressed language and a focused treatment of its themes.

ドッグ・シェルター 犬と少年たちの再出航 by 今西乃子 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
李慶子 り けいこ award

バイバイ。 by 李慶子 is an award-winning work that conveys the author's voice through compressed language and a focused treatment of its themes.

バイバイ。 by 李慶子 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
Yu Ito いとう ゆう award

えんの松原 by Yu Ito is known as a 日本児童文学者協会新人賞 winning work, shaping its subject through relationships, memory, and the atmosphere of its time.

えんの松原 is an award-recognized work by Yu Ito.

406 pages
award-winning workcontemporary literaturerelationships
Aiko Shibuya しぶや あいこ award

This children’s story follows life with baby Mamoru, temporarily brought into a relative’s home, and depicts the confusion and attachment that grow in a child’s heart. It gently traces how someone first felt as a burden becomes irreplaceable.

The words “you may forget” hold the tenderness of meeting and parting.

83 pages
babyfamilypartingkindnesschild growth
関今日子 せき きょうこ award

A poetry collection titled after the season of puddling fields before rice planting, capturing rural time, soil, water, and human labor in poetic language. It looks at natural cycles through the texture of daily life and renders seasonal feeling in a clarity accessible to children.

In the season when soil and water begin to move, the language of daily life becomes poetry.

poetryrural lifeseasonsoil and waternatural cycles
June Kawahara かわはら じゅんこ award

蝶々、とんだ is 刊行作品 by 河原潤子. It is presented here as the award-recognized work.

The work offers a way into 河原潤子's literary expression.

award-recognized literature
岡田依世子 おかだ よりこ award

"霧の流れる川" is a children's literary work by 岡田依世子. Its publication as a book is confirmed, and it is treated as the award-winning work.

"霧の流れる川" is recognized as a children's literary work.

183 pages
children's literary workaward-winning work
錦織友子 にしきおり ともこ award

A children's novel about a child who hides true feelings, tracing shifts in school life and friendship.

A children's novel about a child who hides true feelings, tracing shifts in school life and friendship.

children's literatureschoolfriendshiptrue feelings
Yoko Sasou さそう ようこ award

ぼくらのサイテーの夏 is a work by 笹生 陽子 associated with the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞. It was recognized in a literary award context and is presented as a work centered on the concerns suggested by its title.

Recognized by the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞, ぼくらのサイテーの夏 draws readers in through the impression created by its title.

312 pages
日本児童文学者協会新人賞ぼくらのサイテーの夏literature
田中文子 たなか ふみこ award

A children's novel that carefully depicts a boy's inner life and relationships.

A children's novel that carefully depicts a boy's inner life and relationships.

177 pages
work overview
Kozuki Nichirin こうづき にちりん award

地獄堂霊界通信 ワルガキ、幽霊にびびる! 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
Kaho Nashiki なしき かほ award

西の魔女が死んだ is a prize-recognized work that draws readers through its central subject, characters, and the texture of its period or setting.

西の魔女が死んだ carries the distinctive qualities that made it a prize-recognized work.

award-winning literaturehuman experiencesociety and time
Lee Sankum い さんくむ award

半分のふるさと by イ・サンクム is a work recognized by japan-children-literature-association-newcomer-award. No standalone book identifiers were confirmed, so the entry focuses on the work itself.

An introduction to 半分のふるさと by イ・サンクム in its award context.

award-winning workliterary prize半分のふるさと
Rieko Koshimizu こしみず りえこ award

風のラヴソング by 越水利江子 is a work recognized by japan-children-literature-association-newcomer-award. No standalone book identifiers were confirmed, so the entry focuses on the work itself.

An introduction to 風のラヴソング by 越水利江子 in its award context.

award-winning workliterary prize風のラヴソング
正道かほる まさみち かほる award

でんぐりん is a work of children’s literature by 正道かほる. It was honored by the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞 and presents the writer's concerns and style in a focused form.

