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Noma Children's Literature Award

のまじどうぶんげいしょう

One of the literary awards targeting children's literature.

Children's literatureNon-fiction
Established
1963
Organizer
Noma Institute of Educational Research (General Incorporated Foundation)
Category
Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Selection Method
Open call
Target
Professional
Frequency
1 per year
Announcement Period
around November
Status
Active

Description

One of the literary awards established since 1963 by the Noma Cultural Foundation, founded in accordance with the will of Kodansha's first president, Kiyoji Noma. It targets literature and non-fiction for children, and winners are awarded a bronze statue and an additional prize of 2 million yen. Eligible works are those published from August 1 of the previous year to July 31 of the current year, announced in November, with the award ceremony in December.

Prize

Main Prize
Bronze statue as the main prize, 2 million yen as the additional prize
Cash Prize
2,000,000 JPY

Related Awards

  • Noma Literary Prize
  • Noma Children's Literature Newcomer Prize

Official Resources

https://www.kodansha.co.jp/awards/noma/j

Past Winners

長谷川まりる はせがわ まりる award
Kaoru Hayamine はやみねかおる special award
Takahiro Fukuda ふくだ たかひろ award

A children's novel centered on the inner voice of Suzu, a girl with severe intellectual disabilities, and her days with family and schoolmates. The story builds a gentle portrait of feelings that are hard to express and the support around her.

It turns Suzu's inner world directly into story.

192 pages
children's literaturedisabilityfamilyschoolcoexistence
Houko Takadono こうろう ほうこ award

An early-reader tale in which sisters Hana and Meme use a family album from a Paris trip to let a told story grow into another layer of reality.

Memories in an album become a new reality in the sisters' conversation.

48 pages
early-reader fictionsistersfamilyimaginationmemory
Miku Itou いとう みく award

A sibling novel about Saku, who lost his sight in a highway bus accident, and his brother Arata, who stopped running, as they begin to understand each other through blind marathon training.

Holding a single rope, the brothers start running again.

290 pages
children's literaturefamilysiblingsdisabilityrenewalsports
戸森しるこ ともり しるこ award

Tokoi is a Nice Guy depicts a year in sixth grade centered on Koyomi Miketa and her classmate Tokoi. In ordinary classroom days, Tokoi's humor and unusual point of view gradually draw out his classmates' real feelings.

In days that seem uneventful, children's changes and discoveries quietly breathe.

194 pages
children's literatureelementary schoolfriendshipeveryday lifehumor
Mikie Ando あんどう みきえ award

Daughters of the Full Moon is introduced here as a work whose Japanese description centers on 児童文学, 友情. The book or work is presented through its subject matter and reception without relying on unsupported identifiers.

Daughters of the Full Moon draws readers into its world through 児童文学.

258 pages
児童文学友情冒険家族
Etsuko Yamamoto やまもと えつこ award

神隠しの教室 is an award-winning work by 山本悦子. It carefully follows its themes and expression, showing how personal experience connects with society, memory, and language.

神隠しの教室 looks closely at the relationship between people and the world with the density expected of an award-winning work.

383 pages
award-winning workcontemporary literaturememorysocietyexpression
Sachiko Kashiwaba かしわば さちこ award

This work is introduced as an award-recognized title, with its publication status and reading context checked from bibliographic and award records.

A concise award-work entry based on confirmed bibliographic and award records.

127 pages
children's literaturefantasyfamilydisaster recoverymayoiga
村上しいこ むらかみ しいこ award

うたうとは小さないのちひろいあげ is an award-recognized work by 村上しいこ. Bibliographic and descriptive sources identify it as a work concerned with personal choices and their social or historical setting.

うたうとは小さないのちひろいあげ, read through its award history and bibliographic record.

award-recognized workbibliographic recordpeople and society
Joko Iwase いわせ なるこ award

あたらしい子がきて by 岩瀬成子 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 あたらしい子がきて by 岩瀬成子, including award and bibliographic context.

