Akutagawa Prize

The Nihongo|Akutagawa Prize|芥川龍之介賞|Akutagawa Ryūnosuke Shō is a Japanese literary award presented semi-annually. It was established in 1935 by Kan Kikuchi, then-editor of "Bungeishunjū" magazine, in memory of author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. It is currently sponsored by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature, and is awarded in January ('E' in the list, below) and July ('L' in the list below) to the best serious literary story published in a newspaper or magazine by a new or rising author.

The winner receives a pocket watch and a cash award of 1 million yen. Short stories and novellas win the prize more frequently than do full-length novels. Because of its prestige and the considerable attention the winner receives from the media, it is Japan’s most sought after literary prize. ["Encycloædia Brittanica"]

Winners

*001 1935E Tatsuzō Ishikawa for 蒼氓 "Sōbō"
*002 1935L no prize awarded
*003 1936E Oda Takeo for 城外 "Jyōgai"
*003 1936E Tsuruta Tomoya for コシャマイン記 "Koshamain ki"
*004 1936L Jun Ishikawa for 普賢 "Fugen"
*004 1936L Tomisawa Uio for "The Mediterranean Sea" (地中海 " _ni. Chichūkai")
*005 1937E Ozaki Kazuo for "Leisure Glasses" (暢気眼鏡 " _ni. Nonki megane")
*006 1937L Ashihei Hino for 糞尿譚 "Fun'nyōtan"
*007 1938E Nakayama Gishu for 厚物咲 "Atsumonozaki"
*008 1938L Nakazato Tsuneko for 乗合馬車 "Noriaibasha, Nikkōshitsu"
*009 1939E Handa Yoshiyuki for "Chicken Trouble" (鶏騒動 " _ni. Niwatori sōdō")
*009 1939E Hase Ken for "Children Of Asakusa" (あさくさの子供 " _ni. Asakusa no kodomo")
*010 1939L Samukawa Kotaro for "The Poacher" (密猟者 " _ni. Mitsuryōsha")
*011 1940E no prize awarded
*012 1940L Sakurada Tsunehisa for 平賀源内 "Hiraga gen'nai"
*013 1941E Tada Yukei for "Choko Delta" (長江デルタ " _ni. Chōkō deruta")
*014 1941L Shibaki Yoshiko for "The Garden City" (青果の市 " _ni. Seika no ichi")
*015 1942E no prize awarded
*016 1942L Kuramitsu Toshio for "The Liaison" (連絡員" _ni. Renrakuin")
*017 1943E Ishizuka Kikuzo for 纏足の頃 "Chanzū no koro"
*018 1943L Tonobe Kaoru for 和紙 "Washi"
*019 1944E Yagi Yoshinori for 劉廣福 "Ryūkanbu"
*019 1944E Ono Juzo for "The Ascent" (登攀 " _ni. Tōhan")
*020 1944L Shimizu Motoyoshi for "Wild Geese" (雁立 " _ni. Karitachi")
*021 1949E Kotani Tsuyoshi for 確証 "Kakushō"
*021 1949E Yuki Shigeko for 本の話 "Hon no hanashi"
*022 1949L Inoue Yasushi for "The Bullfight" (闘牛 " _ni. Tōgyū")
*023 1950E Tsuji Ryoichi for "The Foreigner" (異邦人 " _ni. Ihōjin")
*024 1950L no prize awarded
*025 1951E Abe Kobo for "The Crime of S. Karuma" (壁　S.カルマ氏の犯罪 " _ni. Kabe S. Karuma shi no hanzai")
*025 1951E Ishikawa Toshimitsu for "Spring Grass " (春の草 " _ni. Haru no kusa")
*026 1951L Hotta Yoshie for "Hiroba no kotoku, kankan, sono ta"
*027 1952E no prize awarded
*028 1952L Gomi Kosuke for 喪神 "Sōshin"
*028 1952L Matsumoto Seicho for 或る「小倉日記」小伝 "Aru kokura nikki den"
*029 1953E Yasuoka Shotaro for "Bad Company, Dismal Fun" (" _ni. Warui nakama, inki na tanoshimi")
*030 1953L no prize awarded
*031 1954E Yoshiyuki Junnosuke for "A Rain Shower" (" _ni. Shūu, sono ta")
*032 1954L Kojima Nobuo for "American School" (" _ni. Amerikan sukūru")
*032 1954L Shono Junzo for "A Poolside Scene" (" _ni. Pūrusaido shōkei")
*033 1955E Endo Shusaku for "White Person" (" _ni. Shiroi hito")
*034 1955L Shintaro Ishihara for "Season Of The Sun" (" _ni. Taiyō no kisetsu")
*035 1956E Kondo Keitaro for "Kaijinfune"
*036 1956L no prize awarded
*037 1957E Kikumura Itaru for "Iwo Jima" (" _ni. Iōjima")
*038 1957L Kaiko Takeshi for "The Emperor’s New Clothes" (" _ni. Hadaka no ōsama")
*039 1958E Oe Kenzaburo for "Prize Stock" (" _ni. Shiiku")
*040 1958L no prize awarded
*041 1959E Shiba Shiro for "Mountain Pagoda" (" _ni. Santō")
*042 1959L no prize awarded
*043 1960E Morio Kita for "In The Corner Of Night And Fog" (" _ni. Yoru to kiri no sumi de")