A useful entry point into 正道かほる's work.

a work of children’s literatureaward-winning work
Kazumi Yumoto ゆもと かぐみ award

夏の庭 The Friends is a work of children’s literature by 湯本香樹実. It was honored by the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞 and presents the writer's concerns and style in a focused form.

A useful entry point into 湯本香樹実's work.

a work of children’s literatureaward-winning work
Nahoko Uehashi うえはし なおこ award

Tsuki no Mori ni, Kami yo Nemure is an ancient fantasy about a serpent deity in the Moon Forest and a human shrine maiden, exploring the relationship between gods and people, nature and civilization. Through a story touched by tragedy, it asks what bonds can exist between beings who live by different kinds of time.

In a forest where gods and humans meet, awe toward nature and the desire for coexistence become story.

243 pages
mythnature and humanityancient fantasy
Sumiko Yokokawa よこかわ すみこ award

Shoucho to Iu Kirifuda is a critical work that reexamines discourse around girlhood from the perspectives of children’s literature and cultural criticism. It reads the relations among girls, bodies, gender, and narrative, bringing a critical angle to established theories of the girl.

It reconsiders the premises of stories and criticism about girls from the sides of body and culture.

215 pages
girlhood studieschildren’s literature criticismfeminist criticism
Yoko Tomiyasu とみやす ようこ award

Zawazawa Apartment in the Oak Forest is a children's novel about Professor Yanari, who moves into an apartment in the mountains, and the yokai who live there. Its humorous premise of humans and yokai sharing a place opens into the joy of knowing others and a warm intimacy with nature.

In an apartment in an oak forest, a lively shared life between humans and yokai begins.

205 pages
yokainatureshared lifechildren's literature
大塚篤子 おおつか あつこ award

海辺の家の秘密 is a children's literary work by 大塚篤子. It follows a child-centered perspective and presents growth, family, friendship, and changes in everyday life as a story.

海辺の家の秘密 is an important work for reading 大塚篤子's expression in the context of 日本児童文学者協会新人賞.

221 pages
growthfamilychild's perspective
Noriko Ogiwara おぎわら のりこ award

A fantasy set in a mythic world reminiscent of ancient Japan, following Saya as she confronts her power and fate. Light and darkness, gods and humans, rule and freedom are joined in a fresh coming-of-age story.

Amid mythic light and darkness, a girl chooses her own fate.

366 pages
fantasymythcoming of age
Arié Toki とき ありえ award

Through the relationship between Nozomi and the mysterious Zozomi-chan, this children's work depicts imagination and the tremors of daily life. Its accessible narration carries a sense of accepting what is different from oneself.

Zozomi-chan brings a slightly mysterious breeze into Nozomi's everyday life.

125 pages
imaginationfriendshipdaily life
原のぶこ はら のぶこ award

シゲちゃんが猿になった is a work by 原のぶこ selected in the 1988 cycle of 日本児童文学者協会新人賞. As a prize-recognized work, it presents the author's concerns and distinctive mode of expression.

シゲちゃんが猿になった by 原のぶこ, recognized by 日本児童文学者協会新人賞.

prize-recognized workcontemporary literatureauthorial expression
Muneko Sato さとう むねこ award

「家なき子」の旅(評論) is a work by 佐藤宗子 selected in the 1988 cycle of 日本児童文学者協会新人賞. As a prize-recognized work, it presents the author's concerns and distinctive mode of expression.

「家なき子」の旅(評論) by 佐藤宗子, recognized by 日本児童文学者協会新人賞.

prize-recognized workcontemporary literatureauthorial expression
Oka Shuzo おか しゅうぞう award

ぼくのお姉さん is a 児童文学 by 丘修三. 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.

ぼくのお姉さん condenses the qualities of 丘修三's work in the form of a 児童文学.

