(born July 15, 1962 in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan) 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 ...

writer, primarily of fantasy books, for which she has won many awards. Uehashi is also Professor of

Ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). ...

at Kawamura Gakuen Women's University, having completed a PhD focusing on the

Yamatji Yamatji (or Yamaji) is a Wajarri word that has at least three different meanings: * a member of the Watjarri people * any Aboriginal Australian person from the Murchison region of Western Australia * any group made up of members of different I ...

, an indigenous Australian people.

Achievements

Uehashi's career as a writer started in 1989. Her first book was . She then wrote the novel . This novel received an award from the Japanese Association of Writers for Children, which made her one of the famous Japanese-fantasy authors. In 1996, she published the first book of her ''Moribito'' series, . The novel received the Noma Children's Literature New Face Prize and the Sankei Children's Culture and Publishing award and the English translation was awarded the

Mildred L. Batchelder Award The Mildred L. Batchelder Award, or Batchelder Award, is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the publisher of the year's "most outstanding" children's book translated into English and published in the U.S. The M ...

in 2009. In 1999, Uehashi published the second book of the ''Moribito'' series, . With this novel she received the Japanese Association of Writers for Children's award. In 2002 ''The Guardian series'' won the Iwaya Sazanami literature award, and in 2003, won another Japanese award from the Shogakukan publishing company. Then, in 2003, Uehashi wrote the novel , which received a Noma Children's Literature award. In 2006 she wrote the two volume , which she complemented with two more volumes in 2009. Both '' Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit'' and the first two volumes of ''

The Beast Player is a Japanese novel series written by Nahoko Uehashi and published by Kodansha between 2006 and 2009. It focuses on a girl who can control the greatest of beasts as she gets involved in a war between two territories of one kingdom. The seri ...

'' have had

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

adaptations, in 2007 and 2009, respectively. '' Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit'' has also been made into a radio drama and ''

'' into a manga. For her "lasting contribution" as a children's writer, Uehashi won the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2014. Announced late in March, it will be presented on 10 September at the annual conference of the

International Board on Books for Young People The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is an international non-profit organization committed to bringing books and children together. The headquarters of the IBBY are located in Basel, Switzerland. IBBY history In 1952, Jella Lepm ...

(IBBY) in Mexico City. According to the IBBY jury chaired by María Jesús Gil of Spain, "Uehashi tells stories that are replete with imagination, culture and the beauty of a sophisticated process and form. Her literary subjects are based on ancient Japanese mythology and science-fiction fantasy that are deeply rooted in human reality.""2014 Awards"
''Hans Christian Andersen Awards''.

(IBBY). With contemporary material including th
17 March 2014 shortlist press release
an
24 March 2014 final press release
Retrieved 27 March 2014.

Works in English translation

* Moribito series (Guardian series) **'' Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit'' (original title: ''Seirei no Moribito''), translated by Cathy Hirano (

Arthur A. Levine Books Scholastic Corporation () is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, parents, and children. Products are distributed via retail and on ...

, June 2008) ** ''Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness'' (original title: ''Yami no Moribito''), translated by Cathy Hirano (Arthur A. Levine Books, May 2009) *

**''The Beast Player'' (original title: ''Kemono no Sōja''), translated by Cathy Hirano ( Henry Holt and Co., March 2019) **''The Beast Warrior'' (original title: ''Kemono no Sōja''), translated by Cathy Hirano (Henry Holt and Co., July 2020)

Bibliography

The Guardian series

*Novels *# , 1996 *#* Kaiseisha, July 1996, *#* Shincho Bunko, March 2007, *# , 1999 *#* Kaiseisha, January 1999, *#* Shincho Bunko, July 2007, *# , 2000 *#* Kaiseisha, May 2000, *#* Shincho Bunko, December 2007, *# , 2001 *#* Kaiseisha, July 2001, *#* Shincho Bunko, July 2008, *# , 2003 *#* Kaiseisha, January 2003, *#* Shincho Bunko, August 2009, *# , 2003 *#* Kaiseisha, January 2003, *#* Shincho Bunko, August 2009, *# , 2005 *#* Kaiseisha, April 2005, *#* Shincho Bunko, August 2010, *# , 2006 *#* Kaiseisha, November 2006, *#* Shincho Bunko, May 2011, *# , 2007 *#* Kaiseisha, January 2007, *#* Shincho Bunko, May 2011, *# , 2007 *#* Kaiseisha, February 2007, *#* Shincho Bunko, May 2011, *Short story collections ** , 2008 *** Kaiseisha, April 2008, *** Shincho Bunko, August 2013, ** , 2012 *** Kaiseisha, January 2012,

The Beast Player series

*Novels *# , 2006 *#* Kodansha, November 2006, *#* Kodansha Bunko, August 2009, *# , 2006 *#* Kodansha, November 2006, *#* Kodansha Bunko, August 2009, *# , 2009 *#* Kodansha, August 2009, *#* Kodansha Bunko, August 2012, *# , 2009 *#* Kodansha, August 2009, *#* Kodansha Bunko, August 2012, *Short story collection ** , 2010 *** Kodansha, September 2010, *** Kodansha Bunko, October 2013,

The Deer King series

*Novels *# Shika no o jokan: ikinokotta mono (The Deer King I: Survivors), 2014 *#* Part 1 *#** Kadokawa, June 2017, *#* Part 2 *#** Kadokawa, June 2017, *# Shikano o gekan: kaette iku mono (The Deer King II: Returnees), 2014 *#* Part 1 *#** Kadokawa, July 2017, *#* Part 2 *#** Kadokawa, July 2017, *# Shika no o: minasoko no hashi (The Deer King : Bridge Underwater), 2019 *#* Kadokawa, March 2019,

Standalone fantasy novels

* , 1989 ** Kaiseisha, 1989, ** Kaiseisha, 2004, (revised edition) :In the far future, when the earth was completely polluted and people could no longer live on it, human beings spread out onto other planets. For the Planet Nira, where Shin Yamano lives, it's the 200th anniversary since humans first settled on it. But something is wrong. Shin's cousin Licia suddenly awakens to the ESP-like ability of the Roshnars, an aboriginal tribe of Nira that was said to have been extinct ages ago.... * , 1991 ** Kaiseisha, 1991, ** Kaiseisha Bunko, 2000, :Torn between the love of the god of the Moon Forest and the need of her tribe to kill the very same god, the young oracle girl Kishime is distressed. Her tribe talks of killing the god and felling the sacred forest for rich harvest. But should she listen to the urgent needs of her tribe, or should she fulfill her duty as the oracle of the god of the forest? * , 2003 ** Rironsha, 2003, ** Shincho Bunko, 2006, :The young girl, Sayo has inherited the ability of "hearing" people's minds from her mother. In her childhood, she had once saved a fox cub from some hunter's hounds. But that fox was a werefox that lives between the world of the gods and this world, owned by human, sent to kill a lord. Despite her will, Sayo is dragged into the ugly fight between two countries...

Ethnology

* , 2000 ** Chikuma Shobo, May 2000, ** Chikuma Bunko, September 2010, :Uehashi's only book as an ethnologist. About Aborigines who live in town with the white-skinned Australians. When you first look at them, these people seem to have no difference from the white Australians, but something is different....

References

External links

Nahoko Uehashi Official Website

Moribito anime

Nahoko Uehashi
at J'Lit Books from Japan * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Uehashi, Nahoko 1962 births Japanese children's writers Japanese women children's writers Japanese ethnologists Japanese fantasy writers Rikkyo University alumni Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing winners Living people