Kenta Nishimura

Kenta Nishimura (西村賢太, 1967–2022) was a Japanese novelist who dropped out of school at age 15 and became known for his candid depictions of an unconventional lifestyle, including periods of manual labor and personal struggles. He achieved literary prominence with his 2010 novel Kueki Ressha (The Drudgery Train), which won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, one of Japan's most esteemed awards for emerging writers. Nishimura died suddenly in Tokyo at age 54 after falling ill.