182 pages
子ども成長家庭学校
泉啓子 いずみ けいこ award

Let Me Hear the Sound of the Wind is a linked short-story collection by Keiko Izumi with illustrations by Yoshiharu Suzuki. It delicately portrays a girl's wavering emotions, setting the anxieties and hopes of growing up against the presence of wind moving through everyday life.

Like listening for the wind, the book follows the tremors of a girl's heart.

177 pages
children's literaturegirlhoodlinked storiesgrowthemotional change
Hama Takaya はま たかや award

太陽の牙 is a children’s literary work by 浜たかや. It centers a child’s view of the world and depicts curiosity, anxiety, and moments of growth through an approachable story.

太陽の牙 conveys the qualities recognized at the time of the award through its period context, expression, and reach to readers.

児童文学冒険成長
Ippei Mogami もがみ いっぺい award

銀のうさぎ is a children’s literary work by 最上一平. It centers a child’s view of the world and depicts curiosity, anxiety, and moments of growth through an approachable story.

銀のうさぎ conveys the qualities recognized at the time of the award through its period context, expression, and reach to readers.

児童文学自然心の成長
尾上尚子 おのうえ なおこ award

そらいろのビー玉 is a poetry work by 尾上尚子. Its compressed language brings together memory, landscape, and bodily sensation, leaving a quiet resonance after the page is closed.

そらいろのビー玉 conveys the qualities recognized at the time of the award through its period context, expression, and reach to readers.

160 pages
詩集子どものまなざし日常の発見
Mizushima Shiho みづしま しほ award

A children’s literary work that overlays a girl’s memories and emotions with the image of wind. It treats longing and loss through the movements of an adolescent heart.

In the memory of wind, a beloved person and lost time return.

children’s literatureadolescencememorywindloss
Rie Muranaka むらなか りえ award

A children’s novel about the life and emotional uncertainty of a Korean child in Japan. As the greeting in the title suggests, language, origin, and friendship stand at the center of the story.

A single greeting reveals both distance and connection among children.

202 pages
children’s literatureKoreans in Japanlanguagefriendshipidentity
Akira Yokozawa よこざわ あきら award

"まなざし" is recorded as an award-winning work for japan-children-literature-association-newcomer-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.

まなざし. Recorded in the award data, this work serves as a starting point for bibliographic verification.

award-winning workJapanese literaturebibliographic verification
Naoko Kudo くどう なおこ award

"てつがくのライオン(詩集)" is recorded as an award-winning work for japan-children-literature-association-newcomer-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.

てつがくのライオン(詩集). Recorded in the award data, this work serves as a starting point for bibliographic verification.

award-winning workJapanese literaturebibliographic verification
北原樹 きたはら いつき award

くろねこパコのびっくりシチュー by 北原樹 is an award-winning work whose publication context and genre are identified from the award entry.

くろねこパコのびっくりシチュー is one of the works associated with 北原樹's award record.

Jun Okada おかだ じゅん award

放課後の時間割 by 岡田淳 is an award-winning work whose publication context and genre are identified from the award entry.

放課後の時間割 is one of the works associated with 岡田淳's award record.

堀直子 ほり なおこ award

おれたちのはばたきを聞け by 堀直子 is an award-winning work whose publication context and genre are identified from the award entry.

おれたちのはばたきを聞け is one of the works associated with 堀直子's award record.

浅川じゅん あさかわ じゅん award

Nakimushi Majo Sensei is a children's literary work by Jun Asakawa. Centering on the “crybaby witch teacher” of the title, it can be read as a story that does not reject vulnerability or tears, but stays close to children's feelings.

A children's story that warmly observes children's worries and kindness through a crybaby witch teacher.

221 pages
children's literaturewitchteachertearschildren's feelings
Izawa Yumiko いざわ ゆみこ award

Hiroshi no Uta ga Kikoeru is a children's novel by Yumiko Izawa. It portrays children carrying loneliness and shadowed pasts as they meet others, are hurt, and still try to keep themselves connected to the world.

