Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Literary Awards

North Japan Literary Award

きたにっぽんぶんがくしょう

Short story literary award sponsored by North Japan Newspaper, aimed at discovering new writers through open submissions.

Short story
Established
1966
Organizer
North Japan Newspaper
Category
General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Selection Method
Open call
Target
Newcomer
Frequency
1 per year
Application Deadline
around August
Announcement Period
around January
Status
Active

Description

Established in 1966. Aimed at discovering local new writers; submissions began mainly from Toyama Prefecture, North Japan Newspaper's home prefecture, but now attracts attention nationwide as a gateway for short stories. Judges: Rounds 1-2: Fumio Niwa, Rounds 3-24: Yasushi Inoue, Rounds 25 onward: Teru Miyamoto. Winning works are published in North Japan Newspaper on New Year's Day.

Prize

Main Prize
Winning work is published in North Japan Newspaper

Selection

Selection Process

Selection
Judges Rounds 1-2: Fumio Niwa, Rounds 3-24: Yasushi Inoue, Rounds 25 onward: Teru Miyamoto
Pass Rate Unknown
Announcement Published in North Japan Newspaper on New Year's Day

Related Awards

  • List of literary awards
  • Regional literary awards

Official Resources

https://webun.jp/pub/hensyu/bungaku/

Past Winners

大下さえ award

True to its forceful title, the work follows a character running through a period of upheaval.

Like a gale, it steps beyond everyday life.

literary awardregional literaturespeednew start
水上朝陽 award

Set around Hayate, a sixth-grade boy, this children's novel brings suppressed feelings in a violent home into contact with the presence of a girl glimpsed on the balcony across the way.

On the balcony across the way, a girl appears where no one should be.

children's literaturedomestic violencelonelinesselementary schoolrenewal
神戸妙子 award

Told from a daughter's perspective, the work retraces her father's life as a fisherman after dementia sets in, reconnecting memory, sea, and family.

A daughter's memories trace the life of her fisherman father.

familyfather and daughterdementiafishermansea
谷町蛞蝓 award

Centered on a narrator who supports foreign children at an elementary school in Osaka, the work layers a child's life in a new country with the quiet of living alone.

A child's exchange and the narrator's solitude quietly overlap.

foreign childreneducationsolitudememoryregional literature
逢河光乃 award

Mitsuno Aikawa's Blue Moon is a short story about a girl raised by a single mother and her uncle Yoshio, who works at a bar in women's clothing. Rather than a large event, it focuses on how circles of care grow in ordinary life.

A quiet bond between a girl and her uncle gently illuminates everyday happiness.

short storyfamilyuncleeveryday lifehappiness
福永真也 award

This work is introduced as: 他人の土地に無断で種を蒔く叔父に振り回される青年を主人公に、家族との距離や地域の人間関係を描いた短編。

A work centered on 種を蒔く行為が、家族の距離を静かに露わにする。

memorycommunityself-discovery
稲尾れい award

虫めづるの庭 is an award-winning work by 稲尾れい. It is presented here as the work associated with the 北日本文学賞.

An award-winning work by 稲尾れい: 虫めづるの庭.

award-winning workliterature
田中博之 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.

regional literary prizeunpublished受賞作
高田はじめ たかだ はじめ award

かんぐれ is an award-recognized work by 高田はじめ. Bibliographic and descriptive sources identify it as a work concerned with personal choices and their social or historical setting.

かんぐれ, read through its award history and bibliographic record.

award-recognized workbibliographic recordpeople and society
森田健一 もりた けんいち award

風邪が治れば by 森田健一 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 風邪が治れば by 森田健一, including award and bibliographic context.

award workliteraturebibliographic record
鈴木篤夫 すずき あつお award

ビリーブ 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 ビリーブ is organized without substituting magazine identifiers.

award-winning workbibliographic verificationliterary award
中村公子 なかむら きみこ award

This short work is recorded as the winner of the forty-seventh Kita-Nihon Literary Award. Publicly available information does not provide a detailed synopsis, but it is identified as a prizewinning work from a regional newspaper's open literary competition and as a work included in a prize anthology.

