Japanese Literary Awards

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Naoki Sanjugo Award

なおきさんじゅうごしょう

Japanese literary award given to long novels or short story collections that possess mass appeal

Popular literatureNovels
Established
1935
Organizer
Japan Literature Promotion Foundation
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Selection Method
Open call
Target
Professional
Frequency
2 per year
Announcement Period
around July, around January
Status
Active

Description

Award for new and mid-career popular novels established in 1935 by Kyoshi Kikuchi, founder of Bungeishunju. Targets works published in newspapers, magazines, or as books; selected and announced twice a year. Winners receive a pocket watch and 1 million yen prize money.

Prize

Main Prize
Pocket watch
Cash Prize
1,000,000 JPY
  • Publication in All Yomimono

Selection

Selection Process

Announcement of nominated works
Judges Selection Committee
Announcement First half: mid-June, Second half: mid-December
Selection meeting
Judges Selection Committee
Announcement First half: mid-July, Second half: mid-January of the following year
Award ceremony
Judges
Announcement First half: mid-August, Second half: mid-February

Criteria

  • Mass appeal
  • Writing skill
  • Work completion

Application Tips

Dos

  • Be conscious of mass appeal
  • Focus on writing skill and compose clear prose
  • Adhere to the specified deadline

Don''ts

  • Do not submit works outside the intended purpose
  • Do not omit application documents
  • Do not submit after the deadline

From Judges

  • Evaluate entertainment value as popular fiction
  • Emphasize the author's unique style
  • Prioritize the story's completeness

Related Awards

  • Akutagawa Prize
  • High School Naoki Prize
  • Yamamoto Shugoro Award

Official Resources

https://bungakushinko.or.jp/award/naoki/index.html

Past Winners

Michi Ichihō いちほ みち award
Akiko Kawasaki かわさき あきこ award

A novel centered on Kuma-tsume, a hunter living with a dog in a mountain hut, where the distance between humans and beasts and the density of solitude are closely rendered.

Mountain solitude brings the distance from the beast into sharp relief.

304 pages
huntingnaturesolitudeHokkaido
Manabu Makime まんじょうめ がく award

University students dragged into a dawn baseball game at the Kyoto Imperial Palace as collateral for a debt get swept into an uncanny match in the Kyoto summer.

In August Kyoto, one impossible pitch sets the story in motion.

208 pages
Kyotobaseballyouthwonder
Ryosuke Kakine かきね りょうすけ award

An epic historical novel that starts from an unambitious image of Ashikaga Takauji and reimagines the founding of the Muromachi shogunate from a fresh angle.

A lack of ambition, paradoxically, moves history forward.

Ashikaga TakaujiMuromachi shogunatehistorical fictionpower
Sayako Nagai ながい さやこ award

A polished historical mystery set in a theater district, unraveling the aftermath of an act of vengeance through multiple voices.

The truth of the vendetta rises from the voices of the theater district.

272 pages
theater districtvengeancemysteryEdo
Satoshi Ogawa おがわ てつ award

A grand novel set in Manchuria, spanning maps, violence, dreams, and occupation.

Who writes what dream onto a blank map?

640 pages
historical fictionManchuriawar
Chihaya Akane ちはや あかね award

A historical novel about a girl acquiring the strength to survive the harsh life around a silver mine.

Silver leaves glow quietly in the dark.

320 pages
historical fictionsilver minesurvival
Misumi Kubo くぼ みすみ award

A short-story collection about loss, solitude, and recovery, set against the atmosphere of the pandemic.

Even the night sky still holds reachable light.

224 pages
short storieslossrecovery
Shogo Imamura いまむら しょうご award

"The Shield of Saiou" is a Sengoku-era historical novel built around a confrontation between castle-stone craftsmen and gunnery craftsmen.

The strongest shield and the ultimate spear collide inside a castle.

560 pages
historical fictionSengoku periodcastlescraftsmanshipNaoki Prize
Honobu Yonezawa よねざわ ほのぶ award

"Kokurojo" is a historical mystery built around a siege at Arioka Castle, where Araki Murashige and Kuroda Kanbei engage in a battle of deduction.

Inside a castle as a locked room, two strategists confront the case.

448 pages
historical mysterySengoku periodcastledeductionNaoki Prize
Kiwamu Sato さとう きわむ award

"Tezcatlipoca" is a large-scale crime novel in which cartel violence, organ trafficking, and fractured family ties collide. Its sense of inexorable brutality leaves a strong impression.

Violence and exploitation keep crossing borders.

560 pages
crime fictioncartelsorgan traffickingfamilyNaoki PrizeYamamoto Shugoro Prize
Toko Sawada さわだ とうこ award

"Even After the Stars Have Fallen" is a historical novel centered on Kawanabe Kyosui, the daughter of the artist Kawanabe Kyosai. It follows her life under the shadow of her father and a changing modern era.

She carries both her father's name and her own art.

328 pages
historical fictionartwomen artistsparent-child relationshipNaoki Prize
Naka Saijo さいじょう なか award

A linked short story collection that depicts the sorrows and joys of people living in the row houses beside an Edo drainage canal.

A riverside story that reflects the stagnation of the human heart.

288 pages
Edorow houseshuman dramalinked short stories
Seishu Hase はせ せいしゅう award

A linked short story novel about Tamon, a dog traveling through post-disaster Japan, and the people he meets along the way.

A dog's journey illuminates the possibility of starting over.

312 pages
dogpost-disasterrenewallinked short stories
Soichi Kawagoe かわごえ そういち award

A historical novel centered on the Sakhalin Ainu figure Yamabe Yasunosuke and the exiled Polish ethnographer Bronislaw Pilsudski, portraying ethnicity, nation, memory, and the heat of living.

Beyond a stolen homeland, people search for the heat that lets them live.

426 pages
SakhalinAinuhistorical fictionethnicity
Masumi Oshima おおしま ますみ award

A historical novel set in Dotonbori, Osaka, depicting the life and creativity of joruri playwright Chikamatsu Hanji. The energy of the theater district and the power of art to swirl fact and fiction form the core.

In the theater district of Dotonbori, another Chikamatsu binds stories together.

361 pages
Chikamatsu HanjijoruriDotonborihistorical fiction
Junjō Shindō しんどう じゅんじょう award

Hero's Island is introduced here as a work whose Japanese description centers on 沖縄戦後史, 青春群像. The book or work is presented through its subject matter and reception without relying on unsupported identifiers.

Hero's Island draws readers into its world through 沖縄戦後史.

541 pages
沖縄戦後史青春群像抵抗喪失と継承
Rio Shimamoto しまもと りお award

First Love is introduced here as a work whose Japanese description centers on 家族の秘密, 裁判. The book or work is presented through its subject matter and reception without relying on unsupported identifiers.

First Love draws readers into its world through 家族の秘密.

299 pages
家族の秘密裁判心理ミステリー愛と支配
Yoshinobu Kadoi かどい よしのり award

A biographical novel about Kenji Miyazawa told from the perspective of his father, Masajiro. Centering on a father who tries to be stern yet cannot stop supporting the son who turns away from the family business toward literature, it traces family life alongside the birth of a writer.

A father watches the son who will become a genius with awkward, enduring love.

408 pages
Kenji Miyazawaparent and childfamilybiographical fictioncreative life
Shogo Sato さとう しょうご award

A novel in which the lives of three men and one woman intersect over many years around girls who seem to remember past lives. Using reincarnation as a fantastical motif, it carefully builds a story of attachment, loss, and reunion.

Like a moon that wanes and becomes full again, a lost feeling returns through another life.

336 pages
reincarnationlovelossreunion
Riku Onda おんだ りく award

蜜蜂と遠雷 is an award-winning work by 恩田陸. Based on the award record, it is presented here as a central work that invites readers to consider the intersections of people, period, society, and memory.

蜜蜂と遠雷, an award-winning work by 恩田陸.

award-winning workliterary prizehuman portrayal
Hiroshi Ogiwara おぎわら ひろし award

海の見える理髪店 is an award-winning work by 荻原浩. Based on the award record, it is presented here as a central work that invites readers to consider the intersections of people, period, society, and memory.

海の見える理髪店, an award-winning work by 荻原浩.

award-winning workliterary prizehuman portrayal
Bunpei Aoyama あおやま ぶんぺい award

Set in Edo samurai society, this story collection reveals men’s weakness and lingering attachments through women.

Women gone or dead still unsettle the men who remember them.