A child in loneliness searches for a place to belong while encountering the voices of others.

189 pages
children's literaturelonelinesswounded childrenencounterresilience
山里るり やまざと るり award

野ばらのうた is an award-recognized work by 山里るり. It can be read through its subject, form, and the literary concerns that surrounded the award year.

野ばらのうた conveys 山里るり's voice and the literary atmosphere in which the work was recognized.

children's literaturegrowthimagination
Naoshiro Yoshimoto よしもと なおしろう award

青葉学園物語「右むけ、左!」「さよならは半分だけ」 is an award-recognized work by 吉本直志郎. It can be read through its subject, form, and the literary concerns that surrounded the award year.

青葉学園物語「右むけ、左!」「さよならは半分だけ」 conveys 吉本直志郎's voice and the literary atmosphere in which the work was recognized.

children's literaturegrowthimagination
Naruko Iwase いわせ なるこ award

朝はだんだん見えてくる is an award-recognized work by 岩瀬成子. It can be read through its subject, form, and the literary concerns that surrounded the award year.

朝はだんだん見えてくる conveys 岩瀬成子's voice and the literary atmosphere in which the work was recognized.

children's literaturegrowthimagination
Akiko Sueyoshi すえよし あきこ award

星に帰った少女 is an award-recognized work by 末吉暁子. It can be read through its subject, form, and the literary concerns that surrounded the award year.

星に帰った少女 conveys 末吉暁子's voice and the literary atmosphere in which the work was recognized.

children's literaturegrowthimagination
Shun Kikuchi きくち しゅん award

This children's book by Shun Kikuchi carries a child's curiosity and sense of adventure even in its title. With interest in nature and living creatures as an entry point, it portrays a young mind trying to test the unknown.

The question of whether a flying fish can perch in a tree leads a child's curiosity into story.

curiositynaturechildren's literatureadventure
Takako Hino ひの たかこ award

An early work by Takako Hino, this children's story, as its title suggests, deals with a child's heart placed between darkness and light. It can be read as a quiet tracing of feelings that seek support amid difficulty.

It depicts light entering darkness through the wavering of a child's heart.

hardshiphopea child's heartfamily
和田茂 わだ しげる award

This poetry collection by Shigeru Wada uses the bodily feeling of leaning against a tree to consider the distance between nature and the human heart. Quiet metaphors carry feelings of growth, solitude, and the need for support.

From the feeling of entrusting the body to a tree rises a lyric sense of solitude and support.

poetrynaturesolitudesupport
Sachiko Kashiwa かしわ さちこ award

A children's fantasy in which sixth-grader Rina enters a mysterious town beyond a misty valley and gradually grows independent through life among its eccentric residents. It vividly combines the brightness of stepping from everyday life into another world with growth through work.

When the mist clears, Rina's summer vacation becomes a season of growth in a mysterious town.

216 pages
children's literaturefantasyindependencesummer vacation
Kimio Endo えんどう きみお award

An animal story about hunter Shichibei and a Steller's sea eagle. Against the natural and human landscape of Iwate, it depicts an attentive view of wildlife and the tension of life grounded in the hunter's experience.

A great eagle in the northern sky intersects with the weight of a hunter's life.

255 pages
animal literatureSteller's sea eaglehunternature
Kenjiro Haitani はいたに けんじろう award

Usagi no Me is a children's novel set in an elementary school, where teachers and children grow while hurting and learning from one another. It faces disability, poverty, and the realities of education, asking what it means to protect children.

From small classroom events, the dignity of children and the meaning of education come into view.

352 pages
educationchildren's dignitydisabilitypovertyteachers
Sugō Hiroshi すごう ひろし award

Sudatsu Hi Made is a children's book about the time children and young people spend on the way toward growth. It treats parting and independence as processes built from everyday events.