A prizewinning short story selected through the Kita-Nihon Literary Award competition and included in an anthology.

open literary prizeshort fictionregional literature
瀬緒瀧世 award

浅沙の影 is a 小説 by 瀬緒瀧世. 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.

浅沙の影 presents 瀬緒瀧世's work in the form of 小説.

literary award workmemoryhuman experience
沢辺のら さわべ のら award

Ano Natsu ni Umareta Koto is a short story recognized by the North Japan Literary Award. Through an event born in summer memory, it looks at the time people carry within themselves and at turning points in life.

An event marked in summer memory illuminates the shape of a life.

530 pages
short fictionsummermemoryliferegional literature

海の娘 is a work by のむら真郷 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.

海の娘 by のむら真郷 is a work read through the lens of its award history and publication form.

award-winning workcontemporary literaturepublication history
齊藤洋大 award

彼岸へ is a 2008 award-winning work by 齊藤洋大. Centered on the subject suggested by its title, it can be introduced as a literary work that follows shifts in character and scene.

彼岸へ is a work by 齊藤洋大 recognized by the 北日本文学賞.

relationshipsthe atmosphere of an erainner change
村山小弓 award

しらべ is an award-winning work by 村山小弓. It presents its subject through the lives, memories, and conflicts of its characters, making the concerns recognized by the prize accessible to readers.

しらべ is an award-winning work in which 村山小弓 depicts human choices and the weight of time.

award-winning workrelationshipsmemorysociety
阪野陽花 award

A prizewinning short story from the North Japan Literary Award. Rather than a standalone book, it can be read in an anthology of the award selected by Teru Miyamoto, presenting human and everyday nuances within a compact form.

As a regional literary-prize story, it catches signs of change within ordinary lives.

530 pages
short fictionregional literary awarddaily lifehuman relationships
飛田一歩 とびた いっぽ award

最後の姿 is an award-recognized work by 飛田一歩. Searches of public and commercial bibliographic sources did not confirm a standalone book edition of the awarded work.

最後の姿, read through its award history and bibliographic record.

award-recognized workbibliographic recordJapanese literature
松嶋ちえ まつしま ちえ 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.

memoryhuman relationshipssocietyliterary expression
夏芽涼子 なつめ りょうこ award

This short work layers the traces of life in tatami with floral imagery, portraying emotions rooted in place. Through an intimate space, it quietly reflects memory and shifting human ties.

The quiet images of flowers and tatami call forth memories hidden within daily life.

placememoryhomehuman relationshipsregional literature
丸岡通子 まるおか みちこ award

みみず is a work by 丸岡通子. It is associated with the 北日本文学賞.

みみず by 丸岡通子.

Kanno Yukimushi かんの ゆきむし award

橋の上の少年 is a work by 菅野雪虫. It was selected for the 北日本文学賞 in 2001 and was recognized within the literary culture of its time.

A work by 菅野雪虫 recognized by the 北日本文学賞.

436 pages
literary awardhuman experiencenarrative
佐々木信子 ささき のぶこ 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
井野登志子 いの としこ award

海のかけら is a work by 伊野俊子. It presents its subject through a focused literary frame, drawing out the emotional and social tensions suggested by the Japanese description.

海のかけら uses 海 as an entry point into human feeling and the atmosphere of its time.

土地記憶再生
岩波三樹緒 いわなみ みきお award

お弔い is a work by 岩波三樹緒. Recognized by the 北日本文学賞, it reflects the author's concerns and the literary context around the work.

A work recognized by the 北日本文学賞, showing 岩波三樹緒's distinctive voice.

literatureaward-winning work
長山志信 ながやま しのぶ award

ティティカカの向こう側 is a work by 長山志信 that was recognized by the 北日本文学賞 in 1997. It is read as a published literary work.

ティティカカの向こう側, a work recognized by the 北日本文学賞.

早瀬馨 はやせ かおる award

眼 is a work by 早瀬馨 associated with the 北日本文学賞. It can be read as a work that follows its subject through people, time, place, and memory.

