The is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

literary award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. Ma ...

presented biannually. Because of its prestige and the considerable attention the winner receives from the media, it is, along with the

Naoki Prize The Naoki Prize, officially , is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. It was created in 1935 by Kikuchi Kan, then editor of the ''Bungeishunjū'' magazine, and named in memory of novelist Naoki Sanjugo. Sponsored by the Society for the ...

, one of Japan's most sought after literary prizes.

History

The Akutagawa Prize was established in 1935 by

Kan Kikuchi , also known as Kan Kikuchi (which uses the same kanji as his real name), was a Japanese author. He established the publishing company Bungeishunjū, the monthly magazine Bungeishunjū (magazine), of the same name, the Japan Writer's Association ...

, then-editor of ''Bungeishunjū'' magazine, in memory of author

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa , art name , was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "father of the Japanese short story", and Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him. He committed suicide at the age of ...

. It is currently sponsored by the

Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature The is an organisation, established in 1938, to promote Japanese literature. It organises five literary prizes: *Akutagawa Prize *Kikuchi Kan Prize * Matsumoto Prize *Naoki Prize The Naoki Prize, officially , is a Japanese literary award present ...

, and is awarded in January and July to the best serious

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

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. The judges usually include contemporary writers, literary critics, and former winners of the prize. 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. From 1945 through 1948 no prizes were awarded due to postwar instability. The prize has frequently been split between two authors. 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

Risa Wataya is a female Japanese novelist from Kyoto. Her short novel ''Keritai senaka'' won the Akutagawa Prize and has sold more than a million copies. Wataya has also won the Bungei Prize and the Kenzaburo Oe Prize. Her work has been translated into Ge ...

, 19, for her novel and to

Hitomi Kanehara is a Japanese novelist. Her novel ''Hebi ni piasu'' (''Snakes and Earrings'') won the Shōsetsu Subaru Literary Prize and the Akutagawa Prize, and sold over a million copies in Japan. Her work has been translated into more than a dozen languages ...

, 20, for her debut novel . Previously the youngest Akutagawa winners were all males over 23 years old, among them the former Tokyo Governor

Shintaro Ishihara was a Japanese politician and writer who was Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012. Being the former leader of the radical right Japan Restoration Party, he was one of the most prominent ultranationalists in modern Japanese politics. An ultra ...

and novelist

Kenzaburō Ōe is a Japanese writer and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His novels, short stories and essays, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issues, i ...

. In 2013

Natsuko Kuroda is a Japanese writer. At age 75 she won the 148th Akutagawa Prize, making Kuroda the oldest winner in the history of the prize. Biography Kuroda was born in 1937 in Tokyo and attended Waseda University. While at Waseda University she started ...

won the 148th Akutagawa Prize at age 75, making her the oldest recipient in the history of the prize.

Controversies

In 1972, Akutagawa winner was found to have committed plagiarism. In 2018, a similar controversy occurred when the candidate novel by Yuko Hojo was found to have reused text from its nonfiction source material without attribution, but the

did not remove the book from the candidate list.

Winners

Bungeishunjū is a Japanese publishing company known for its leading monthly magazine '' Bungeishunjū''. The company was founded by Kan Kikuchi in 1923. It grants the annual Akutagawa Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Japan, as well as ...

maintains an official archive of current and past winners on behalf of the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature.

Current members of the selection committee and year appointed

Amy Yamada born February 8, 1959, is a popular but controversial contemporary Japanese writer who is most famous for her stories that address issues of sexuality, racism, and interracial love and marriage. Her debut and subsequent popular success in the ...

, 2003 *

Hiromi Kawakami is a Japanese writer known for her off-beat fiction, poetry, and literary criticism. She has won numerous Japanese literary awards, including the Akutagawa Prize, the Tanizaki Prize, the Yomiuri Prize, and the Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature ...

, 2007 *

Yōko Ogawa is a Japanese writer. Her work has won every major Japanese literary award, including the Akutagawa Prize and the Yomiuri Prize. Internationally, she has been the recipient of the Shirley Jackson Award and the American Book Award. '' The Memory ...

, 2007 *

Masahiko Shimada is a Japanese writer. He has won the Noma Literary New Face Prize, the Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature, the Itō Sei Literature Prize, and the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award. His work has been translated into English. Biography While stud ...

, 2010 * Toshiyuki Horie, 2012 *

Hikaru Okuizumi , born 6 February 1956, is a Japanese novelist. His real name is Yasuhiro Okuizumi. Biography Okuizumi was born in Mikawa, Yamagata Prefecture, and attended high school in Saitama Prefecture, before studying Humanities at ICU in Tokyo. He ...

, 2012 * Shuichi Yoshida, 2016 *

Hisaki Matsuura is a noted Japanese professor, poet, and novelist. Life Matsuura was born in Tokyo. In 1981 he obtained his Ph.D. in French literature from the University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle, and 1982 became an assistant professor in the French Dep ...

, 2019 * Keiichiro Hirano, 2020

References

{{Authority control 1935 establishments in Japan Awards established in 1935 Japanese-language literary awards Japanese literary awards Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

History

Controversies

Winners

Current members of the selection committee and year appointed

See also

References