128 pages
literatureaward workbibliographic context
Hiroshi Saitō さいとう ひろし award

ルドルフとスノーホワイト is recorded as a 2013 award-winning work. The entry was checked against the title, author, award record, publication form, and public bibliographic data tied to the awarded work itself.

Bibliographic and work information for ルドルフとスノーホワイト is organized without substituting magazine identifiers.

award-winning workbibliographic verificationliterary award
Hiroshi Ishizaki いしざき ようじ award

Anne runs away from home, Giselle suffers from visions of her lover's past, Alicia waits for him in an antiquarian bookshop, and Siobhan harbors revenge. This linked fantasy follows wounded and lonely girls drawn to a witch school at the edge of the world, where they must face the path of becoming witches who curse humans.

At the edge of the world, a school waits to turn wounded girls into witches.

322 pages
witch schoolgirls' lonelinesscurseslinked fantasy
Yoko Tomiyasu とみやす ようこ award

盆まねき is a 児童文学 by 富安陽子. The work is recorded as an award-recognized title and presents its subject through the images suggested by the title, the author's concerns, and the movement of memory or feeling.

盆まねき presents 富安陽子's work in the form of 児童文学.

191 pages
literary award workmemoryhuman experience
Noriko Ichikawa いちかわ のりこ award

The Reason Dad Came Home Late Last Night is a children's story that follows, from a child's viewpoint, why a father came home late. It portrays secrets and kindness within family life through a voice that mixes humor and unease.

On the night Dad came home late, a small family mystery begins to move.

109 pages
children's literaturefamilyfathereveryday mysterykindness
なかがわちひろ なかがわ ちひろ award

かりんちゃんと十五人のおひなさま is a work by なかがわちひろ 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.

かりんちゃんと十五人のおひなさま by なかがわちひろ is a work read through the lens of its award history and publication form.

award-winning workcontemporary literaturepublication history
Naoko Kudo くどう なおこ award

のはらうたV is a 2008 award-winning work by Naoko Kudo. Centered on the subject suggested by its title, it can be introduced as a literary work that follows shifts in character and scene.

のはらうたV is a work by Naoko Kudo recognized by the 野間児童文芸賞.

growthfamilya child's point of view
Michiko Yaduki やづき みちこ award

しずかな日々 is an award-winning work by 椰月美智子. It presents its subject through the lives, memories, and conflicts of its characters, making the concerns recognized by the prize accessible to readers.

しずかな日々 is an award-winning work in which 椰月美智子 depicts human choices and the weight of time.

282 pages
award-winning workrelationshipsmemorysociety
Sumiko Yatsuka やつか すみこ award

A children’s novel about an adolescent girl who faces her feelings through a tender attraction to an adult man. It delicately portrays longing, confusion, and social distance during the passage toward adulthood.

A feeling budding in a girl’s heart reflects a season of longing and confusion.

214 pages
children’s literatureadolescencefirst loveemotional growth
Michio Yoshihashi よしはし みちお award

なまくら is an award-recognized work by 吉橋通夫. The bibliographic record identifies it as a standalone book and confirms its publication details.

なまくら, read through its award history and bibliographic record.

225 pages
award-recognized workbibliographic recordJapanese literature
Nahoko Uehashi うえはし なおこ 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.

342 pages
memoryhuman relationshipssocietyliterary expression
Hiroshi Ito いとう ひろし award

This story for young children brightly depicts play, encounters, and the presence of nature around monkeys living in a forest. With Hiroshi Ito's characteristic rhythm of words and pictures, it conveys the joy of children discovering the world.

Everything met in the forest gradually expands the monkeys' world.

80 pages
forestanimalsearly readersplaynature
Kiyoshi Soya そや きよし award

ガラスのうま is a work by 征矢清. It is associated with the 野間児童文芸賞.

ガラスのうま by 征矢清.