Under the title 眼, the work foregrounds 早瀬馨's engagement with its subject.

220 pages
award-winning work北日本文学賞people and timememory
花輪真衣 はなわ まい award
2016 pages
我如古修二 がねこ しゅうじ award

この世の眺め is a work by 我如古修二 recognized by the North Japan Literary 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 我如古修二 recognized through the North Japan Literary Award.

award-winning literaturenarrativeliterary recognition
長岡千代子 ながおか ちよこ award

遠きうす闇 is an award-winning work by 長岡千代子, recognized by the 北日本文学賞. It presents its subject through the form suggested by the title and stands as part of the author's published career.

遠きうす闇 is a work by 長岡千代子 honored by the 北日本文学賞.

award-winning workliterary prizeliterature
三村雅子 みむら まさこ award

Full Moon is a story grounded in the sensibility of northern Japan, portraying distance between people and the waxing and waning of memory. Quiet scenes of daily life accumulate as the image of the moon resonates with what remains in the characters' hearts.

The light of a full moon quietly illuminates memories submerged in everyday life.

regional literaturememoryhuman relationships
中沢ゆかり なかざわ ゆかり award

夏の花 by 中沢由佳里 is a prize-recognized work. 夏の光と花のイメージを手がかりに、若い感受性と地方の生活感を描く小説。季節の鮮やかさの中に、登場人物の揺れや痛みが置かれている。

夏の花 shows the central qualities of 中沢由佳里.

award-recognized workliterary expressionmemory and relationships
織田卓之 おだ たくゆき award

残照 is a literary work by 織田卓之. It presents character, atmosphere, and social context through fiction or criticism.

残照 is an important work for reading 織田卓之's expression in the context of 北日本文学賞.

literaturecharacterperiod atmosphere
Tetsuo Takashima たかしま てつお award

帰国 is an award-winning work by 高嶋哲夫. 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.

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

time and the individualmemorysocietyhuman relationships
原口真智子 はらぐち まちこ award

電車 by 原口真智子 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.

電車 layers people, time, and place behind the force of its compact title.

memoryfamilytimeloss
北村周一 きたむら しゅういち award

ユーモレスク is a literary work by 北村周一 and a winner of 北日本文学賞.

ユーモレスク is an essential work in the award history of 北村周一.

290 pages
human experiencememorytime
Isao Morita もりた いさお award

An award-winning story associated with the North Japan Literary Award. True to its title, it follows the afterimage of past events and the feelings of people living in a regional setting.

An award-winning story associated with the North Japan Literary Award.

regional literaturememorylosshuman relationships
Yoshizumi Yuko よしずみ ゆうこ award

遊ぶ子どもの声きけば is an award-winning work by 吉住侑子. 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 遊ぶ子どもの声きけば.

award-winning worktime and memorycharacter study
桂城和子 かつらぎ かずこ award

風に棲む is a 小説 by 葛城和子. It follows the pressures, memories, and relationships suggested by its subject, presenting the work in a compact literary form.

風に棲む quietly brings out the texture of memory and its time.

memoryfamilyhistorical momentselfhood
間嶋稔 まじま みのる award

“悪い夏” is an award-winning work by 間嶋稔. 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 “悪い夏.”

award-winning workJapanese literatureexpression
渡部智子 わたなべ ともこ award

額縁 is a work by 渡部智子 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.

額縁 by 渡部智子 remains associated with its award recognition.

award-winning work1980s literatureauthorial themes
井村叡 いむら あきら award

“Rojin no Asa” is a short story whose title places the atmosphere of morning within the time of old age. Included in a collection of North Japan Literary Award winning works, it can be read as a piece that draws the shades of an elderly person's perception and daily life from quiet ordinary scenes.

Morning light in old age illuminates the silence within everyday life.

old agemorningregional literaturedaily lifeshort fiction
Michiko Nakanishi なかにし みちこ award

A short story recognized by the North Japan Literary Award. The title's sense of time that refuses to move suggests a quiet work attentive to memory and emotions left within ordinary life.