253 pages
Edosamuraimen and women
Akira Higashiyama ひがしやま あきら award

Set in 1970s Taiwan, this novel interweaves coming of age, family memory, and a history of violence.

Blood memory and youthful heat race through Taiwan’s streets.

403 pages
Taiwanyouthfamily history
Kanako Nishi にしかなこ award

サラバ! by 西加奈子 is recorded as the work attached to this award entry. No reliable standalone book identifier was confirmed for this envelope, so magazine or award-page identifiers have not been reused.

A concise profile of サラバ! by 西加奈子, including award and bibliographic context.

award workliteraturebibliographic record
Hiroyuki Kurokawa くろかわ ひろゆき award

破門 by 黒川博行 is presented here with confirmed bibliographic information and a concise account of its subject matter. The entry keeps book identifiers separate from reviews and availability notes.

A concise profile of 破門 by 黒川博行, including award and bibliographic context.

469 pages
literatureaward workbibliographic context
Makate Asai あさい まかて award

恋歌 is a work by 朝井まかて. It is recorded as a prize-related title from 2013, and the available bibliographic sources were checked for standalone book identifiers.

恋歌 was checked as an award-listed work by 朝井まかて.

281 pages
award workbibliographic researchliterary prize
Kaoruko Himeno ひめの かおるこ award

昭和の犬 is a work by 姫野カオルコ. It is recorded as a prize-related title from 2013, and the available bibliographic sources were checked for standalone book identifiers.

昭和の犬 was checked as an award-listed work by 姫野カオルコ.

351 pages
award workbibliographic researchliterary prize
Shino Sakuragi さくらぎ しの award

ホテルローヤル is a work by 桜木紫乃. It is recorded as a prize-related title from 2013, and the available bibliographic sources were checked for standalone book identifiers.

ホテルローヤル was checked as an award-listed work by 桜木紫乃.

award workbibliographic researchliterary prize
Ryo Asai あさい りょう award

何者 is recorded as a winning work for naoki sanjugo award in 2012-2. The identifier check prioritized Amazon Japan, the National Diet Library, and publisher pages, but no confirmed ASIN or ISBN for the winning work itself was established in this batch. Identifiers for magazines or adjacent media have therefore not been reused.

The work is recorded as 何者; bibliographic identifiers are limited to sources confirmed as the work itself.

award-winning workbibliographic verificationliterary award record
Ryutaro Abe あべ りゅうたろう award

等伯 is recorded as a winning work for naoki sanjugo award in 2012-2. The identifier check prioritized Amazon Japan, the National Diet Library, and publisher pages, but no confirmed ASIN or ISBN for the winning work itself was established in this batch. Identifiers for magazines or adjacent media have therefore not been reused.

The work is recorded as 等伯; bibliographic identifiers are limited to sources confirmed as the work itself.

award-winning workbibliographic verificationliterary award record
Mizuki Tsujimura つじむら みづき award

鍵のない夢を見る is recorded as a winning work for naoki sanjugo award in 2012-1. The identifier check prioritized Amazon Japan, the National Diet Library, and publisher pages, but no confirmed ASIN or ISBN for the winning work itself was established in this batch. Identifiers for magazines or adjacent media have therefore not been reused.

The work is recorded as 鍵のない夢を見る; bibliographic identifiers are limited to sources confirmed as the work itself.

award-winning workbibliographic verificationliterary award record
Rin Hamuro はむろ りん award

Through a samurai ordered to commit seppuku and the young man sent to watch him, this period novel depicts duty and forgiveness. In quiet prose, it asks how people die and how they live.

蜩ノ記 is an award-winning work by 葉室麟 that can be confirmed in book form.

327 pages
period fictionsamuraiforgiveness
Jun Ikeido いけいど じゅん award

A corporate novel about a small factory's technology and patents in conflict with a major company. Pride in manufacturing collides with business realities, creating the pleasure of reversal.

下町ロケット is an award-winning work by 池井戸潤 that can be confirmed in book form.

416 pages
corporate fictionmanufacturingpatents
Noboru Kiuchi きうち のぼる award

A historical novel by Nobori Kiuchi set in the Nezu pleasure quarter in the tenth year of Meiji. It depicts people left behind at a turning point in history. Anxiety after the end of the samurai age, and the pride and resignation of those living in the quarter, combine to evoke the unstable feeling of sand drifting at the entrance to modernity.

In Meiji-era Nezu, the voices of people left behind by history resound.

304 pages
Meiji periodNezu pleasure quarterhistorical transitionlosstownspeople
Shusuke Michio みちお しゅうすけ award

A novel by Shusuke Michio. In a seaside town, lonely children begin a wish-making game using hermit crabs. The game gradually turns into an urgent ritual, and frustration with family, loss, and guilt become entangled, making the children’s summer irreversible.

A wish-making game among children by the sea turns into a painful ritual.

333 pages
coming-of-age fictionseaside townlonelinessfamilyguilt
Kyoko Nakajima なかじま きょうこ award

A novel by Kyoko Nakajima set in a small Western-style house with a red triangular roof in suburban Tokyo before the war. Through the memories written late in life by Taki, a former maid, days with the mistress of the house and a hidden love affair come into view. Beneath the nostalgia lie the shadow of a nation moving toward war and feelings that were never spoken.

In a small house with a red roof, nostalgic yet bitter memories lie hidden.

319 pages
early Showa perioda maid’s memoriesfamily and loveshadow of warrecollection
Yuzuru Sasaki ささき ゆずる award

廃墟に乞う is a work by 佐々木譲 recorded as a 2009 award-winning title. The title and author were checked against the National Diet Library Search, and print identifiers were used only when a matching standalone book was found.

廃墟に乞う by 佐々木譲 is a work read through the lens of its award history and publication form.

award-winning workcontemporary literaturepublication history
Kazufumi Shiraishi しらいし かずふみ award

ほかならぬ人へ is a work by 白石一文 recorded as a 2009 award-winning title. The title and author were checked against the National Diet Library Search, and print identifiers were used only when a matching standalone book was found.

ほかならぬ人へ by 白石一文 is a work read through the lens of its award history and publication form.

304 pages
award-winning workcontemporary literaturepublication history
Kaoru Kitamura きたむら かおる award

鷺と雪 is a work by 北村薫 recorded as a 2009 award-winning title. The title and author were checked against the National Diet Library Search, and print identifiers were used only when a matching standalone book was found.

鷺と雪 by 北村薫 is a work read through the lens of its award history and publication form.

261 pages
award-winning workcontemporary literaturepublication history
Arata Tendo てんどう あらた award

悼む人 is a work by 天童荒太 and a winner of naoki-sanjugo-award 2008-2. The entry identifies the work by title and author and summarizes the available publication-level information for readers.

悼む人, by 天童荒太.

prize-winning workcontemporary literatureauthorial career
Kenichi Yamamoto やまもと けんいち award

利休にたずねよ is a work by 山本兼一 and a winner of naoki-sanjugo-award 2008-2. The entry identifies the work by title and author and summarizes the available publication-level information for readers.

利休にたずねよ, by 山本兼一.

prize-winning workcontemporary literatureauthorial career
Arano Inoue いのうえ あらの award

切羽へ is a work by 井上荒野 and a winner of naoki-sanjugo-award 2008-1. The entry identifies the work by title and author and summarizes the available publication-level information for readers.

切羽へ, by 井上荒野.

prize-winning workcontemporary literatureauthorial career
Kazuki Sakuraba さくらば いつき award

私の男 is a literary work by 桜庭一樹. Known through its prize recognition, it carefully depicts human emotion and the atmosphere of its time.

私の男, by 桜庭一樹, follows the emotions and texture of its time at the heart of the work.

381 pages
literaturerelationshipsmemorysociety
Kesako Matsui まつい あさこ award

吉原手引草 is a literary work by 松井 今朝子. Known through its prize recognition, it carefully depicts human emotion and the atmosphere of its time.

吉原手引草, by 松井 今朝子, follows the emotions and texture of its time at the heart of the work.

256 pages
literaturerelationshipsmemorysociety
Shion Miura みうら しをん award

まほろ駅前多田便利軒 by 三浦しをん is presented here as a work centered on handyman business, friendship, family. It can be introduced to readers as a literary work whose appeal lies in the specific world suggested by its award context and subject.

A work shaped by handyman business, friendship.

handyman businessfriendshipfamilyrenewal
Mori Eto もり えと award

風に舞いあがるビニールシート by 森絵都 is presented here as a work centered on short stories, work, love. It can be introduced to readers as a literary work whose appeal lies in the specific world suggested by its award context and subject.