A quiet look at the time leading toward leaving the nest.

growthindependencefamilychildren's literature
黒木まさお くろき まさお award

ぼくらは6年生 is a children's literature work or criticism by 黒木まさお. It is recognized as a winning work of the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞, reflecting the author's style and the literary concerns of its period.

ぼくらは6年生 offers an entry point into 黒木まさお's literary expression through the context of the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞.

195 pages
children's literaturenew writingexpression
Hana Mori もり はな award

じろはったん is a children's literature work or criticism by 森はな. It is recognized as a winning work of the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞, reflecting the author's style and the literary concerns of its period.

じろはったん offers an entry point into 森はな's literary expression through the context of the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞.

174 pages
children's literaturenew writingexpression
Masako Shimizu しみず まさこ award

石井桃子論(「児童文学作家3」所収、評論) is a children's literature work or criticism by 清水真砂子. It is recognized as a winning work of the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞, reflecting the author's style and the literary concerns of its period.

石井桃子論(「児童文学作家3」所収、評論) offers an entry point into 清水真砂子's literary expression through the context of the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞.

children's literaturenew writingexpression
Makiko Sato さとう まきこ award

絵にかくとへんな家 is a children's literature work or criticism by さとうまきこ. It is recognized as a winning work of the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞, reflecting the author's style and the literary concerns of its period.

絵にかくとへんな家 offers an entry point into さとうまきこ's literary expression through the context of the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞.

children's literaturenew writingexpression
Kakuko Sasaki ささき あきこ award

旅しばいの二日間 is a children's literature work or criticism by 佐々木赫子. It is recognized as a winning work of the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞, reflecting the author's style and the literary concerns of its period.

旅しばいの二日間 offers an entry point into 佐々木赫子's literary expression through the context of the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞.

children's literaturenew writingexpression
Akira Saneto さねとう あきら award

A collection combining folktale-like narration with the sensibility of modern children's literature. Through grounded voices and small events, children encounter the world's strangeness and pain.

Stories scented with earth open the world through a child's gaze.

206 pages
folktalechild's perspectivelocal lifelife
菊池正 きくち ただし award

A children's novel that overlays the bond between mother and child with the flow of a river. While carrying hardship and the hint of separation, it quietly observes family ties and a child's growth.

The river flows, and the time of mother and child continues as it changes.

221 pages
mother and childrivergrowthdaily life
Akiko Takagi たかぎ あきこ award

A poetry collection by Akiko Takagi. In plain language accessible to children, it uses the fable-like figure of a king to explore boredom, imagination, and the desire for freedom.

Around the bored king, imagination opens small doors.

75 pages
children's poetryimaginationfablefreedom
Michimasa Sato さとう みちまさ award

新美南吉童話論 is a work by 佐藤通雅; a book edition was published by クレス出版 in 2015.

新美南吉童話論 stands in 佐藤通雅's award record.

631 pages
award-winning workworkJapanese publication
Atsuo Saito さいとう あつお award

グリックの冒険 is a work by 斎藤惇夫; a book edition was published by 岩波書店 in 1982.

グリックの冒険 stands in 斎藤惇夫's award record.

346 pages
award-winning workworkJapanese publication
Ryoji Kawakita かわきた りょうじ award

はらがへったらじゃんけんぽん is a work by 川北りょうじ; a book edition was published by 講談社 in 1970.

はらがへったらじゃんけんぽん stands in 川北りょうじ's award record.

award-winning workworkJapanese publication
Naoko Awa あんぼう なおこ award

さんしょ子(短篇) is a work by 安房直子 recognized by the japan-children-literature-association-newcomer-award in 1970. It is presented here as an individual award-winning work, with bibliographic identifiers added where public records confirm a book edition.

さんしょ子(短篇), a work recognized by the japan-children-literature-association-newcomer-award.

award-winning workliterary prizepublication status
小西正保 こにし まさやす award

石井桃子論(評論)他 is a work by 小西正保 recognized by the japan-children-literature-association-newcomer-award in 1970. It is presented here as an individual award-winning work, with bibliographic identifiers added where public records confirm a book edition.