Within time that does not flow, feelings from the past and present settle quietly.

memorytimeregional literaturedaily lifeloss
田口佳子 たぐち かこ award

靴 is a 文学作品 work by 田口佳子, 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 田口佳子's perspective.

memory of an erahuman observationsociety and the individual
野島千恵子 のじま ちえこ award

Set against memories of a cold northern place and human relationships, this work depicts attempts to cross emotional distance. The title suggests a fragile bridge that both separates and connects people.

In a frozen landscape, a narrow path between people is sought.

180 pages
northern landscapesolituderestoring bonds
夏目千代 なつめ ちよ award

A short work that uses bodily movement and unspoken emotion to depict the distance between people. As a prize-winning literary submission, it delicately handles silence and miscommunication in everyday life.

パントマイム reflects its age and human lives through the perspective of 夏目千代.

silencephysical expressionhuman relationships
No winner
佐々木国広 ささき くにひろ award

Memory of a Baby Carriage is confirmed as a winning work of the North Japan Literary Award. Centered on childhood memory and family feeling suggested by its title, it can be placed as a work through which a regional literary prize brought individual time into view.

It brings the texture of early memory into view within the context of a regional literary prize.

regional literaturememoryfamilyNorth Japan Literary Award
小島久枝 こじま ひさえ award

軍医大尉 is a literary work by 小島久枝. Recognized in 1974, it is valued for its focused treatment of character, place, and the pressures of its time.

軍医大尉 captures a sense of people and time within a tightly shaped form.

memory and placehuman feelingsocial context
息長大次郎 おきなが だいじろう award

越の老函人 is a literary work by 息長大次郎. Recognized in 1973, it is valued for its focused treatment of character, place, and the pressures of its time.

越の老函人 captures a sense of people and time within a tightly shaped form.

memory and placehuman feelingsocial context
小柳美智子 こやなぎ みちこ award

十七歳の日に is a 作品 by 小柳美智子. 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.

十七歳の日に conveys the force of its subject and the author's perspective as an award-winning work.

426 pages
award-winning work作品Showa-era literatureauthorial perspective
佐伯葉子 さえき ようこ award

がらんどう by 佐伯葉子 was recognized by the 北日本文学賞. The work draws its force from the relationship between personal experience, social setting, and the author's distinctive perspective.

がらんどう places human experience and the atmosphere of its time at the center of the work.

award-winning workliteraturework
神部龍平 かんべ りゅうへい award

闘鶏 is a work by 神部龍平 recognized by the north-japan-literary-award in 1970. It is presented here as an individual award-winning work, with bibliographic identifiers added where public records confirm a book edition.

闘鶏, a work recognized by the north-japan-literary-award.

award-winning workliterary prizepublication status
山村睦 やまむら むつみ award

大鹿 by 山村睦 was recognized by the 北日本文学賞. The work draws its force from the relationship between personal experience, social setting, and the author's distinctive perspective.

大鹿 places human experience and the atmosphere of its time at the center of the work.

award-winning workliteraturework
林英子 はやし えいこ award

A novel whose title suggests stalled lives and relationships that fail to move forward. Within the realities of regional society, it portrays people carrying impatience and resignation.

空転 is a work in which a novel whose title suggests stalled lives and relationships that fail to move forward.

regional lifestagnationdaily lifepsychology
杉昌乃 すぎ まさの award

A novel centered on a woman living in a regional community, portraying unstable relationships and the weight of daily life. Against the climate of northern Japan, personal choices and silences leave a strong impression.

佐恵 is a work in which a novel centered on a woman living in a regional community, portraying unstable relationships and the weight of daily life.

regional lifewomendaily liferelationships
藤瀬光哉 ふじせ みつや award

A novel that uses the image of two fires to portray conflicting feelings and the heat of ordinary life. Recognized by a northern Japanese literary prize, it is rooted in regional reality.

二つの火 is a work in which a novel that uses the image of two fires to portray conflicting feelings and the heat of ordinary life.

regional lifeconflictdaily lifesymbolism