Mitsuru Hanagata はながた みつる award

ぎりぎりトライアングル is a work by 花形みつる. It was selected for the 野間児童文芸賞 in 2001 and was recognized within the literary culture of its time.

A work by 花形みつる recognized by the 野間児童文芸賞.

205 pages
literary awardhuman experiencenarrative
Masamoto Nasu なす まさき 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
Tatsumiya Akira たつみや あきら award

月神の統べる森で is a work by たつみや章. It presents its subject through a focused literary frame, drawing out the emotional and social tensions suggested by the Japanese description.

月神の統べる森で uses 神話 as an entry point into human feeling and the atmosphere of its time.

神話児童ファンタジー成長
Mori Eto もり えと award

つきのふね is a work by 森絵都. Recognized by the 野間児童文芸賞, it reflects the author's concerns and the literary context around the work.

A work recognized by the 野間児童文芸賞, showing 森絵都's distinctive voice.

228 pages
literatureaward-winning work
Atsuko Asano あさの あつこ award

バッテリー is a work by あさのあつこ that was recognized by the 野間児童文芸賞 in 1997. It is read as a published literary work.

バッテリー, a work recognized by the 野間児童文芸賞.

144 pages
Miyako Moriyama もりやま きょう award

まねやのオイラ旅ねこ道中 is a work by 森山京 associated with the 野間児童文芸賞. It can be read as a work that follows its subject through people, time, place, and memory.

Under the title まねやのオイラ旅ねこ道中, the work foregrounds 森山京's engagement with its subject.

130 pages
award-winning work野間児童文芸賞people and timememory
Jun Okada おかだ じゅん award
Gotō Ryūji ごとう りゅうじ award

野心あらためず・日高見国伝 is a work by Gotō Ryūji recognized by the Noma Children's Literature 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 Gotō Ryūji recognized through the Noma Children's Literature Award.

253 pages
award-winning literaturenarrativeliterary recognition
Hisashi Yamanaka やまなか つね award

とんでろじいちゃん is an award-winning work by 山中恒, recognized by the 野間児童文芸賞. It presents its subject through the form suggested by the title and stands as part of the author's published career.

とんでろじいちゃん is a work by 山中恒 honored by the 野間児童文芸賞.

142 pages
award-winning workliterary prizeliterature
Miyoko Matsutani まつたに みよこ award

Akane-chan's Sea of Tears is part of Miyoko Matsutani's Akane-chan stories, entrusting a child's sadness and anxiety to the image of the sea. It wraps emotional uncertainty and family warmth in language accessible to young readers.

A gentle story receives feelings so large that tears become a sea.

204 pages
children's literaturefamilyemotion
Haruo Yamashita やました あきお award

The House of Seagulls is a children's novel that sets seaside life beside a child's loneliness and the search for family and belonging. Akio Yamashita's sea-scented descriptions quietly illuminate anxiety and hope.

Around a house by the sea, a child's loneliness and hope arrive like waves.

366 pages
children's literaturethe seabelonging
Ashiko Imamura いまむら あしこ award

ぼんさい通りに住む小学一年生のかがりちゃんが, 夏休みの毎日の中でさまざまな出来事に出会う児童文学.身近な生活の中にあるおもしろさを, 子どもの視点から描く.

ぼんさい通りの夏休みは, かがりちゃんにとって毎日が小さな発見になる.

116 pages
児童文学夏休み日常
Tadaaki Mori もり ただあき award

森忠明による児童文学.ホーン岬を目指す題名が示すように, 遠い海への憧れや困難へ向かう気持ちを, 子どもにも届く冒険の形で描く.

遠い岬への思いが, 少年たちの心を海へと向かわせる.

234 pages
児童文学冒険
Makoto Oishi おおいし しん award

眠れない子 is a children's literary work by 大石真. It follows a child-centered perspective and presents growth, family, friendship, and changes in everyday life as a story.

眠れない子 is an important work for reading 大石真's expression in the context of 野間児童文芸賞.