石井桃子論(評論)他, a work recognized by the japan-children-literature-association-newcomer-award.

award-winning workliterary prizepublication status
柚木象吉 ゆずき しょうきち award

A children's novel centered on a boy named Goro, portraying the instability of growing up and relationships with those around him. Brightness and urgency coexist as the child expands his world.

Through Goro's eyes, the pain and strength of childhood growth come into view.

290 pages
growthboyhoodfamily
鈴木悦夫 すずき えつお award

Set against the excitement and noise of a festival day, this children's work follows a child stepping into time unlike the everyday. Expectation, anxiety, and discovery intersect within a community event.

The bustle of a festival brings a small change to a child's heart.

28 pages
festivalchildrencommunity
Kazuo Miyashita みやした かずお award

きょうまんさまの夜 is a 児童文学 by 宮下和男. It is presented here as a work shaped by 児童文学, 民話, 夜.

きょうまんさまの夜 preserves 宮下和男's voice in the form of 児童文学.

96 pages
児童文学民話
Kimiko Aman あまん きみこ award

車のいろは空のいろ is a 児童文学短編集 by あまんきみこ. It is presented here as a work shaped by 児童文学, 幻想, タクシー.

車のいろは空のいろ preserves あまんきみこ's voice in the form of 児童文学短編集.

120 pages
児童文学幻想タクシー
山下夕美子 やました ゆみこ award

二年二組はヒヨコのクラス・ひろしまのオデット by 山下夕美子 is a work for young readers that draws courage, kindness, and imagination from events close to a child’s point of view. Its clear storytelling and lingering aftertaste give it lasting appeal.

二年二組はヒヨコのクラス・ひろしまのオデット is an award-winning work that brings together the mood of its time and the inner lives of people.

children’s literatureimaginationgrowth
Noboru Wada わだ のぼる award

虫 by 和田登 is a work for young readers that draws courage, kindness, and imagination from events close to a child’s point of view. Its clear storytelling and lingering aftertaste give it lasting appeal.

虫 is an award-winning work that brings together the mood of its time and the inner lives of people.

children’s literatureimaginationgrowth
Meiji Kato かとう めいじ award

A children's story rooted in rural life and human feeling. As the title work of Meiji Kato's first collection, it centers a child's sensitivity within nature and community.

Within village life, a voice reaches the listening child.

426 pages
children's literaturerural lifenature
Satoru Sato さとう あきら award

A boy who believes in the lore of tiny people on a hill encounters them in a hidden place. Through secrecy, attention to nature, and friendship with unknown beings, the novel opens one of the classic worlds of Japanese children's fantasy.

On a secret hill, the door to a tiny country opens.

245 pages
children's fantasynaturesecret places
Taruhi Furuta ふるた たるひ award

A critical study that reconsiders modern Japanese children's tales and asks what direction postwar children's literature should take. It examines views of children's stories after Mimei Ogawa and considers realism and narrative in literature for children.

It rethinks the starting point of postwar children's literature through a critique of modern tales.

253 pages
children's literature criticismcritique of modern talespostwar literature
Kyoko Iwasaki いわさき きょうこ award

さぎ is a work by 岩崎京子. It is presented here as a prize-winning work, with attention to its subject, tone, and place in the author's career.

A prize-winning work by 岩崎京子.

Prize-winning workPublication statusLiterary context
森宣子 もり のりこ award

サラサラ姫の物語 is a children's literature by 森宣子. Recognized in its award year, it reflects the author's concerns and the atmosphere of its period.

サラサラ姫の物語 remains associated with 森宣子's award-winning career.

childrengrowtheveryday life
Erika Tachihara たちはら えりか award

人魚のくつ is a children’s literature by 立原えりか that was recognized by the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞. Available public sources mainly make it possible to trace its publication form and later inclusion in collections.