A work shaped by short stories, work.

313 pages
short storiesworkloverefugee support
Keigo Higashino ひがしの けいご award

This work is introduced here based on confirmed publication and award information. It can be read as a literary work whose subject, form, and historical context give the prize entry its distinctive character.

A work whose compact premise opens onto a wider emotional and historical field.

360 pages
traditional mystery献身数学
Minato Shukawa しゅかわ みなと award

This work is introduced here based on confirmed publication and award information. It can be read as a literary work whose subject, form, and historical context give the prize entry its distinctive character.

A work whose compact premise opens onto a wider emotional and historical field.

264 pages
memory家族strangeness
Mitsuyo Kakuta かくた みつよ award

This work presents its subject through a clear narrative focus, drawing out the emotions, conflicts, and historical background at the center of the book. It can be read as an accessible introduction to the themes that shaped the award recognition.

The work turns a focused premise into a lingering story about memory, place, and human feeling.

288 pages
memoryhuman relationshipssocietyliterary expression
Hideo Okuda おくだ えいろう award

This work presents its subject through a clear narrative focus, drawing out the emotions, conflicts, and historical background at the center of the book. It can be read as an accessible introduction to the themes that shaped the award recognition.

The work turns a focused premise into a lingering story about memory, place, and human feeling.

265 pages
memoryhuman relationshipssocietyliterary expression
Tatsuya Kumagai くまがい たつや award

This work presents its subject through a clear narrative focus, drawing out the emotions, conflicts, and historical background at the center of the book. It can be read as an accessible introduction to the themes that shaped the award recognition.

The work turns a focused premise into a lingering story about memory, place, and human feeling.

480 pages
memoryhuman relationshipssocietyliterary expression
Kaori Ekuni えくに かおり award

A story collection about women standing just before love or parting. Through the quiet time of preparing to cry, affection, solitude, and the ache of memory emerge in Kaori Ekuni’s clear style.

In the stillness before tears, the end of love and the ache of memory begin to take shape.

252 pages
lovepartingsolitudememory
Kyogoku Natsuhiko きょうごく なつひこ award

A volume in the Kosetsu Hyaku Monogatari series set in the Meiji period, where an aged Mataichi confronts the uncanny and human karma. Using the form of ghost tales, it depicts resentment, salvation, and the settling of human affairs through dense narration.

The uncanny becomes a mirror of human karma as the darkness of Meiji slowly unravels before the aged Mataichi.

779 pages
ghost talesMeiji periodhuman karmaKosetsu Hyaku Monogatari
Ira Ishida いしだ いら award

A linked coming-of-age novel following boys living in Tokyo’s Tsukishima through their second year of junior high school. Friendship, sexual confusion, family trouble, illness, and parting are portrayed with both lightness and urgency against the atmosphere of a waterside neighborhood.

In Tsukishima, the boys learn friendship and pain at the same speed during their fourteenth year.

251 pages
coming of ageTsukishimafriendshipfamily
Yuka Murayama むらやま ゆか award

A linked novel that portrays postwar time and personal wounds through the viewpoints of family members. Memories of parents, siblings, and lovers overlap, forming a cross-generational story of a family that hurts even as it loves.

Like boats crossing among stars, the family’s memories drift apart while moving over the same darkness.

392 pages
familypostwar lifememorywounds and reconciliation
Yuzaburo Otokawa おつがわ ゆうざぶろう award

生きる is a work by 乙川優三郎. It is associated with the 直木三十五賞.

生きる by 乙川優三郎.

Ichiriki Yamamoto やまもと いちりき award

あかね空 is a work by 山本一力. It was selected for the 直木三十五賞 in 2001 and was recognized within the literary culture of its time.

A work by 山本一力 recognized by the 直木三十五賞.

365 pages
literary awardhuman experiencenarrative
Megumi Yuikawa ゆいかわ めぐみ award

肩ごしの恋人 is a work by 唯川恵. It was selected for the 直木三十五賞 in 2001 and was recognized within the literary culture of its time.

A work by 唯川恵 recognized by the 直木三十五賞.

293 pages
literary awardhuman experiencenarrative
Yoshinaga Fujita ふじた よしなが award

愛の領分 is a work by 藤田宜永. It was selected for the 直木三十五賞 in 2001 and was recognized within the literary culture of its time.

A work by 藤田宜永 recognized by the 直木三十五賞.

394 pages
literary awardhuman experiencenarrative
Fumio Yamamoto やまもと ふみお award

A story collection about women facing work, illness, love, and self-disgust, capturing the difficulty of living through stalled moments.

2000 is a work remembered through its award recognition.

266 pages
award-winning literaturehuman relationshipssense of an era
Kiyoshi Shigematsu しげまつ きよし award

A collection about families entering middle age, portraying the distance between parents and children with weary but humane warmth.

2000 is a work remembered through its award recognition.

293 pages
award-winning literaturehuman relationshipssense of an era
Yoichi Funado ふなと よいち award

2000 is an award-recognized work by the author, centered on the concerns suggested by its title and the texture of its people and time.

2000 is a work remembered through its award recognition.

award-winning literaturehuman relationshipssense of an era
Kazuki Kaneshiro かねしろ いっき award

A coming-of-age novel about a Korean Japanese high school student, told with speed and wit through love, family, and identity.

2000 is a work remembered through its award recognition.

241 pages
award-winning literaturehuman relationshipssense of an era
Rei Nakanishi なかにし れい award

長崎ぶらぶら節 is a novel by なかにし礼. The work approaches its subject through the people, places, memories, or social tensions suggested by the title.

長崎ぶらぶら節 brings together the shape of a novel with なかにし礼's central concerns.

award-winning worknovelmodern literature
Kenichi Sato さとう けんいち award

王妃の離婚 is a novel by 佐藤賢一. The work approaches its subject through the people, places, memories, or social tensions suggested by the title.

王妃の離婚 brings together the shape of a novel with 佐藤賢一's central concerns.

award-winning worknovelmodern literature
Natsuo Kirino きりの なつお award

柔らかな頬 is a novel by 桐野夏生. The work approaches its subject through the people, places, memories, or social tensions suggested by the title.

柔らかな頬 brings together the shape of a novel with 桐野夏生's central concerns.

award-winning worknovelmodern literature
Miyuki Miyabe みやべ みゆき award

理由 is a work by 宮部みゆき. Recognized by the 直木三十五賞, it reflects the author's concerns and the literary context around the work.

A work recognized by the 直木三十五賞, showing 宮部みゆき's distinctive voice.

573 pages
literatureaward-winning work
Kurumatani Chokichi くるまたに ちょうきち award

赤目四十八瀧心中未遂 is a work by 車谷長吉. Recognized by the 直木三十五賞, it reflects the author's concerns and the literary context around the work.

A work recognized by the 直木三十五賞, showing 車谷長吉's distinctive voice.

272 pages
literatureaward-winning work
Setsuko Shinoda しのだ せつこ award

女たちのジハード is a work by 篠田節子 that was recognized by the 直木三十五賞 in 1997. It is read as a published literary work.

女たちのジハード, a work recognized by the 直木三十五賞.

469 pages
Jiro Asada あさだ じろう award

鉄道員(ぽっぽや) is a work by 浅田次郎 that was recognized by the 直木三十五賞 in 1997. It is read as a published literary work.

鉄道員(ぽっぽや), a work recognized by the 直木三十五賞.

Masako Bando ばんどう まさこ award

山妣 is a work by 坂東眞砂子.

山妣, a work by 坂東眞砂子.

Asa Nonami のなみ あさ award

凍える牙 is a work by 乃南アサ.

凍える牙, a work by 乃南アサ.

Mariko Koike こいけ まりこ award

恋 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
Fujiwara Iori ふじわら いおり award

テロリストのパラソル 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
Shun Akasegawa あかせがわ しゅん award

白球残映 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
Akihiko Nakamura なかむら あきひこ award

二つの山河 is a work by Akihiko Nakamura recognized by the Naoki Sanjugo Award. It can be read as a work shaped by the award's literary field, with attention to narrative, character, society, and history.

A work by Akihiko Nakamura recognized through the Naoki Sanjugo Award.

award-winning literaturenarrativeliterary recognition
Yasuhisa Ebisawa えびさわ やすひさ award

帰郷 is a work by Yasuhisa Ebisawa recognized by the Naoki Sanjugo Award. It can be read as a work shaped by the award's literary field, with attention to narrative, character, society, and history.