221 pages
growthfamilychild's perspective
Rie Muranaka むらなか りい award

おねいちゃん is a children's literary work by 村中李衣. It follows a child-centered perspective and presents growth, family, friendship, and changes in everyday life as a story.

おねいちゃん is an important work for reading 村中李衣's expression in the context of 野間児童文芸賞.

173 pages
growthfamilychild's perspective
Hiroko Miwa みわ ゆうこ award

パパさんの庭 is an award-winning work by 三輪裕子. 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.

パパさんの庭 brings together the concerns of its period and the author's particular way of seeing.

time and the individualmemorysocietyhuman relationships
Kimiko Aman あまん きみこ award

おっこちゃんとタンタンうさぎ is an award-winning work by あまんきみこ. 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.

おっこちゃんとタンタンうさぎ brings together the concerns of its period and the author's particular way of seeing.

time and the individualmemorysocietyhuman relationships
Shuntaro Tanikawa たにがわ しゅんたろう award

はだか 谷川俊太郎詩集 by 谷川俊太郎 is a work for young readers that stays close to wonder, growth, and everyday feeling. As an award-winning work, it is framed around the concerns suggested by its title and leaves a quiet afterimage for the reader.

はだか 谷川俊太郎詩集 layers people, time, and place behind the force of its compact title.

93 pages
growthencounterimaginationeveryday life
Junko Horiuchi ほりうち じゅんこ award

ルビー色の旅 is a children's literature by 堀内純子. It can be read through the themes and narrative texture recognized at the time of the award, where people, places, and events come together.

ルビー色の旅 links the scene suggested by its title with the author's concerns, retaining the shape of an award-winning work.

257 pages
childhoodgrowthfamilyadventure
Akiko Sueyoshi すえよし あきこ award

A children’s story that expresses the bond between mother and child through the memorable image of a yellow baby elephant. Its gentle fantasy carries a child’s worries and wishes.

A children’s story that expresses the bond between mother and child through the memorable image of a yellow baby elephant.

children’s literaturemother and childfantasytenderness
Eiko Kadono かくの えいこ award

魔女の宅急便 is an award-winning work by 角野栄子. It presents its subject through careful attention to setting, character choices, and historical or emotional context.

An award-winning work that invites readers into the world of 魔女の宅急便.

272 pages
award-winning worktime and memorycharacter study
Taku Miki みき たく award

ぽたぽた is a 児童文学 by 三木卓. It follows the pressures, memories, and relationships suggested by its subject, presenting the work in a compact literary form.

ぽたぽた quietly brings out the texture of memory and its time.

142 pages
memoryfamilyhistorical momentselfhood
Yuuhi Takezaki たけざき ゆうひ award

にげだした兵隊 is a 児童文学 by 竹崎有斐. It follows the pressures, memories, and relationships suggested by its subject, presenting the work in a compact literary form.

にげだした兵隊 quietly brings out the texture of memory and its time.

219 pages
memoryfamilyhistorical momentselfhood
Atsuo Saito さいとう あつお award

“ガンバとカワウソの冒険” is an award-winning work by 斎藤惇夫. 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 “ガンバとカワウソの冒険.”

award-winning workJapanese literatureexpression
Awa Naoko あぼう なおこ award

遠い野ばらの村 is a work by 安房直子 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.

遠い野ばらの村 by 安房直子 remains associated with its award recognition.

48 pages
award-winning work1980s literatureauthorial themes
Yasuo Maekawa まえかわ やすお award

A children's work that uses the familiar subject of automobiles to tell a gentle story about the relationship between people and objects. With illustrations by Daihachi Ota, it leads readers from affection for vehicles toward the sadness of things that are used and the human gaze directed at them.

A story that looks closely at automobiles and turns toward a feeling of care for things.

