was 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 ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

. A native of

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, he began writing novels after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He won the 1954

Akutagawa Prize The is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. Because of its prestige and the considerable attention the winner receives from the media, it is, along with the Naoki Prize, one of Japan's most sought after literary prizes. History Th ...

for his book ''Purusaido Shokei'' (''Poolside Scene''). Shōno's other award-winning books include ''Seibutsu'' (''Still Life''), for which he won the Shinchosha literary prize, ''Yube no Kumo'' (''Evening Clouds''), which was awarded the 1965

Yomiuri Prize The is a literary award in Japan. The prize was founded in 1949 by the Yomiuri Shinbun Company to help form a "strong cultural nation". The winner is awarded two million Japanese yen and an inkstone. Award categories For the first two years, ...

, and ''Eawase'' (''Picture Cards'') which took the Noma literary prize.

Biography

Shōno lived for one year in the United States in the late 1950s on a fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation at

Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He later published a book, ''Gambia Taizaiki'' about his experiences at Kenyon. Shōno was made a member of the Japan Art Academy in 1978. He died of natural causes at his home in Kawasaki on September 21, 2009. Shōno was 88.

References

1921 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Japanese novelists 21st-century Japanese novelists People from Osaka Akutagawa Prize winners Yomiuri Prize winners Kenyon College alumni Osaka University alumni Kyushu University alumni Japanese expatriates in the United States {{Japan-writer-stub