ShelfEvidentAkutagawa Prize
2024 Winner
Complete History
2020s
2010s
- 2019むらさきのスカートの女
- 2018送り火 (Okuribi) — Hiroki Takahashi
- 2017影裏 (Eiri) — Shinsuke Numata
- 2016コンビニ人間
- 2015No winner recorded
- 2014Spring Garden
- 2013爪と目 (Nails and Eyes) — Kaori Fujino
- 2012冥土めぐり (Touring the Land of the Dead) — Maki Kashimada
- 2011道化師の蝶 (Harlequin's Butterfly) — Toh EnJoe
- 2010乙女の密告 (Otome no Mikkoku) — Akiko Akazome
2000s
- 2009終の住処 (Tsui no Sumika) — Ken'ichirō Isozaki
- 2008時が滲む朝 (Toki ga Nijimu Asa) — Yang Yi
- 2007アサッテの人 (Asatte no Hito) — Tetsushi Suwa
- 2006八月の路上に捨てる (Hachigatsu no Rojō ni Suteru) — Takami Itō
- 2005土の中の子供 (The Boy in the Earth) — Fuminori Nakamura
- 2004介護入門 (Kaigo Nyūmon) — Norio Mobu
- 2003ハリガネムシ (Hariganemushi) — Man'ichi Yoshimura
- 2002パーク・ライフ (Pāku Raifu) — Shūichi Yoshida
- 2001中陰の花 (Chūin no Hana) — Sōkyū Gen'yū
- 2000きれぎれ (Rip It Up) — Kō Machida
1990s
- 1999蔭の棲みか (Kage no Sumika) — Gen Getsu
- 1998ゲルマニウムの夜 (Gerumaniamu no Yoru) — Mangetsu Hanamura
- 1997水滴 (Droplets) — Shun Medoruma
- 1996蛇を踏む (Record of a Night Too Brief) — Hiromi Kawakami
- 1995この人の閾 (Kono Hito no Iki) — Kazushi Hosaka
- 1994おどるでく (Odorudeku) — Mitsuhiro Muroi
- 1993寂寥郊野 (Sekiryō Kōya) — Haruhiko Yoshimeki
- 1992運転士 (Untenshi) — Tomomi Fujiwara
- 1991自動起床装置 (Jidō Kishō Sōchi) — Yō Henmi
- 1990村の名前 (Mura no Namae) — Noboru Tsujihara
1980s
- 1989表層生活 (Hyōsō Seikatsu) — Akira Ōoka
- 1988尋ね人の時間 (Tazunebito no Jikan) — Man Arai
- 1987鍋の中 (In the Pot) — Kiyoko Murata
- 1985過越しの祭 (Passover) — Fumiko Kometani
- 1984青桐 (The Phoenix Tree) — Satoko Kizaki
- 1983杢二の世界 (Mokuji no Sekai) — Jun Kasahara
- 1982夢の壁 (Yume no Kabe) — Yukiko Katō
- 1981小さな貴婦人 (The Little Lady) — Rie Yoshiyuki
- 1980父が消えた (Chichi ga Kieta) — Katsuhiko Otsuji
1970s
- 1979やまあいの煙 (The Smoke in the Mountain Valley) — Yoshiko Shigekane
- 1978伸予 (Nobuyo) — Kiichirō Takahashi
- 1977僕って何 (Bokutte Nani) — Masahiro Mita
- 1976限りなく透明に近いブルー (Almost Transparent Blue) — Ryū Murakami
- 1975祭りの場 (Ritual of Death) — Kyōko Hayashi
- 1974あの夕陽 (Ano Yūhi) — Keizō Hino
- 1973鶸 (Hiwa) — Taku Miki
- 1972いつか汽笛を鳴らして (Itsuka Kiteki o Narashite) — Hiroshi Hatayama
- 1971砧をうつ女 (The Woman who Fulled Clothes) — Kaisei Ri
- 1970無明長夜 (Mumyōjōya) — Tomoko Yoshida
1960s
- 1969赤頭巾ちゃん気をつけて (Akazukin-chan Ki o Tsukete) — Kaoru Shōji
- 1968年の残り (Toshi no Nokori) — Saiichi Maruya
- 1967カクテル・パーティー (The Cocktail Party) — Tatsuhiro Ōshiro
- 1966夏の流れ (Natsu no Nagare) — Kenji Maruyama
- 1965玩具 (Playthings) — Setsuko Tsumura
- 1964されどわれらが日々 (Saredo Wareraga Hibi) — Shō Shibata
- 1963少年の橋 (Shōnen no Hashi) — Kiichi Gotō
- 1962美談の出発 (Bidan no Shuppatsu) — Akira Kawamura
- 1961鯨神 (Kujiragami) — Kōichirō Uno
- 1960夜と霧の隅で (Yoru to Kiri no Sumi de) — Morio Kita
1950s
- 1959山塔 (Santō) — Shirō Shiba
- 1958飼育 (Prize Stock) — Kenzaburō Ōe
- 1957硫黄島 (Iōjima) — Itaru Kikumura
- 1956海人舟 (Amabune) — Keitarō Kondō
- 1955白い人 (White Man) — Shūsaku Endō
- 1954驟雨・その他 (Sudden Shower) — Junnosuke Yoshiyuki
- 1953悪い仲間 / 陰気な愉しみ (Bad Company / Inki na Tanoshimi) — Shōtarō Yasuoka
- 1952喪神 (Sōshin) — Kōsuke Gomi
- 1951壁—S・カルマ氏の犯罪 (Kabe—S. Karuma shi no Hanzai) — Kōbō Abe
- 1950異邦人 (Ihōjin) — Ryōichi Tsuji
