Photo/Illutration From left, Manabu Makime, Akiko Kawasaki and Rie Kudan. They were announced as the winners of the prestigious Naoki and Akutagawa prizes on Jan. 17 in Tokyo. (Koichi Ueda)

Author Akiko Kawasaki began writing novels while working as a shepherd on her family's dairy farm in Hokkaido.

Her first-hand knowledge of the northernmost prefecture's natural surroundings in her novel "Tomogui" impressed a literary contest judge, helping her to capture a prestigious Naoki Prize. 

Kawasaki, 44, was among the winners of the 170th Akutagawa Prize and Naoki Prize, sponsored by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature, which were announced by the selection committee in Tokyo on Jan. 17.

Rie Kudan, 33, received the Akutagawa Prize for “Tokyo-to dojo to,” and Manabu Makime, 47, also received a Naoki Prize for “Hachigatsu no gosho guraundo.”

Kawasaki, who was born in Hokkaido in 1979, published her first book in 2015. This was her second Naoki Prize nomination.

Her award-winning novel depicts the struggle between a hunter, who lives without contact with the outside world, and a bear, set in Hokkaido during the Meiji Period (1868-1912).

Representing the committee, Mariko Hayashi said of the work, “The description of nature is wonderful. I was overwhelmed by the power and the intensity of the writing.”

Kawasaki said, “I am so caught up in the whirlwind of joy that I feel as if I am floating in the air.”

Kudan was born in Saitama Prefecture in 1990 and lives in Chiba Prefecture. She debuted in 2021. This was her second nomination for the Akutagawa Prize. 

Her award-winning work is set in Tokyo in the near future, when the national Stadium designed by Zaha Hadid has been realized.

The story is told from the viewpoints of an architect who designs a tower that is planned to be built in the Shinjuku Gyoen garden and a young man who wants to write her biography.

Representing the selection committee, Shuichi Yoshida said of Kudan’s novel, “It is highly entertaining and an interesting work, and how to view it is open for discussion.”

Kudan said, “The novel is unstable and seems to be on the verge of collapse. I am glad that (the committee) found the unstable aspects of the novel appealing.”

Makime was born in Osaka in 1976. After graduating from Kyoto University, he made his debut as a writer in 2006.

In 2007, he was nominated for the Naoki Prize for the first time. This was his sixth Naoki Prize nomination.

His award-winning work is a story in which the dead and the living mingle, featuring a university student leading a lazy life in Kyoto.

The committee raved about his work, saying, “the writing that puts a different space in the midst of everyday life was amazing.”

Makime said, “I thought I would never win the award and lived my life as if it was for someone else. I was really surprised.”

The prize money for each recipient is 1 million yen ($6,760). The awards presentation ceremony will be held in Tokyo in late February.

Related News