立原えりか's 人魚のくつ remains traceable today through its award history.

children’s literatureaward-winning workpostwar literature
小笹正子 おざさ まさこ award

ネーとなかま is a work by 小笹正子. It is presented here as a prize-winning work, with attention to its subject, tone, and place in the author's career.

A prize-winning work by 小笹正子.

Prize-winning workPublication statusLiterary context
No winner
Mikiko Sugi すぎみきこ award

かくまきの歌他 is a children’s literature by 杉みき子 that was recognized by the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞. Available public sources mainly make it possible to trace its publication form and later inclusion in collections.

杉みき子's かくまきの歌他 remains traceable today through its award history.

children’s literatureaward-winning workpostwar literature
Shizue Miyaguchi みやぐち しづえ award

ミノスケのスキー帽 is a work by 宮口しづえ. It is presented here as a prize-winning work, with attention to its subject, tone, and place in the author's career.

A prize-winning work by 宮口しづえ.

Prize-winning workPublication statusLiterary context

ゆみこのりす他 is a work by 今西祐行. It is presented here as a prize-winning work, with attention to its subject, tone, and place in the author's career.

A prize-winning work by 今西祐行.

Prize-winning workPublication statusLiterary context
Gennosuke Nagasaki ながさき げんのすけ award

トコトンヤレ・チャコベエ他 is a children's literature by 長崎源之助. Recognized in its award year, it reflects the author's concerns and the atmosphere of its period.

トコトンヤレ・チャコベエ他 remains associated with 長崎源之助's award-winning career.

childrengrowtheveryday life
Hisashi Yamanaka やまなか つね award

赤毛のポチ by 山中恒 is the work associated with this award entry. It is introduced here as a literary or scholarly work whose bibliographic status was checked against book databases rather than magazine issue identifiers.

An entry point for reading 赤毛のポチ by 山中恒 as an award-recognized work.

267 pages
award-winning workliterary prizepublication check
No winner
Tomiko Inui いぬい とみこ award

An early children's short story by Tomiko Inui. Through children's contact with the familiar thrush, it depicts attention to nature, children's sensitivity, and a new postwar realism in Japanese children's literature.

An encounter with a small bird quietly changes the children's hearts.

178 pages
children's literaturenaturechildrenpostwar Japan
Makoto Oishi おおいし しん award

Makoto Oishi's "Wind Vane" is a work of children's literature titled after an instrument that senses the movement of wind. With quiet lyricism and realism, it depicts a child's heart sensitively receiving changes in the outside world and searching for its own direction.

Like an instrument that reads the direction of the wind, the story shows a child's heart sensing changes in the world.

220 pages
children's literaturegrowthwindsensibilitypostwar children
Michio Sagawa さがわ みちお award

Taka no Ko is a children's literary work by Michio Sagawa. It is confirmed in the Chikuma Shobo Shogakusei Zenshu series under the katakana title Taka no Ko. Through an encounter with a young hawk, the story looks at life, growth, and wildness as seen through a child's eyes.

An encounter with a young hawk leaves a child with the strength of life and the pain of parting.

children's literaturenaturebirdsgrowthlife
Yasuo Maekawa まえかわ やすお award

Yasuo Maekawa's "River General" and "The Village's First Star" are early works of postwar children's literary realism. Through children's lives around rivers and villages, they portray nature, community, and a gaze toward state power and authority from a child's perspective.

These new writer award-winning works depict society and nature as seen by children through life along a river and in a village.

children's literaturerealismrivervillagepostwar era
Miyoko Matsutani まつたに みよこ award

貝になった子供 is a work by 松谷みよ子 recognized by the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞 in 1951. The award record confirms the title and author, while public information confirming a standalone book, paperback, or collection is limited; identifiers for magazine issues are therefore not used.

貝になった子供 is a work by 松谷みよ子 recorded in the history of the 日本児童文学者協会新人賞.

award-winning workliterary prizepublication history