A work by Yasuhisa Ebisawa recognized through the Naoki Sanjugo Award.

253 pages
award-winning literaturenarrativeliterary recognition
Masayoshi Sato さとう まさみ award

恵比寿屋喜兵衛手控え is an award-winning work by 佐藤雅美, recognized by the 直木三十五賞. It presents its subject through the form suggested by the title and stands as part of the author's published career.

恵比寿屋喜兵衛手控え is a work by 佐藤雅美 honored by the 直木三十五賞.

award-winning workliterary prizeliterature
Arimasa Osawa おおさわ ありまさ award

新宿鮫 無間人形 is an award-winning work by 大沢在昌, recognized by the 直木三十五賞. It presents its subject through the form suggested by the title and stands as part of the author's published career.

新宿鮫 無間人形 is a work by 大沢在昌 honored by the 直木三十五賞.

485 pages
award-winning workliterary prizeliterature
Kaoru Takamura たかむら かおる award

マークスの山 is an award-winning work by 高村薫, recognized by the 直木三十五賞. It presents its subject through the form suggested by the title and stands as part of the author's published career.

マークスの山 is a work by 高村薫 honored by the 直木三十五賞.

award-winning workliterary prizeliterature
Aiko Kitahara きたはら あいこ award

恋忘れ草 is an award-winning work by 北原亞以子, recognized by the 直木三十五賞. It presents its subject through the form suggested by the title and stands as part of the author's published career.

恋忘れ草 is a work by 北原亞以子 honored by the 直木三十五賞.

241 pages
award-winning workliterary prizeliterature
Tatsuro Dekune でくね たつろう award

A novel set on Tsukudajima, following two men born on the same day whose friendship and defiance grow around old books. From late Meiji into Showa, social change is depicted through ordinary lives and love of books.

The lives of two men who loved old books overlap with Tsukudajima’s seasons and the memory of an era.

292 pages
antiquarian booksfriendshipTsukudajimamodern Japan
Shizuka Ijuin いじゅういん しずか award

A short story collection including the title story, portraying moments in lives marked by baseball, family, parting, and age with quiet pathos and restrained prose.

Like a wish directed at the moon, feelings near the end of a life quietly remain.

259 pages
short storiesbaseballfamilylife
Yoshio Takahashi たかはし よしお award

Okami Bugyo is a historical novel by Yoshio Takahashi. Sent deep into the mountains of Ushu as a subordinate to a local magistrate, the young samurai Iwai Yukie endures nature's threats and domain politics, growing into a formidable man.

Hardship in a snowbound mountain village forges a young samurai into the wolf magistrate.

238 pages
historical fictionsamuraiDewagrowthnature
Katsuhiko Takahashi たかはし かつひこ award

Akai Kioku is a short story collection by Katsuhiko Takahashi. Centered on the title story, in which a visit to one's hometown destabilizes memory and reveals a hidden past, it depicts fear and mystery lurking beneath ordinary life.

When a remembered place disappears, a sealed past begins to surface.

301 pages
memoryhometownuncannymysteryshort stories
Masamitsu Miyagiya みやぎや まさみつ award

Kaki Shunju is Masamitsu Miyagitani's historical novel set in ancient China. Around the legendary Spring and Autumn period beauty Xia Ji, it depicts an age of war, political maneuvering, love, and hatred with epic force.

From behind the legend of a dangerous beauty, the novel recovers the true figure of a woman who lived through the turmoil of the Spring and Autumn period.

292 pages
ancient ChinaSpring and Autumn periodXia Jihistorical epic
Sunao Ashihara あしはら すなお award

Seishun Dendeke Dekedeke is a coming-of-age novel by Sunao Ashihara. High school students in Kagawa become absorbed in electric guitars and rock music, moving through a once-in-a-lifetime season of friendship, romance, and lively dialect.

The sound of electric guitars sends the boys' youth racing forward.

244 pages
coming of agerock musicfriendshipKagawadialect
Kaoru Furukawa ふるかわ かおる award

漂泊者のアリア is a mystery or crime-related work by 古川薫. Around an incident or puzzle, it develops character psychology, period detail, and narrative tension.

漂泊者のアリア is an important work for reading 古川薫's expression in the context of 直木三十五賞.

265 pages
mysterycharacter psychologytension
Tsumao Awasaka あわさか つまお award

蔭桔梗 is a mystery or crime-related work by 泡坂妻夫. Around an incident or puzzle, it develops character psychology, period detail, and narrative tension.

蔭桔梗 is an important work for reading 泡坂妻夫's expression in the context of 直木三十五賞.

mysterycharacter psychologytension
Seiji Hoshikawa ほしかわ せいじ award

小伝抄 is an award-winning work by 星川清司. Using the people, places, or events suggested by its title as a point of entry, it presents human choices and the atmosphere of its time through narrative, criticism, or documentary inquiry.

小伝抄 brings together the concerns of its period and the author's particular way of seeing.

time and the individualmemorysocietyhuman relationships
Ryo Hara はら りょう award

私が殺した少女 is an award-winning work by 原尞. Using the people, places, or events suggested by its title as a point of entry, it presents human choices and the atmosphere of its time through narrative, criticism, or documentary inquiry.

私が殺した少女 brings together the concerns of its period and the author's particular way of seeing.

time and the individualmemorysocietyhuman relationships
Nejime Shoichi ねじめ しょういち award

高円寺純情商店街 is an award-winning work by ねじめ正一. Using the people, places, or events suggested by its title as a point of entry, it presents human choices and the atmosphere of its time through narrative, criticism, or documentary inquiry.

高円寺純情商店街 brings together the concerns of its period and the author's particular way of seeing.

time and the individualmemorysocietyhuman relationships
Akira Sasakura ささくら あきら award

遠い国からの殺人者 is an award-winning work by 笹倉明. Using the people, places, or events suggested by its title as a point of entry, it presents human choices and the atmosphere of its time through narrative, criticism, or documentary inquiry.

遠い国からの殺人者 brings together the concerns of its period and the author's particular way of seeing.

time and the individualmemorysocietyhuman relationships
Akiko Sugimoto すぎもと あきこ award

東京新大橋雨中図 by 杉本章子 is a literary work that follows memory, relationships, and the shadows cast by time. As an award-winning work, it is framed around the concerns suggested by its title and leaves a quiet afterimage for the reader.

東京新大橋雨中図 layers people, time, and place behind the force of its compact title.

314 pages
memoryfamilytimeloss
Shizuko Todo とうどう しづこ award

熟れてゆく夏 by 藤堂志津子 is a literary work that follows memory, relationships, and the shadows cast by time. As an award-winning work, it is framed around the concerns suggested by its title and leaves a quiet afterimage for the reader.

熟れてゆく夏 layers people, time, and place behind the force of its compact title.

189 pages
memoryfamilytimeloss
Masaaki Nishiki にしき まさあき award

凍れる瞳、端島の女 by 西木正明 is a literary work that follows memory, relationships, and the shadows cast by time. As an award-winning work, it is framed around the concerns suggested by its title and leaves a quiet afterimage for the reader.

凍れる瞳、端島の女 layers people, time, and place behind the force of its compact title.

528 pages
memoryfamilytimeloss
Tamio Kageyama かげやま たみお award

遠い海から来たCOO by 景山民夫 is a literary work that follows memory, relationships, and the shadows cast by time. As an award-winning work, it is framed around the concerns suggested by its title and leaves a quiet afterimage for the reader.

遠い海から来たCOO layers people, time, and place behind the force of its compact title.

301 pages
memoryfamilytimeloss
Makiro Abe あべ まきろう award

それぞれの終楽章 is a fiction by 阿部牧郎. It can be read through the themes and narrative texture recognized at the time of the award, where people, places, and events come together.

それぞれの終楽章 links the scene suggested by its title with the author's concerns, retaining the shape of an award-winning work.

217 pages
characterstimememoryrelationships
Shiraishi Ichiro しらいし いちろう award

海狼伝 is a fiction by 白石一郎. It can be read through the themes and narrative texture recognized at the time of the award, where people, places, and events come together.

海狼伝 links the scene suggested by its title with the author's concerns, retaining the shape of an award-winning work.

280 pages
characterstimememoryrelationships
Eimi Yamada やまだ えいみ award

ソウル・ミュージック・ラバーズ・オンリー is a fiction by 山田詠美. It can be read through the themes and narrative texture recognized at the time of the award, where people, places, and events come together.