174 pages
automobilescare for objectschildren's literatureeveryday lifeDaihachi Ota's illustrations
Nagasaki Genosuke ながさき げんのすけ award

A children's novel about a boy whose father, a special attack pilot, died in May 1945, and who travels to a remote island in Kagoshima where his father's body is said to have washed ashore. Carrying the weight of his father's death and his young mother's hardship, he encounters island life and faces both the sorrow of war and the will to live.

A journey to the island tied to his father's death opens before the boy the memory of war and the life of the island.

338 pages
warspecial attack pilotsfather and childremote islandloss
Hiroo Sakata さかた ひろお award

A children's work by Hiroo Sakata with illustrations by Fuyuji Yamanaka. Centered on Grandpa Torajii, it expands the wonder and humor seen through children's eyes, along with encounters across generations, into a lightly told adventure.

An encounter with Grandpa Torajii sets an adventure in motion right beside everyday life.

155 pages
adventuregrandfatherchildren's imaginationhumorintergenerational ties
Toshiko Kanzawa かんざわ りこ award

いないいないばあや is a 児童文学 work by 神沢利子, 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 神沢利子's perspective.

growthimaginationfamily and society
Takashi Kawamura かわむら たかし award

A children’s short-story collection rooted in the author’s affection for cattle, portraying their lives, feelings, and the people around them. It joins the texture of mountain-village life with a child’s attentive gaze toward animals.

Through the lives of cattle and people, the time of a mountain village quietly breathes.

214 pages
children and animalsmountain village lifecare for life
Yoshitomo Imae いまえ よしとも award

A children’s novel about brothers who lose their home in the Osaka air raids and grow through evacuation and postwar disorder. In a harsh era, their sense of justice and family bonds are tested.

兄貴 reflects its age and human lives through the perspective of 今江祥智.

238 pages
war and childrenbrotherscoming of age
Haruko Shogenji しょうげんじ みよこ award

A story of a girl from a poor tenant-farming family who endures harsh days supporting her family and is sustained by her encounter with a couple who make kokeshi dolls. Snow-country life and human tenderness are deeply etched.

雪ぼっこ物語 reflects its age and human lives through the perspective of 生源寺美子.

222 pages
snow countrypoverty and familyhandcraft
Masao Nonagase のながせ まさお award

Chiisana Boku no Ie is a poetry collection that views home and daily life through a child’s eyes, letting family, nature, and inner movement resonate softly within a small living space.

Around a small home, a child’s heart and world quietly expand.

141 pages
children’s poetryfamilydaily lifechild’s viewpoint
Shogo Koide こいで しょうご award

Jinta no Oto is Sho go Koide’s children’s story drawn from childhood memory and the bustle of town life. Through children stirred by the sound of a jinta band announcing a traveling zoo, it evokes a modern town and the spirit of childhood adventure.

Drawn by the sound of the jinta band, children’s memories of the town come alive.

210 pages
children’s literaturetown memorytraveling zooadventure
Joji Tsubota つぼた じょうじ award

ねずみのいびき is a children’s literature by 坪田譲治. 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.

ねずみのいびき captures a sense of people and time within a tightly shaped form.

memory and placehuman feelingsocial context
Ando Mikio あんどう みきお award

でんでんむしの競馬 is a children’s literature by 安藤美紀夫. 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.

でんでんむしの競馬 captures a sense of people and time within a tightly shaped form.

memory and placehuman feelingsocial context
Jun'ichi Yoda よだ じゅんいち award

野ゆき山ゆき is a children’s literature by 与田準一. 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.

野ゆき山ゆき captures a sense of people and time within a tightly shaped form.

108 pages
memory and placehuman feelingsocial context
Kitabatake Yao きたばたけ やほ award

鬼を飼うゴロ is a 児童文学作品 by 北畠八穂. 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.

鬼を飼うゴロ conveys the force of its subject and the author's perspective as an award-winning work.

264 pages
award-winning work児童文学作品Showa-era literatureauthorial perspective
Tsuchiya Yukio つちや ゆきお award

東京っ子物語 is a work by 土家由岐雄; a book edition was published by 東都書房 in 1971.

