, literally " Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award", is a major and the oldest children's literary awards in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The Sankei Children's Book Award annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished Japanese

Children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

for children", beginning with 1954 publications. The Awards is selected from among all the children's books published in Japan of the previous year. The Awards are announced on

Children's Day Children's Day is a commemorative date celebrated annually in honor of children, whose date of observance varies by country. In 1925, International Children's Day was first proclaimed in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare. Sin ...

on May 5 every year. The award ceremony are held at the end of May or early June, and "

Kiko, Princess Akishino , born ; 11 September 1966), is the wife of Fumihito, Crown Prince Akishino. The Crown Prince is the younger brother and heir presumptive of Emperor Naruhito of Japan and the second son of Akihito, Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Michiko, ...

" attends the ceremony.

Recipients

*Grand Prize - Newly established in 1961

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

The 8th (1961) - (World Children's Literature Complete Works Volume 1) - (Supervisor :

Yoshishige Abe was a philosopher, educator, and statesman in Shōwa period Japan. As Minister of Educa