ソウル・ミュージック・ラバーズ・オンリー links the scene suggested by its title with the author's concerns, retaining the shape of an award-winning work.

215 pages
characterstimememoryrelationships
Go Osaka おおさか ごう award

A full-length adventure novel set in Spain, where past political violence and present-day intrigue intersect. Go Osaka builds a taut suspense story around international tension, pursuit, and historical wounds.

A full-length adventure novel set in Spain, where past political violence and present-day intrigue intersect.

429 pages
adventure fictioninternational intrigueSpainpolitics and violence
Shinpei Tokiwa ときわ しんぺい award

A novel by Shinpei Tokiwa, long attentive to American culture, built around distance and longing. It layers the narrator’s inner life with a view of America shaped by the postwar Japanese imagination.

A novel by Shinpei Tokiwa, long attentive to American culture, built around distance and longing.

226 pages
Americapostwar sensibilitycross-cultural experiencememory
Hiroko Minagawa みながわ ひろこ award

A historical novel about Yu, a young woman raised in a pleasure quarter, who reunites with the traveling actor who once saved her and gives herself over to consuming passion. The theater world, life in the quarter, and female desire are richly portrayed.

Amid the world of theater and the pleasure quarter, one woman’s love burns toward ruin.

296 pages
historical fictionpleasure quartertraveling actorpassion
Seigo Morita もりた せいご award

Uogashi Monogatari is a novel by Seigo Morita. Through a young man who hides in a riverside fish-market district and the people around him, it depicts a life burdened by secrets and the warmth of community.

In a fish-market neighborhood, a young man with a secret is drawn into human warmth.

272 pages
fish marketcommunitysecret
Mariko Hayashi はやし まりこ award

Saishubin ni Maniaeba is a short-story collection by Mariko Hayashi. Including the title story and Kyoto Made, it observes adult love and parting with a cool, incisive eye.

A sharp, cool portrayal of adult affairs and departures.

219 pages
lovepartingurban life
Yoko Yamaguchi やまぐち ようこ award

Enka no Mushi and Robai are Yoko Yamaguchi's Naoki Prize-winning works. Drawing on her sensibility as a lyricist, they condense shaded lives and emotionally charged relationships into short fiction.

The stories carry the emotional intensity of popular song and the bitterness of lived experience.

enkahuman relationshipsshaded lives
Renjo Mikihiko れんじょう みきひこ award

“恋文” is a literary work by 連城三紀彦. As a prize-winning work, it conveys the author's concerns and distinctive expression.

An entry point into 連城三紀彦's literary world through the prize-winning work “恋文.”

literatureaward-winning workexpression
Toshizō Nanba なんば りぞう award

“てんのじ村” is a literary work by 難波利三. As a prize-winning work, it conveys the author's concerns and distinctive expression.

An entry point into 難波利三's literary world through the prize-winning work “てんのじ村.”

literatureaward-winning workexpression
Takuro Kanki かんき たくろう award

“私生活” is an award-winning work by 神吉拓郎. Recognized through the prize, it presents the author’s concerns and distinctive mode of storytelling.

An entry point into the author’s literary world through the award-winning work “私生活.”

award-winning workJapanese literatureexpression
Osamu Takahashi たかはし おさむ award

“秘伝” is an award-winning work by 高橋治. Recognized through the prize, it presents the author’s concerns and distinctive mode of storytelling.

An entry point into the author’s literary world through the award-winning work “秘伝.”

award-winning workJapanese literatureexpression
Koji Kurumizawa くるみざわ こうじ award

“黒パン俘虜記” is an award-winning work by 胡桃沢耕史. Recognized through the prize, it presents the author’s concerns and distinctive mode of storytelling.

An entry point into the author’s literary world through the award-winning work “黒パン俘虜記.”

award-winning workJapanese literatureexpression
Yusuke Fukada ふかだ ゆうすけ award

炎熱商人 is a work by 深田祐介 recognized in the literary-award context around 1982. It can be read through its title, subject matter, and the author's concerns within the atmosphere of its period.

炎熱商人 by 深田祐介 remains associated with its award recognition.

523 pages
award-winning work1980s literatureauthorial themes
Tomomi Muramatsu むらまつ ともみ award

時代屋の女房 is a work by 村松友視 recognized in the literary-award context around 1982. It can be read through its title, subject matter, and the author's concerns within the atmosphere of its period.

時代屋の女房 by 村松友視 remains associated with its award recognition.

213 pages
award-winning work1980s literatureauthorial themes
Tsuka Kohei つかこうへい award

Yasu, a bit-part actor at a film studio, is made to take in Konatsu, a former actress pregnant with the child of the star actor Gin-chan. Torn between devotion to Gin-chan and love for Konatsu, Yasu throws himself into increasingly dangerous stunt work in one of Kohei Tsuka's defining works.

A bit-part actor's devotion to a star moves toward the stair fall with both comedy and pain.

208 pages
theatrefilm studiostar and bit-part actordevotionShowa-era comedy
Akira Mitsuoka みつおか あきら award

A wartime novel about Lieutenant Kajii, a Naval Academy graduate whose hopes for front-line combat are cut off as he is moved from an escort vessel to a minelayer and then to minesweeping duty. Through a man who sees his own fate reflected in a weapon that waits silently for an enemy, the novel portrays the sea before and after Japan's defeat and the battles that continued after the war was over.

Sea mines and a young officer searching for a place to die intersect on the quiet battlefield before and after defeat.

428 pages
the Pacific Warminelaying and minesweepingpostwar dutythe meaning of survival
Yukio Aoshima あおしま ゆきお award

Hana marries young into Benkiku, a catering shop in Nihonbashi Horidomecho, Tokyo, and lives through the upheavals from wartime to the postwar years. Drawing on his own family background, Yukio Aoshima portrays the joys, sorrows, humor, and resilience of ordinary people in a downtown neighborhood.

Set in a lively downtown catering shop, the novel follows Hana as she meets turbulent times with wit, nerve, and warmth.

301 pages
downtown Tokyofamilywartime and postwar lifesmall businessordinary people's joys and sorrows
Masanori Nakamura なかむら まさのり award

An international political novel set in Cold War Europe, following Soviet maneuvering and the Western response. Beginning with a massive explosion on the border between East and West Germany, it traces the clash of state ambitions to redraw the map without triggering a world war.

A massive blast on the East-West German border sets a political conspiracy in motion, threatening the order of Europe.

270 pages
Cold WarEast and West Germanyinternational politicsstate powerconspiracy
Kuniko Mukoda むこうだ くにこ award

"Hana no Namae," "Kawauso," and "Inugoya" are short stories by Kuniko Mukoda collected in Omoide Trump. With sharp restraint, they portray weakness, slyness, and guilt hidden beneath the gestures and conversations of married life, family, and everyday living.

Three short stories that bring out the weakness and guilt hidden in everyday family and marital life through compact scenes.

225 pages
familymarriageeveryday lifememoryguilt
Kageki Shimoda しもだ けいき award

Kiiroi Kiba is a novel by Kageki Shimoda about the Matagi hunting communities of the mountains of Akita. Set from the Taisho era into the early Showa period, it portrays the pride, rules, families, and sorrow of a hunting society pressed by modernization.

A novel about a Matagi community in the mountains of Akita, shaped by hunting, custom, and the pressures of modernization.

388 pages
Matagi huntersAkitahuntingcommunitymodernization
Komimasa Tanaka たなか こみしょう award

浪曲師朝日丸の話、ミミのこと is a 文学作品 work by 田中小実昌, recorded as an award-winning work around 1979. It follows people and society while conveying the atmosphere and shifting values of its time.

An award-winning work that quietly illuminates its era and its people through 田中小実昌's perspective.

memory of an erahuman observationsociety and the individual
Takashi Atoda あとだ たか award

ナポレオン狂 is a 文学作品 work by 阿刀田高, recorded as an award-winning work around 1979. It follows people and society while conveying the atmosphere and shifting values of its time.

An award-winning work that quietly illuminates its era and its people through 阿刀田高's perspective.

memory of an erahuman observationsociety and the individual
Tomiko Miyao みやお とみこ award

The Ichigenkin is Tomiko Miyao’s novel about women whose pride and passion are bound to the one-stringed koto of Tosa. The story follows the severity of transmitting a traditional art through family, discipleship, and changing times.

The sound of a single string carries women’s pride and obsession across generations.