*044 1960L Miura Tetsuo for "Hidden River" (" _ni. Shinobukawa")
*045 1961E no prize awarded
*046 1961L Uno Koichiro for "The Whale God" (" _ni. Kujiragami")
*047 1962E Kawamura Akira for "A Heroic Departure" (" _ni. Bitan no shuppatsu")
*048 1962L no prize awarded
*049 1963E Goto Kiichi for "A Boyhood Bridge" (" _ni. Shōnen no hashi")
*049 1963E Kono Taeko for "Crab" (" _ni. Kani")
*050 1963L Tanabe Seiko for "Sentimental Journey" (" _ni. Senchimentaru Jaanî")
*051 1964E Shiba Shou for "Saredo waga hibi"
*052 1964L no prize awarded
*053 1965E Tsumura Setsuko for "Toys" (" _ni. Gangu")
*054 1965L Takai Yuichi for "Northern Stream" (" _ni. Kita no kawa")
*055 1966E no prize awarded
*056 1966L Maruyama Kenji for "Summer’s Passage" (" _ni. Natsu no nagare")
*057 1967E Oshiro Tatsuhiro for "The Cocktail Party" (" _ni. Kakuteru Paatî")
*058 1967L Kashiwabara Hyozo for "Dosuke Tokoyama’s Returning Home" (" _ni. Tokuyama Dōsuke no kikyō")
*059 1968E Maruya Saiichi for "Remains Of The Year" (" _ni. Toshi no nagori")
*059 1968E Oba Minako for "Three Crabs" (" _ni. Sanbiki no kani")
*060 1968L no prize awarded
*061 1969E Shoji Kaoru for "Little Red Riding Hood, Take Care" (" _ni. Akazukin-chan ki wo tsukete")
*061 1969E Takuba Hideo for "Deep River" (" _ni. Fukaikawa")
*062 1969L KiyookaTakayuki for "Akashiya no tairen"
*063 1970E Yoshida Tomoko for "Mumyōchōya"
*063 1970E Komao Furuyama for "Pureō eito no yoake"
*064 1970L Yoshikichi Furui for "Yoko" (" _ni. Yōko")
*065 1971E no prize awarded
*066 1971L Kaisei Ri for "Kinuta wo utsu on’na"
*066 1971L Mineo Higashi for "Okinawan Boy" (" _ni. Okinawa no Shōnen")
*067 1972E Hiroshi Hatayama for "Sometimes The Whistle Blew" (" _ni. Itsuka kiteki wo narashite")
*067 1972E Akio Miyahara for "Dareka ga sawatta"
*068 1972L Michiko Yamamoto for "Betty Boop’s Garden" (" _ni. Beti-chan no niwa")
*068 1972L Shizuko Go for "Requiem" (" _ni. Rekuiemu")
*069 1973E Taku Miki for "Hiwa"
*070 1973L Kuninobu Noro for "Vines" (" _ni. Kusa no tsurugi")
*070 1973L Atsushi Mori for "Lunar Mountain" (" _ni. Gassan")
*071 1974E no prize awarded
*072 1974L Keizo Hino for "The Evening Sun" (" _ni. Ano yūhi")
*072 1974L Hiro Sakata for "Earthen Vessel" (" _ni. Tsuchi no utsuwa")
*073 1975E Kyoko Hayashi for "Matsuri no ba"
*074 1975L Kenji Nakagami for "The Cape" (" _ni. Misaki")
*074 1975L Kazuo Okamatsu for "Shikinoshima"
*075 1976E Ryu Murakami for "Almost Transparent Blue" (" _ni. Kagirinaku tōmeini chikai burū")
*076 1976L no prize awarded
*077 1977E Masahiro Mita for "What Am I" (" _ni. Bokutte nani")
*077 1977E Masuo Ikeda for "Offering In The Aegean" (" _ni. Eegekai ni sasagu")
*078 1977L Teru Miyamoto for "Firefly River" (" _ni. Hoterugawa")
*078 1977L Shuzo Taki for "The Nutmeg Tree Festival" (" _ni. Kaya no ki matsuri")
*079 1978E Kiichiro Takahashi for "Nobuya"
*079 1978E Michitsuna Takahashi for "September Sky" (" _ni. Kugatsu no sora")
*080 1978L no prize awarded
*081 1979E Yoshiko Shigekane for "Smoke In The Mountains" (" _ni. Yamaai no kemuri")
*081 1979E So Aono for "Night Of The Idiots" (" _ni. Gusha no yoru")
*082 1979L Reiko Mori for "The City Of Mockingbirds" (" _ni. Mokkingubaado no iru machi")
*083 1980E no prize awarded
*084 1980L Katsuhiko Otsuji for "My Father Vanished" (" _ni. Chichi ga kieta")
*085 1981E Rie Yoshiyuki for "Little Lady" (" _ni. Chisana kifujin")
*086 1981L no prize awarded
*087 1982E no prize awarded
*088 1982L Yukiko Kato for "Wall of Dreams" (" _ni. Yube no kabe")
*088 1982L Juro Kara for "A Letter From Young Sagawa" (" _ni. Sagawa-kun kara no tegami")
*089 1983E no prize awarded
*090 1983L Jun Kasahara for "Mokoji's World" (" _ni. Mokuji no sekai")
*090 1983L Nobuko Takagi for "Hold The LIght, Friend" (" _ni. Hikari daku tomo yo")
*091 1984E no prize awarded
*092 1984L Satoko Kizaki for "Blue Paulownia" (" _ni. Aogiri")
