Yoshikawa Eiji Bunko Award
よしかわえいじぶんこしょう
A bunko award targeting popular fiction series
- Established
- 2016
- Organizer
- Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Yoshikawa Eiji Association for the Promotion of National Culture
- Category
- General Fiction and Popular Fiction
- Target
- Professional
- Frequency
- 1 per year
- Announcement Period
- around March–April
- Status
- Active
Description
Organized by the Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Yoshikawa Eiji Association for the Promotion of National Culture and supported by Kodansha, this is a bunko award for popular fiction series. From series continuing 5 volumes or more, it targets works where the 5th volume or later was published as a primary bunko edition within the period, with the winner decided by voting from approximately 50 selection committee members under the supervision of a witness.
Selection
Selection Process
| Stage | Judges | Pass Rate | Announcement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary selection | Approximately 50 selection committee members including publisher representatives, experts, and publishing/distribution professionals | — | — |
| Final selection | Selection committee members, plus previous winners and witnesses | — | — |
Criteria
- Series novels continuing 5 volumes or more, where the 5th volume or later was published as a primary bunko edition within the period
Related Awards
- Yoshikawa Eiji Award
- Yoshikawa Eiji Literature Award
- Yoshikawa Eiji Literature Newcomer Award
- Yoshikawa Eiji Culture Award
Official Resources
http://yoshikawabunkoshou.kodansha.co.jp/Past Winners
Uehashi Nahoko's Moribito series, a sweeping fantasy centered on the bodyguard Balsa and Prince Chagum.
Balsa and Chagum's journey expands into a long-running saga.
An award-winning installment in the Hyakumangoku no Rusuiyaku series, a historical-fiction series centered on Kaga Domain retainers.
Seno Kazuma, the Kaga domain retainer, negotiates and spars with other domain envoys.
An award-winning installment in the Ushu Boro Tobi-gumi series, a group drama about fire brigades and duty in Edo-period Japan.
A fire brigade derided as 'boro-tobi' tries to rise again amid Edo fire scenes.
十二国記 is an award-recognized work by 小野不由美. It is presented as a work shaped by character choices, a sense of time and place, and a lingering question after the final page.
十二国記 is a work whose shape becomes clearer when its award history is read alongside its publication record.
Kyotaro Nishimura's signature travel-mystery series. Inspector Shozo Totsugawa of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, often with Detective Kamei, investigates cases built around railways, tourist sites, regional cities, and timetable puzzles. For the fourth Yoshikawa Eiji Bunko Award, the prize recognized the continuing paperback series across multiple publishers.
This was not an award for a single volume, but for a long-running paperback series that continually joined travel atmosphere with detection.
A popular mystery series in which criminologist Himura Hideo and writer Arisugawa Alice solve cases. The Yoshikawa Eiji Bunko Award recognized the series as a whole rather than a single fixed volume.
Detective Himura Hideo and writer Alice confront elegantly constructed mysteries.
The first novel in a police series in which bureaucrat Ryuzaki Shinya faces institutional logic and a family crisis while trying to hold to principle.
隠蔽捜査 is a representative award-recognized work by 今野敏.
しゃばけ is an award-recognized work by 畠中恵. It is presented as a work shaped by character choices, a sense of time and place, and a lingering question after the final page.
しゃばけ is a work whose shape becomes clearer when its award history is read alongside its publication record.