Setsuko Shinoda
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is a Japanese writer of genre fiction. She has won the ''Shōsetsu Subaru'' Literary Prize for Newcomers, the
Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize The is a Japanese literary award established in 1988 in memory of author Shūgorō Yamamoto. It was created and continues to be sponsored by the Shinchosha Publishing company, which published Yamamoto's ''Complete Works''. The prize is awarded ann ...
, 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 t ...
, the Shibata Renzaburo Prize, a MEXT Award, and the Chuo Koron Literary Prize. Several of her works have been adapted for television.


Early life and education

Setsuko Shinoda was born in 1955 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, ...
. As a child she read manga by
Sanpei Shirato , known by the pen name , was a Japanese manga artist and essayist known for his social criticism as well as the realism of his drawing style and the characters in his scenarios. He was considered a pioneer of the controversial ''gekiga'' genre ...
as well as books by foreign authors such as
L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...
, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Mark Twain, and aspired to become a manga artist. She graduated from
Tokyo Gakugei University Tokyo Gakugei University (東京学芸大学, ''Tōkyō gakugei daigaku'') is a national university in Koganei, Tokyo. Founded in 1873, it was chartered as a university in 1949. It is also known as ''Gakudai'' (学大) and TGU, for short. In ad ...
. Before beginning her writing career she worked as a municipal employee in
Hachiōji is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 561,344, and a population density of 3000 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Hachiōji is located in the ...
, including working at City Hall and the municipal library. She began taking writing lessons at the Asahi Cultural Center intending to move into public relations, but ended up taking novel writing classes and writing her first novel.


Writing career

In 1990 Shinoda's debut novel ', a
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
story about a biotech disaster that creates a monster and the social panic that follows, won the 3rd ''Shōsetsu Subaru'' Literary Prize for Newcomers. It was subsequently published in book form by
Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...
. Seven years later, Shinoda won both the
Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize The is a Japanese literary award established in 1988 in memory of author Shūgorō Yamamoto. It was created and continues to be sponsored by the Shinchosha Publishing company, which published Yamamoto's ''Complete Works''. The prize is awarded ann ...
and 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 t ...
, but for different works. Shinoda's collection ', published in 1996 by
Futabasha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Higashigokenchō, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.会社概要
" Futabasha. R ...
, won the 10th Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize. The title novella ' combines multiple genres in a story about a woman from Nepal whose arranged marriage to a Japanese farmer leads to confrontations with her husband's mother, her own elevation as an object of religious worship, her husband's subsequent financial ruin, and ultimately a new life in Nepal with more personal freedom but much worse conditions. Science fiction critic
Mari Kotani is a Japanese science fiction critic, best known as the author of ''Evangelion as the Immaculate Virgin (analysis of the anime serie Neon Genesis Evangelion),'' Tokyo: Magazine House, 1997 and of ''Joseijou muishiki: techno-gynesis josei SF-r ...
has described ''Gosaintan'' as a story that "reexamines the true nature of romance" but also "openly exposes Japan's stance toward Nepal". A few months later, Shinoda's book ', published by Shueisha, won the 117th
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 t ...
. ''Onnatachi no jihādo'' follows the individual stories of five women employees experiencing harassment at an insurance company, focusing on the difficulties they have in a male-dominated society. In 1998 the book was adapted for television by
NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...
as a 2-episode special titled '. After her Naoki Prize success, several more of Shinoda's works were adapted for television. In 1998 Shinoda's story ', a horror story about a cellist whose attempts to help a girl with a brain disease communicate through music lead to her falling in love with him and using previously unknown paranormal powers to hurt other people in his life, was published as a book and adapted by
Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...
into a television drama starring
Koichi Domoto is a Japanese idol, singer, actor, singer-songwriter, composer, lyricist, television personality, voice actor. Along with Tsuyoshi Domoto (with whom he has no blood-relation), he is a member of the duo KinKi Kids, who holds the Guinness World Rec ...
, Miki Nakatani, and
Akiko Yada is a Japanese actress. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress at the 6th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix for ''Boku no Ikiru Michi''. Filmography Films * ''Pyrokinesis'' (2000) * '' Tales of the Unusual'' (2000) * ''Impossibility Defense' ...
. Her 2000 novel ', about the problems experienced by a married couple with vastly different personal incomes, was adapted into a 2003
NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...
drama. Her 1995 horror novel ', about a pandemic that strikes a town outside Tokyo, was adapted into a 2006 Nippon TV special program. Shinoda's 2-volume work ' was published by
Shinchosha is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in Yaraichō, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinchosha is one of the sponsors of the Japan Fantasy Novel Award. Books * Haruki Murakami: '' Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World'' (19 ...
in 2008. ''Kasō girei'' tells the story of two men who start to write a role-playing game, decide instead to use the game as the basis for a
new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin or th ...
, gain enough adherents to achieve financial success, then find themselves displaced from the religious organization by women followers. In 2009 ''Kasō girei'' received the 22nd Shibata Renzaburo Prize. Two years later Shinoda received the 61st MEXT Award in the Literature category from the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs for her collection '. In 2014
Kadokawa Kadokawa may refer to: *Kadokawa Corporation, the holding company of the Kadokawa Group **Kadokawa Content Gate and Kadokawa Mobile, both former names for BookWalker **Kadokawa Future Publishing, a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and the publis ...
published Shinoda's novel ', the story of a Japanese businessman whose efforts to import special crystals needed for electronics manufacturing lead him to a small village in India, where he becomes involved with a local prostitute with exceptional cognitive powers, discovers a scheme to control uranium deposits, and almost dies in an anti-government uprising. Shinoda visited small Indian villages for details of setting and character, but based the fictitious Indian crystal trade in the novel on Japan's trade with Brazil and Australia. The book won the 10th Chuo Koron Literary Prize. An English version of her story "The Long-rumored Food Crisis", which ''
The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched b ...
'' called "a chilling account of moral breakdown after the Big One levels Tokyo", was published in the 2015 collection ''Hanzai Japan''.