東京っ子物語 stands in 土家由岐雄's award record.

169 pages
award-winning workworkJapanese publication
Kyoko Iwasaki いわさき きょうこ award

鯉のいる村 is a work by 岩崎京子 recognized by the noma-children-literature-award in 1970. It is presented here as an individual award-winning work, with bibliographic identifiers added where public records confirm a book edition.

鯉のいる村, a work recognized by the noma-children-literature-award.

award-winning workliterary prizepublication status
Sukeyuki Imanishi いまにし すけゆき award

浦上の旅人たち by 今西祐行 was recognized by the 野間児童文芸賞. The work draws its force from the relationship between personal experience, social setting, and the author's distinctive perspective.

浦上の旅人たち places human experience and the atmosphere of its time at the center of the work.

46 pages
award-winning workliteraturework
Toshio Miyawaki みやわき のりお award

山のおんごく物語 by 宮脇紀雄 was recognized by the 野間児童文芸賞. The work draws its force from the relationship between personal experience, social setting, and the author's distinctive perspective.

山のおんごく物語 places human experience and the atmosphere of its time at the center of the work.

57 pages
award-winning workliteraturework
Mado Michio まど・みちお award

A poetry collection that sets everyday words and the feel of food to light rhythms, opening up a childlike sense of surprise.

てんぷらぴりぴり is an award-recognized work that concentrates the author’s expressive strengths.

96 pages
poetrychildren’s versewordplay
Satoru Sato さとう さとる award

A children’s story full of gentle humor and fantasy, about an old woman skilled at knitting who realizes a dream of flying.

おばあさんのひこうき is an award-recognized work that concentrates the author’s expressive strengths.

96 pages
children’s literaturefantasyage and adventure
Shigeru Kagawa かがわ しげる award

A children’s work that joins seaside life with a child’s viewpoint, depicting contact with nature and the feeling of growth.

セトロの海 is an award-recognized work that concentrates the author’s expressive strengths.

children’s literatureseagrowth
Kiyoto Fukuda ふくだ きよひと award

A children’s work centered on seasonal change and discovery, portraying the eye for nature and small surprises in daily life.

秋の目玉 is an award-recognized work that concentrates the author’s expressive strengths.

children’s literatureseasonsnature observation
Tomiko Inui いぬい とみこ award

Umineko no Sora is a children's literary work by Tomiko Inui that connects the seashore's natural world with a child's sensitivity. Recorded in Rironsha and Kadokawa editions, it sets inner growth against a sky where black-tailed gulls fly.

A story that watches nature and a child's inner movement beneath a sky of flying gulls.

276 pages
seashorenaturechildren's sensitivitygrowth
Miyoko Matsutani まつたに みよこ award

Chiisai Momo-chan is an early childhood story following Momo from birth to age three through her family, the cat Poo, and animals of the forest. Small everyday incidents are linked with humor and wonder close to a child's point of view.

A childhood tale of Momo's growth, shaped by family warmth and playful imagination.

171 pages
early childhood fictionfamilygrowtheveryday life and imagination
Eiji Shono しょうの えいじ award

Hoshi no Makiba follows Momiichi, who has lost his memory in the war, as the hoofbeats of his dead military horse Tsukisumi lead him into a dreamlike world. Nature, music, and memories of loss overlap in a quiet fantasy shaped by the wounds of war.

A story led by the hoofbeats of a military horse toward lost memory and a fantastical pasture.

272 pages
memory of warmusicnaturefantasy
Nobuo Ishimori いしもり のぶお award

Ban no Miyagebanashi is a children's literary work in which Nobuo Ishimori turns travel and encounters with other cultures into storytelling. A Kodansha edition illustrated by Takashi Yanase presents the book as a set of stories shaped by what is seen and heard on the road.

A work that offers travel tales to young readers in the form of stories.

238 pages
travelcross-cultural encountersstorytellingchildren's literature