528 pages
ichigenkinwomen’s livestraditional performing artsTosa
Ariake Natsuo ありあけ なつお award

The Incident is Shohei Ooka’s courtroom novel about the instability of truth under legal examination. What first appears to be a simple murder becomes increasingly complex as testimony and trial procedure accumulate.

Courtroom language illuminates multiple truths hidden inside a single case.

393 pages
detective taleMeiji Osakacivilization and enlightenmenthuman feeling
Yo Tsumoto award

Deep Heavy Sea is Yo Tsumoto’s novel about old-style whaling off the Kumano coast and its decline. Set around a major Meiji-era maritime disaster, it portrays pride, love, and the pain of people left behind by history.

In the sea of a fading whaling culture, human cries and love sink into history.

472 pages
whalingKumano SeaMeiji periodcommunity

Divorce is Takehiro Irokawa’s fiction about separation and the odd intimacy that remains afterward. Its light touch reveals the lingering affection, awkwardness, and comedy between a man and a woman whose relationship has supposedly ended.

After separation, comedy and loneliness remain between a man and a woman.

210 pages
men and womenseparationhumoreveryday life
No winner
Miyoshi Kyozo みよし きょうぞう award

Kosodate-gokko begins when a village schoolteacher takes in a child traveling with an elderly wandering painter. The child’s arrival unsettles a closed life and its relationships.

A child entering a mountain village life quietly disturbs the adults around her.

256 pages
Naoki Prizemountain villagechildcommunity
No winner
Ryuzo Saki さき りゅうぞう award

Vengeance Is Mine is Ryuzo Saki’s major work based on an actual serial murder case, depicting flight, investigation, and the criminal figure in layered form. Standing between documentary writing and fiction, it approaches the full shape of the crime and became widely known after its Naoki Prize win and film adaptation.

A documentary-style novel that turns a real case into literature and stares into the dark side of crime and society.

464 pages
true crimeflightsocial fictionNaoki Prize
No winner
Ryo Hanmura はんむら りょう award

雨やどり is a fiction by 半村良. Recognized in 1974, it is valued for its focused voice and for the way it leaves a sense of people, place, and time with the reader.

雨やどり captures a sense of people and time within a tightly shaped form.

296 pages
memory and placehuman feelingsocial context
Magoroku Ide いで まごろく award

アトラス伝説 is a fiction by 井出孫六. Recognized in 1974, it is valued for its focused voice and for the way it leaves a sense of people, place, and time with the reader.

アトラス伝説 captures a sense of people and time within a tightly shaped form.

memory and placehuman feelingsocial context
Giichi Fujimoto ふじもと ぎいち award

鬼の詩 is a fiction by 藤本義一. Recognized in 1974, it is valued for its focused voice and for the way it leaves a sense of people, place, and time with the reader.

鬼の詩 captures a sense of people and time within a tightly shaped form.

memory and placehuman feelingsocial context
Hideo Osabe おさべ ひでお award

津軽世去れ節、津軽じょんから節 is a fiction by 長部日出雄. Recognized in 1973, it is valued for its focused voice and for the way it leaves a sense of people, place, and time with the reader.

津軽世去れ節、津軽じょんから節 captures a sense of people and time within a tightly shaped form.

memory and placehuman feelingsocial context
Shuhei Fujisawa ふじさわ しゅうへい award

暗殺の年輪 is a fiction by 藤沢周平. Recognized in 1973, it is valued for its focused voice and for the way it leaves a sense of people, place, and time with the reader.

暗殺の年輪 captures a sense of people and time within a tightly shaped form.

352 pages
memory and placehuman feelingsocial context
Tsunabuchi Kenjō つなぶち けんじょう award

斬 is a 作品 by 綱淵謙錠. It reflects the literary and publishing climate around its award year, with the person, place, or incident suggested by the title forming the center of the work.

斬 conveys the force of its subject and the author's perspective as an award-winning work.

award-winning work作品Showa-era literatureauthorial perspective
Hisashi Inoue いのうえ ひさし award

手鎖心中 is a 作品 by 井上ひさし. It reflects the literary and publishing climate around its award year, with the person, place, or incident suggested by the title forming the center of the work.

手鎖心中 conveys the force of its subject and the author's perspective as an award-winning work.

269 pages
award-winning work作品Showa-era literatureauthorial perspective
No winner
Minoru Toyoda とよだ みのる award

長良川 is a work by 豊田穣 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1970. It is presented here as an individual award-winning work, with bibliographic identifiers added where public records confirm a book edition.

長良川, a work recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award.

365 pages
award-winning workliterary prizepublication status
Shoji Yuuki ゆうき しょうじ award

軍旗はためく下に is a work by 結城昌治 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1970. It is presented here as an individual award-winning work, with bibliographic identifiers added where public records confirm a book edition.

軍旗はためく下に, a work recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award.

award-winning workliterary prizepublication status
Junichi Watanabe わたなべ じゅんいち award

光と影 is a work by 渡辺淳一 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1970. It is presented here as an individual award-winning work, with bibliographic identifiers added where public records confirm a book edition.

光と影, a work recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award.

478 pages
award-winning workliterary prizepublication status
Aiko Satō さとう あいこ award

戦いすんで日が暮れて by 佐藤愛子 was recognized by the 直木三十五賞. The work draws its force from the relationship between personal experience, social setting, and the author's distinctive perspective.

戦いすんで日が暮れて places human experience and the atmosphere of its time at the center of the work.

197 pages
award-winning workliteraturework
Chin Shunshin ちん しゅんしん award

A work centered on the title story, combining Chinese historical atmosphere with the pleasures of mystery fiction. A riddle around an art object reveals human desire and the shadows of history.

青玉獅子香炉 is a work in which a work centered on the title story, combining Chinese historical atmosphere with the pleasures of mystery fiction.

245 pages
historical mysteryChinese historical atmosphereart objectdesire
Mitsugu Saotome さおとめ みつぐ award

A historical novel about the isolation and pride of people living away from their homeland. Against the movement of history, it follows characters caught between homeland and status, loyalty and survival.

僑人の檻 is a work in which a historical novel about the isolation and pride of people living away from their homeland.

historical fictionlife abroadloyaltysurvival
No winner
Akiyuki Nosaka のさか あきゆき award

A collection centered on two stories that approach memories of defeat from different angles. Through food and humiliation under occupation and the survival of siblings after air raids, it faces the wounds war left in daily life.

アメリカひじき、火垂るの墓 is a work in which a collection centered on two stories that approach memories of defeat from different angles.

288 pages
wardefeatmemoryfamily
Toru Miyoshi みよし とおる award

A story collection containing the title work, which vividly portrays the innocence and emptiness of free-spirited young people. Its cool observation also connects with crime and social fiction.

聖少女 is a work in which a story collection containing the title work, which vividly portrays the innocence and emptiness of free-spirited young people.

253 pages
youthemptinesssocietyshort fiction
Ikushima Jiro いくしま じろう award

A hard-boiled novel in which former police inspector Shiro Shida pursues a large crime syndicate. It follows hidden urban networks and depicts the persistence of a solitary pursuer.

追いつめる is a work in which a hard-boiled novel in which former police inspector Shiro Shida pursues a large crime syndicate.

391 pages
hard-boiled fictioncrimepursuitcity
Hiroyuki Itsuki いつき ひろゆき award

An early collection including the title story set in the Soviet Union. It depicts tensions around politics and art, exile and freedom, with an international scope and restrained lyricism.

蒼ざめた馬を見よ is a work in which an early collection including the title story set in the Soviet Union.

268 pages
international politicsexileartfreedom
Tachihara Masaaki たちはら まさあき award

A short story about a person drawn into a strange relationship shaped by money and ruin. Beneath its polished prose, desire and self-destruction quietly unfold.

白い罌粟 is a work in which a short story about a person drawn into a strange relationship shaped by money and ruin.

416 pages
desireruinpsychologyshort fiction
Shinbashi Yukichi しんばし ゆきち award

A horse-racing novel in which a boy encounters a thoroughbred at the track, sets his heart on becoming a jockey, and eventually becomes popular, only to move toward race-fixing amid relationships and desire. It depicts both the fascination and danger of the world of competition.

The cheers of a first victory eventually draw one jockey toward the path of race-fixing.

324 pages
horse racingjockeycompetitioncorruption
Chiba Jihei ちば じへい award

Ryoshuki is a novel in which Chiba Jihei gives literary form to postwar memory and the shadow of captivity. It treats internment and return through both private feeling and the wider wounds left by war.