1940s
About the Akutagawa Prize
The Akutagawa Prize is Japan's most prestigious literary award for emerging fiction writers, awarded twice annually by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature (administered by the publisher Bungei Shunju). Named after the celebrated author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, it was established in 1935 alongside the Naoki Prize, its companion award for popular fiction. The prize recognizes the best work of pure literature (junbungaku) published in a general magazine or newspaper during the preceding six months, making it effectively a biannual prize with sessions in January (covering works from July–December) and July (covering works from January–June). A win catapults relatively unknown writers to nationwide fame almost overnight.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1892–1927) was one of Japan's most important modern writers, known for masterpieces such as 'Rashōmon' and 'In a Grove.' He died by suicide at 35. The prize was established by his friend and publisher Kan Kikuchi to honor his legacy.
- The prize is awarded twice per year: once in January (for works published July–December of the prior year) and once in July (for works published January–June of the current year). It is therefore sometimes described as a biannual prize.
- The prize is awarded to the best work of 'pure literature' (junbungaku) — short stories or novellas — published in a Japanese magazine or newspaper in the preceding six months. Books published independently are generally not eligible.
- The prize is specifically aimed at new and emerging Japanese writers. Established authors with multiple publications are not eligible; the Naoki Prize, which runs concurrently, covers popular fiction by more established authors.
- Winners receive a commemorative watch and a small cash stipend. The monetary value is nominal; the true prize is the nationwide recognition and the immediate commercial impact on the winner's work.
- Yes. It is not uncommon for the jury to decide that no work merits the prize in a given session, in which case the prize is withheld. This has happened multiple times in the prize's history.
- A jury of established Japanese novelists, typically five to seven members, reads the nominated works and votes by written ballot. Deliberations are held in Tokyo; the jury's discussion is published in full in the literary journal Bungakukai.
- The two prizes are announced simultaneously and administered by the same organization. The Akutagawa Prize targets serious literary fiction by new writers; the Naoki Prize honors popular fiction and entertainment by more established writers.
- The prize is open to works published in Japanese, not restricted to Japanese citizens. Non-Japanese writers who publish in Japanese have been nominated and won, such as Yang Yi, a Chinese-born author writing in Japanese.
- Winning the Akutagawa Prize is transformative commercially. Winning titles routinely sell hundreds of thousands of copies within weeks of the announcement, and winners often become major figures in Japanese literature overnight.