Japanese Literary Awards

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Oe Kenzaburo Award

おおえけんざぶろうしょう

Literary award selected by Oe Kenzaburo and sponsored by Kodansha.

Literature
Established
2006
Organizer
Kodansha
Category
Pure Literature
Selection Method
Non-open
Target
Professional
Frequency
1 per year
Status
Ended

Description

Established in 2006 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Oe Kenzaburo's writing career and the 100th anniversary of Kodansha's founding, it was held once a year for a total of 8 times from 2007 to 2014. The target is works published during the one year from January to December. No public call for entries; Oe selects the work of 'literary language' most recognized for its potential and achievements, and publishes a public dialogue with the winning author in the Gunzou magazine. The winning work is translated into either English, French, or German and published worldwide.

Prize

Main Prize
Translation of the winning work into either English, French, or German, and publication worldwide

Selection

Selection Process

Final selection
Judges Oe Kenzaburo
Announcement Publishes a public dialogue with the winning author in the Gunzou magazine

Criteria

  • Selects the work of 'literary language' most recognized for potential and achievements

Related Awards

  • Akutagawa Prize
  • Noma Prize for New Writers
  • Mishima Yukio Prize

Official Resources

https://web.archive.org/web/20070911131514/http://www.kodansha.co.jp/kaigai/ooe/index.html

Past Winners

Kei Iwaki いわき けい award

さようなら、オレンジ by 岩城けい 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 さようなら、オレンジ by 岩城けい, including award and bibliographic context.

literatureaward workbibliographic context
Motoya Yukiko もとや ゆきこ award

嵐のピクニック 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 嵐のピクニック is organized without substituting magazine identifiers.

award-winning workbibliographic verificationliterary award
Risa Wataya わたや りさ award

This collection includes the title story, in which a lover's former girlfriend moves into the couple's apartment, and another story about relationships between women. It depicts moments when kindness, jealousy, and love shift out of alignment, and pity begins to control others or wound the self.

The feeling of pity can turn into tenderness, control, or violence.

256 pages
romancepityjealousyrelationships between women
Tomoyuki Hoshino ほしの ともゆき award

俺俺 is a 長編小説 by 星野智幸. 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.

俺俺 presents 星野智幸's work in the form of 長編小説.

251 pages
literary award workmemoryhuman experience
Fuminori Nakamura なかむら ふみのり award

The Thief follows a gifted pickpocket in Tokyo who targets the wealthy. When he encounters Kizaki, a man from the criminal underworld he once knew, he is forced into inescapable tasks and drawn into a terror that feels like the loss of control over fate.

The precision of a master pickpocket collides with a trap laid by a man from the underworld.

175 pages
crimefateurban solitudethe rule of evil
Reiji Ando あんどう れいじ award

“光の曼陀羅 日本文学論” is a 2009 award-winning work by 安藤礼二. Bibliographic identifiers are limited to editions that can be confirmed as a standalone book, paperback, or collection, and identifiers for magazine issues are not used.

“光の曼陀羅 日本文学論” is an important work in the record of 安藤礼二’s award recognition.

award-winning workcontemporary literature2009
Toshiki Okada おかだ りき award

わたしたちに許された特別な時間の終わり is an award-winning work by Toshiki Okada. Published as a standalone book, it follows its characters' choices and the atmosphere surrounding them through the subject and voice recognized by the prize.

わたしたちに許された特別な時間の終わり is a work by Toshiki Okada recognized by the 大江健三郎賞.

151 pages
relationshipsthe atmosphere of an erainner change
Yu Nagashima ながしま ゆう award

夕子ちゃんの近道 is an award-winning work by 長嶋有. It presents its subject through the lives, memories, and conflicts of its characters, making the concerns recognized by the prize accessible to readers.

夕子ちゃんの近道 is an award-winning work in which 長嶋有 depicts human choices and the weight of time.

429 pages
award-winning workrelationshipsmemorysociety