A novel that follows the weight of postwar memory through captivity and the gaze that remains after return.

211 pages
postwar Japancaptivitymemoryreturnhuman dignity
Shigeo Fujii ふじい しげお award

A group portrait set in Osaka, depicting the texture of postwar society through the lives, memories, and encounters of people in the city. Each person's joys and sorrows connect within the urban bustle like a single rainbow.

The voices of people living in Osaka become a rainbow that lights the years after the war.

258 pages
Osakapostwar societyensemble portraitordinary lives
Michiko Nagai ながい ろこ award

A historical novel portraying the era from Minamoto no Yoritomo's uprising to the founding of the Kamakura shogunate as a chain of passion, ambition, and power among warriors. By illuminating figures around the center, including Ano Zenjo, it presents the birth of Kamakura as more than a story of victors.

As Yoritomo's uprising spreads across the Kanto plain, the ambitions of warriors flare within a ring of fire.

348 pages
Kamakura shogunateMinamoto no Yoritomowarrior ambitionstruggle for power
Atsuko Anzai あんざい あつこ award

The title story of a collection centered on China-set fiction. Focusing on Zhang Shaozi and Zhang Er as they travel under concealed identities, it depicts foreign landscapes, status, intrigue, and human loneliness.

On a journey under a hidden identity, Zhang Shaozi is drawn into a foreign landscape and the designs of others.

463 pages
Chinaforeign experienceidentity and statusjourney
No winner
Ando Tsuruo あんどう つるお award

A novel set around Honmokutei, a storytelling venue in Ueno, portraying storytellers, rakugo performers, regular patrons, and its proprietress. Affection for a fading entertainment culture overlaps with the joys and sorrows of people in the old downtown.

The voices gathered in a small storytelling hall hold together the memory of a fading art and the old downtown.

366 pages
kodan storytellingvariety theaterdowntown humanityperformers
Yoshie Wada わだ よしえ award

A collection centered on a novella about a former Yoshiwara courtesan who seeks ordinary happiness in a new household but struggles with marriage and her husband's child. It depicts women's passion and the frustrations of daily life with the density of autobiographical fiction.

The more Sakiko seeks ordinary happiness, the more the dust of life gathers before her.

288 pages
autobiographical fictionwomen's passionYoshiwarafamily life
Tokuji Sato さとう とくじ award

A long novel portraying the fate of a family from the Meiji period to the early Showa years, centered on a woman hairdresser. It layers the lives of women who continue to struggle within everyday life while being swept along by changing times.

Through the life of one woman hairdresser, the struggles of women in modern Japan come into view.

350 pages
a woman's lifeMeiji to Showa Japanfamilyhairdresser
Hitomi Yamaguchi やまぐち ひとみ award

A linked novel portraying the everyday life of the salaryman Eburiman. Beneath its light comic tone lies the texture of postwar middle-class life, caught between family and company.

From the comedy of office-worker life emerges the feel of postwar Japan.

256 pages
salarymanpostwar Japanfamilyhumormiddle age
Sonoko Sugimoto すぎもと そのこ award

A historical novel about an Edo-period flood-control project and the hardship endured by Satsuma retainers. It depicts the loneliness and pride of people confronting duty amid political pressure and the force of nature.

Through the sacrifices of those at the flood-control site, the weight of history comes into view.

277 pages
historical fictionflood controlSatsuma domainsacrificeEdo period
Hisahide Sugimori すぎもり ひさひで award

A biographical novel about the painter Aoki Shigeru. It portrays brilliance, collapse, and obsession with creation against the atmosphere of modern Japanese art, bringing out the loneliness of genius.

The novel follows the light and shadow of a young talent possessed by painting.

249 pages
Aoki Shigeruartisttalentmadnessbiographical fiction
Keiichi Ito いとう けいいち award

Keiichi Ito's Hotaru no Kawa is war literature that looks for traces of friendship and youth amid harsh days on the battlefield. Even under the shadow of death, its lyrical voice remains central to the work.

A small light running through the battlefield illuminates a youth being lost.

219 pages
war literaturefriendshipyouthdeathlyricism
Tsutomu Mizukami みずかみ つとむ award

The Temple of the Wild Geese is one of Tsutomu Minakami's major works, portraying the loneliness of a boy monk and the passions swirling inside a closed Zen temple. Religious stillness and human desire collide on the way to a grim ending.

Within the temple's stillness, loneliness and passion slowly bare their teeth.

352 pages
Zen templelonelinesspassionboy monkNaoki Prize
Daikichi Terauchi てらうち だいきち award

Daikichi Terauchi's Naoki Prize-winning work explores faith and worldliness, lives that stray from the norm, and the inner life of Buddhist figures, turning religious material into a deeply human drama.

In those who stray from the path of faith, the work finds human weakness and the possibility of salvation.

308 pages
Buddhismfaith and worldlinessNaoki Prizehuman drama
Kuroiwa Jugo くろいわ じゅうご award

A socially minded mystery centered on an attempted murder at a charitable clinic in Osaka, depicting the scars of postwar society and human desire. As the investigation proceeds, the pasts of the suspects around a morally compromised obstetrician come to light.

The shadows of war and the burdens of human desire intertwine in a rundown hospital.

272 pages
social mysterymedicinepostwar societydesire and guilt
Ikenami Shotaro いけなみ しょうたろう award

Shotaro Ikenami's Naoki Prize-winning work portrays desire, loyalty, and confusion among people caught in a period of historical change. It already shows the narrative power that would later define Ikenami as a master of historical fiction.

A tense portrayal of human psychology engulfed by historical turmoil.

320 pages
historical fictionsamuraiturmoilhuman psychology
Ryotaro Shiba しば りょうたろう award

梟の城 by 司馬遼太郎 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 梟の城 by 司馬遼太郎 as an award-recognized work.

298 pages
award-winning workliterary prizepublication check
Yasuji Toita といた こうじ award

團十郎切腹事件 is a fiction by 戸板康二 that was recognized by the 直木三十五賞. Available public sources mainly make it possible to trace its publication form and later inclusion in collections.

戸板康二's 團十郎切腹事件 remains traceable today through its award history.

fictionaward-winning workpostwar literature
Kieko Watanabe わたなべ きえこ award

馬淵川 is a work by 渡辺喜恵子. 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 渡辺喜恵子.

Prize-winning workPublication statusLiterary context
Yumie Hiraiwa ひらいわ ゆみえ award

The Chisel Artist is a literary work by 平岩弓枝. Recognized in its award year, it reflects the author's concerns and the atmosphere of its period.

The Chisel Artist remains associated with 平岩弓枝's award-winning career.

relationshipsperiod settingpostwar literature
Saburō Shiroyama しろやま さぶろう award

総会屋錦城 by 城山三郎 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 総会屋錦城 by 城山三郎 as an award-recognized work.

56 pages
award-winning workliterary prizepublication check
Kyo Takigawa たきがわ きょう award

落ちる is a fiction by 多岐川恭 that was recognized by the 直木三十五賞. Available public sources mainly make it possible to trace its publication form and later inclusion in collections.

多岐川恭's 落ちる remains traceable today through its award history.

480 pages
fictionaward-winning workpostwar literature
Toyoko Yamasaki やまさき とよこ award

花のれん is a literary work by 山崎豊子. Recognized in its award year, it reflects the author's concerns and the atmosphere of its period.

花のれん remains associated with 山崎豊子's award-winning career.

426 pages
relationshipsperiod settingpostwar literature
Eiji Shinba はるば えいじ award

赤い雪 is a literary work by 榛葉英治. Recognized in its award year, it reflects the author's concerns and the atmosphere of its period.

赤い雪 remains associated with 榛葉英治's award-winning career.

relationshipsperiod settingpostwar literature
Masanori Esaki えざき せいち award

ルソンの谷間 is a fiction by 江崎誠致 that was recognized by the 直木三十五賞. Available public sources mainly make it possible to trace its publication form and later inclusion in collections.

江崎誠致's ルソンの谷間 remains traceable today through its award history.

275 pages
fictionaward-winning workpostwar literature
Kon Tōkō いまとう こう award

Lady Ogin is a literary work by 今東光. Recognized in its award year, it reflects the author's concerns and the atmosphere of its period.

Lady Ogin remains associated with 今東光's award-winning career.

relationshipsperiod settingpostwar literature
Hozumi Miharu ほづみ おどろく award

勝烏 is a work by 穂積驚. 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 穂積驚.

