2020/01/17 |
The 162nd Akutagawa Prize goes to Furukawa Makoto’s "Seitakawadachisō" (Canadian goldenrod), Naoki Prize to Kawagoe Sōichi’s "Netsugen" (Heat source) |
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The 162nd Akutagawa Prize goes to Furukawa Makoto’s "Seitakawadachisō" (Canadian goldenrod), Naoki Prize to Kawagoe Sōichi’s "Netsugen" (Heat source)
On the 15th, the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature held a selection committee in the ryotei Shinkiraku (Tsukiji, Tokyo), and announced their decision soon after, awarding the Akutagawa Prize to Furukawa Makoto (31) for his work Seitakawadachisō (Canadian goldenrod), originally published in the October 2019 issue of Subaru, and the Naoki Prize to Kawagoe Sōichi for his work Netsugen (Heat source), originally published by Bungeishunjū Ltd.
Furukawa Makoto was born in Shizuoka on July 29th 1988. He graduated from Daiichi Pharmaceutical University High School, and made his debut in 2016 with his work Nuwanbanaran (I must sow), which won the 48th Shincho Prize for New Writers. Nuwanbanaran was also nominated for the 156th Akutagawa Prize. His later works Yoji sugi no fune (The boat after 4PM) and Rakko no ie (The sea otter’s house) were nominated for the 157th and 161th Akutagawa Prize respectively, with Seitakawadachisō marking his fourth nomination.
Kawagoe Sōichi was born in Osaka City on September 13th 1978. He made his debut in 2018 with his work Tenchi ni santari (Radiance of the world), which won the 25th Matsumoto Seicho Award. His most recent work Netsugen was also nominated for the 10th Yamada Futaro Award, as well as winning the 9th Japan Bookseller’s Award for Best Historical Novel. Netsugen was his first nomination for the Naoki Prize.
Both awards were founded in 1935. The Akutagawa Prize is awarded to short stories published in newspapers and magazines, while the Naoki Prize is awarded to the best novel published in a newspaper, magazine, or book. The Akutagawa Prize is primarily aimed at relatively unknown and new writers, while the Naoki Prize is also aimed at relatively unknown writers, but also allows for more established writers to also be considered. The prize-winners also receive a reward of a commemorative watch, and 1 million yen in earnings.