Recognition and honors

* 1990: 3rd ''Shōsetsu Subaru'' Literary Prize for Newcomers * 1997: 10th
Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize The is a Japanese literary award established in 1988 in memory of author Shūgorō Yamamoto. It was created and continues to be sponsored by the Shinchosha Publishing company, which published Yamamoto's ''Complete Works''. The prize is awarded ann ...
* 1997: 117th
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 t ...
(1997上) * 2009: 22nd Shibata Renzaburo Prize * 2011: 61st MEXT Award in Literature * 2015: 10th Chuo Koron Literary Prize * 2020:


Television adaptations

* 1998: ',
NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...
adaptation of ''Onnatachi no jihādo'' * 1998: ',
Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...
* 2003: ', NHK * 2006: ', Nippon TV adaptation of ''Natsu no saiyaku''


Bibliography


Selected works in Japanese

* ',
Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...
, 1991, * ',
Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...
, 1995, * ',
Futabasha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Higashigokenchō, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.会社概要
" Futabasha. R ...
, 1996, * ', Shueisha, 1997, * ', Magajinhausu, 1998, * ', 2000,
Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition a ...
, * ',
Shinchosha is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in Yaraichō, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinchosha is one of the sponsors of the Japan Fantasy Novel Award. Books * Haruki Murakami: '' Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World'' (19 ...
, 2008, (vol. 1), (vol. 2) * ',
Kobunsha Kobunsha ( ja, 光文社 ''Kōbunsha'') is a Japanese publishing company. It publishes literature, manga novels, and women's magazines. Company history Kobunsha was established on October 1, 1945, and belongs to the Kodansha group. The company h ...
, 2010, * ',
Kadokawa Kadokawa may refer to: *Kadokawa Corporation, the holding company of the Kadokawa Group **Kadokawa Content Gate and Kadokawa Mobile, both former names for BookWalker **Kadokawa Future Publishing, a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and the publis ...
, 2014,


Selected work in English translation

* "The Long-rumored Food Crisis", translated by Jim Hubbert, ''Hanzai Japan'', 2015


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shinoda, Setsuko Living people 1955 births 20th-century Japanese novelists 20th-century Japanese women writers 21st-century Japanese novelists 21st-century Japanese women writers Japanese women novelists Japanese science fiction writers Naoki Prize winners Writers from Tokyo