*093 1985E no prize awarded
*094 1985L Fumiko Kometani for "The Passover" (" _ni. Sugikoshi no matsuri")
*095 1986E no prize awarded
*096 1986L no prize awarded
*097 1987E Kiyoko Murata for "In The Pot" (" _ni. Nabe no naka")
*098 1987L Natsuki Ikezawa for "Still Lives" (" _ni. Sutiru Raifu")
*098 1987L Kiyohiro Miura for "He’s Leaving Home" (" _ni. Chōnan no shukke")
*099 1988E Man Arai for "The Missing’s Time" (" _ni. Tazunebito no jikan")
*100 1988L Keishi Nagi for "Diamond Dust" (" _ni. Diayamondo Dasuto")
*100 1988L Yanji I for "Yuhi"
*101 1989E no prize awarded
*102 1989L Akira Ooka for "Hyōsō seikatsu"
*102 1989L Mieko Takizawa for "Nekobaba no iru machi de"
*103 1990E Noboru Tsujihara for "A Village’s Name" (" _ni. Mura no namae")
*104 1990L Yoko Ogawa for "Pregnancy Calendar" (" _ni. Ninshin karendaa")
*105 1991E Yo Henmi for "The Automatic Wake-up Machine" (" _ni. Jidou kishō sōchi")
*105 1991E Anna Ogino for "Water Burden" (" _ni. Seoi mizu")
*106 1991L Eiko Matsumura for "Uptown" (" _ni. Apatōn")
*107 1992E Tomomi Fujiwara for "Driver" (" _ni. Untenshi")
*108 1992L Yoko Tawada for "The Bridegroom Was A Dog" (" _ni. Inumuko iri")
*109 1993E Haruhiko Yoshimeki for "Sekiryōkōya"
*110 1993L Hikaru Okuizumi for "The Stones Cry Out" (" _ni. Ishi no raireki")
*111 1994E Mitsuhiro Muroi for "Odorodeku"
*111 1994E Yoriko Shono for "The Time Slip Industrial Complex" (" _ni. Taimu surippu konbinaato")
*112 1994L no prize awarded
*113 1995E Kazushi Hosaka for "Kono hito no iki"
*114 1995L Matayoshi Eiki for "Pig's retribution" (" _ni. Buta no mukui")
*115 1996E Hiromi Kawakami for "Tread On A Snake" (" _ni. Hebi wo fumu")
*116 1996L Hitonari Tsuji for "The Light from the Strait" (" _ni. Kaikyō no hikari")
*116 1996L Miri Yu for "Family Cinema" (" _ni. Kazoku shinema")
*117 1997E Shun Medoruma for "A Drop Of Water" (" _ni. Suiteki")
*118 1997L no prize awarded
*119 1998E Mangetsu Hanamura for "Geranium Nights" (" _ni. Gerumaniamu no yoru")
*119 1998E Shu Fujisawa for "Midnight In Buenos Aires" (" _ni. Buenosu Airesu gozen reiji")
*120 1998L Keiichiro Hirano for "Eclipse" (" _ni. Nisshoku")
*121 1999E no prize awarded
*122 1999L Gengetsu for "A Dwelling In The Shade" (" _ni. Kage no sumika")
*122 1999L Chiya Fujino for "Summer Promise" (" _ni. Natsu no yakusoku")
*123 2000E Kou Machida for "Shreds" (" _ni. Kiregire")
*123 2000E Hisaki Matsuura for "A Spoiling Rain" (" _ni. Hana kutashi")
*124 2000L Yuichi Seirai for "Holy Water" (" _ni. Seisui")
*124 2000L Toshiyuki Horie for "The Bear And The Paving Stone" (" _ni. Kuma no shikiishi")
*125 2001E Sokyu Genyu for "Flowers In Limbo " (" _ni. Chūin no hana")
*126 2001L Yu Nagashima for "More Speed Mama" (" _ni. Mōsupîdo de haha wa")
*127 2002E Shuichi Yoshida for "Park Life" (" _ni. Paaku raifu")
*128 2002L Tamaki Daido for "Salty Drives" (しょっぱいドライブ " _ni. Shoppai doraibu")
*129 2003E Manichi Yoshimura for "The Hairworm" (ハリガネムシ " _ni. Hariganemushi")
*130 2003L Risa Wataya for "A Back I Want To Kick" (蹴りたい背中 " _ni. Keritai senaka")
*130 2003L Hitomi Kanehara for "Snakes and Earrings" (蛇にピアス " _ni. Hebi ni piasu")
*131 2004E Norio Mobu for "Introduction to Nursing Care" (介護入門 " _ni. Kaigo nyūmon")
*132 2004L Kazushige Abe for "Grand Finale" (グランド・フィナーレ " _ni. Gurando fināre")
*133 2005E Fuminori Nakamura for "A Child in the Ground" (土の中の子供 " _ni. Tsuchi no naka no kodomo")
*134 2005L Akiko Itoyama for "Waiting Offshore" (沖で待つ " _ni. Oki de matsu")
*135 2006E Takami Itō for "Throwing Stuff Away on a Road in August" (八月の路上に捨てる " _ni. Hachigatsu no rojō ni suteru")
*136 2006L Nanae Aoyama for "Hitori Biyori" (ひとり日和)
*137 2007E Tetsushi Suwa for "Asatte no Hito" (アサッテの人)
*138 2007L Mieko Kawakami for "Chichi to Ran" (乳と卵)
*139 2008E Yang Yi　(author) for "Toki ga Nijimu Asa" (時が滲む朝)