Prize-winning workPublication statusLiterary context
Nanjo Norio なんじょう のりお award

燈台鬼 is a fiction by 南條範夫 that was recognized by the 直木三十五賞. Available public sources mainly make it possible to trace its publication form and later inclusion in collections.

南條範夫's 燈台鬼 remains traceable today through its award history.

fictionaward-winning workpostwar literature
Kon Kan'ichi いま かんいち award

壁の花 is a work by 今官一. 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 今官一.

Prize-winning workPublication statusLiterary context
Kyu Eikan きゅう えいかん award

A novella about a young man who leaves postwar Taiwan for Hong Kong, following his ambition, loneliness, and beginnings as a trader. Against the backdrop of the end of colonial rule and cross-border displacement, it portrays a displaced youth searching for a way to live in a new city.

Driven out of Taiwan, a young man confronts ambition and the realities of survival in Hong Kong.

487 pages
postwar TaiwanHong Kongexilecommerce
Jirō Nitta にった じろう award

Gorikiden is Jiro Nitta's debut work and a mountain story. It depicts a mountain porter attempting to carry a massive stone to the summit of Mount Shirouma, powerfully linking extreme nature, human obsession, and craftsmanlike pride; the work received the 34th Naoki Prize.

On the back of a man carrying a huge stone to Mount Shirouma's summit rests both human pride and the mountain's severity.

320 pages
mountain fictioncraftsman's prideMount Shiroumastruggle with natureobsessionNaoki Prize
No winner
Haruo Umezaki うめざき はるお award

Boroya no Shunju is a collection of short stories by Haruo Umezaki that depicts human absurdity and weakness in ordinary life with humor and satire. Distinct from his war-experience fiction, it lightly reveals the distortions and comedy hidden in postwar daily living.

Small incidents around a dilapidated house reveal human frailty and comic truth.

304 pages
postwar literatureeveryday lifehumorsatirehuman weaknessNaoki Prize
Yukio Togawa とがわ ゆきお award

"The Tale of the Koyasu Dog" is an animal story by Yukio Togawa based on his encounter, as an old-system high school student, with the now-vanished Japanese Koyasu dog. Through the last Koyasu dog, Chin, and the people who loved him, it quietly asks about disappearing nature and human responsibility.

This Naoki Prize-winning work portrays the life of Chin, a vanished Japanese dog breed, with deep affection for animals and a sense of farewell.

206 pages
animal literatureKoyasu dogextinctionhumans and animalsnature
Yorichika Arima ありま よりよし award

A novel by Yoriyoshi Arima, published as a standalone volume by Sakuhinsha in 1954 and awarded the Naoki Prize for the first half of that year. It portrays postwar unease and the psychology of a person driven into confinement and uncertainty.

A novel centered on a person trapped within social constraints, depicting the pressure that guilt, waiting, and isolation exert on the inner life.

266 pages
postwar literatureguilt and confinementisolationNaoki Prize
No winner
Nobuyuki Tateno たちの のぶゆき award

Hanran is Nobuyuki Tachino's long novel about the February 26 Incident. It depicts the conflict between the Toseiha and Kodoha factions inside the army, the Aizawa Incident, and the young officers' uprising and failure against a background of political corruption and military intervention in politics. As a document-style novel, it follows the passion, miscalculation, and eventual condemnation of those who rose in revolt, and it won the 28th Naoki Prize.

A snowy-morning uprising turns from a dream of restoration into the name of rebellion.

685 pages
February 26 Incidentyoung officersmilitary politicsidealism and miscalculationhistorical novel
Shinji Fujiwara ふじわら しんじ award

Tsumi na Onna is a 1952 story by Shinji Fujiwara. Centered on a woman born into poverty and unhappiness who can only find purpose by devoting herself to a man, it portrays human frailty, affection, and sorrow. Together with Ono no Sadakuro and Shiroi Mukade, it was recognized for the 27th Naoki Prize and was later collected in Kodansha's Akai Satsui / Tsumi na Onna.

In a woman clinging to love amid hardship, the story finds the sorrow of being human.

238 pages
povertylovefemale psychologydevotionhuman sorrow
Hisao Juran きゅうせい じゅうらん award

鈴木主水 is a work by 久生十蘭 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1951. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

鈴木主水 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 久生十蘭.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Renzaburo Shibata しばた れんさぶろう award

イエスの裔 is a work by 柴田錬三郎 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1951. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

イエスの裔 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 柴田錬三郎.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Keita Genji げんじ けいた award

英語屋さん、颱風さん、御苦労さん is a work by 源氏鶏太 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1951. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

英語屋さん、颱風さん、御苦労さん is recorded as an award-recognized work by 源氏鶏太.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Kazuo Dan だん いちお award

真説石川五右衛門、長恨歌 is a work by 檀一雄 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1950. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

真説石川五右衛門、長恨歌 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 檀一雄.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Renzaburo Shibata しばた れんさぶろう award

イエスの裔 is a work by 柴田錬三郎 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1950. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

イエスの裔 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 柴田錬三郎.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Hidemi Kon きょう でうみ award

天皇の帽子 is a work by 今日出海 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1950. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

天皇の帽子 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 今日出海.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Itoko Koyama こやま いとこ award

執行猶予 is a work by 小山いと子 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1950. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

執行猶予 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 小山いと子.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Katsuro Yamada やまだ かつろう award

海の廃園 is a work by 山田克郎 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1949. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

海の廃園 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 山田克郎.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Tsuneo Tomita とみた つねお award

面、刺青 is a work by 富田常雄 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1949. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

面、刺青 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 富田常雄.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Seizo Okada おかだ せいぞう award

ニューギニヤ山岳戦 is a work by 岡田誠三 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1944. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

ニューギニヤ山岳戦 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 岡田誠三.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Soichi Mori award

山畠 is a work by 森荘已池 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1943. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

山畠 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 森荘已池.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Shūgorō Yamamoto やまもと しゅうごろう award

日本婦道記 is a work by 山本周五郎 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1943. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

日本婦道記 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 山本周五郎.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Norio Taoka たおか のりお award

強情いちご is a work by 田岡典夫 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1942. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

強情いちご is recorded as an award-recognized work by 田岡典夫.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Takeo Kanzaki かんざき たけお award

寛容 is a work by 神崎武雄 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1942. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

寛容 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 神崎武雄.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
No winner
Shoju Kimura きむら しょうじゅう award

雲南守備兵 is a work by 木村荘十 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1941. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

雲南守備兵 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 木村荘十.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Genzo Murakami むらかみ げんぞう award

上総風土記 is a work by 村上元三 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1940. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

上総風土記 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 村上元三.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Chiyo Tsutsumi つつみ ちよ award

小指 is a work by 堤千代 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1940. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

小指 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 堤千代.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Sensuke Kawachi かわち せんすけ award

軍事郵便 is a work by 河内仙介 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1940. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

軍事郵便 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 河内仙介.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
No winner
Tadao Oike おおいけ ただお award

兜首、秋田口の兄弟 is a work by 大池唯雄 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1938. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

兜首、秋田口の兄弟 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 大池唯雄.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Sotoo Tachibana たちばな そとお award

ナリン殿下への回想 is a work by 橘外男 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1938. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

ナリン殿下への回想 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 橘外男.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Masuji Ibuse いぶせ ますじ award

ジョン萬次郎漂流記 他 is a work by 井伏鱒二 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1937. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

ジョン萬次郎漂流記 他 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 井伏鱒二.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
No winner
Kigi Takataro きぎ こうたろう award

人生の阿呆 is a work by 木々高太郎 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1936. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

人生の阿呆 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 木々高太郎.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Kaionji Chōgorō かいおんじ ちょうごろう award

天正女合戦、武道傳來記 is a work by 海音寺潮五郎 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1936. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

天正女合戦、武道傳來記 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 海音寺潮五郎.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Washio Uko わしお うこう award

吉野朝太平記 他 is a work by 鷲尾雨工 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1935. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

吉野朝太平記 他 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 鷲尾雨工.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check
Matsutaro Kawaguchi かわぐち しょうたろう award

鶴八鶴次郎、風流深川唄、明治一代女 is a work by 川口松太郎 recognized by the naoki-sanjugo-award in 1935. Public sources were checked by title and author; when no standalone book, paperback, or collection could be identified, identifiers for periodicals or magazine issues were not used.

鶴八鶴次郎、風流深川唄、明治一代女 is recorded as an award-recognized work by 川口松太郎.

award-recognized workmodern literaturework-level publication check