Current members of the selection committee

*Natsuki Ikezawa
*Shintaro Ishihara
*Hiromi Kawakami
*Senji Kuroi
*Ryu Murakami
*Teru Miyamoto
*Yoko Ogawa
*Nobuko Takagi
*Amy Yamada

pecial occurrences

Occasionally, when consensus cannot be reached between judges over disputes about the winning story or the quality of work for that half year, no prize is awarded. The judges usually include contemporary writers, literary critics, and former winners of the prize. From 1945 through 1948, no prizes were awarded due to postwar instability.

On January 15, 2004, the awarding of the 130th Akutagawa Prize made significant news when two women became the award’s youngest winners. The prize went to both Wataya Risa, 19, and Kanehara Hitomi, 20. Previously, the youngest Akutagawa winners were all males over 23 years old, among them the current Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara and novelist Kenzaburo Oe who later went on to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1994.

ee also

* List of Japanese literary awards

Notes

References

*cite encyclopedia
title = Akutagawa Prize
encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica
publisher = Encyclopædia Britannica Online
date = 2008
url = http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9003038
accessdate = 2008-02-11
*cite web
url = http://www.bunshun.co.jp/award/akutagawa/list1.htm
title = Akutagawa Winner's List
accessdate = 2008-02-11
format = HTML
work = Bungeishunjū Ltd
language = Japanese

External links

*ja [http://www.bunshun.co.jp/award/akutagawa/list1.htm List of awards by date] at Bungeishunjū's website