The is a Japanese

Japanese literature

Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...

 literary award

Literary award

A literary award is an award presented to an author who has written a particularly lauded piece or body of work. There are awards for forms of writing ranging from poetry to novels. Many awards are also dedicated to a certain genre of fiction or non-fiction writing . There are also awards...

 presented semi-annually. It was established in 1935 by Kan Kikuchi

Kan Kikuchi

, known by his pen name Kan Kikuchi , was a Japanese author born in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. He established the publishing company Bungeishunjū, the monthly magazine of the same name, the Japan Writer's Association and both the Akutagawa and Naoki Prize for popular literature...

, then-editor of Bungeishunjū

Bungeishunju (magazine)

is a leading Japanese monthly magazine published by Bungeishunjū. The magazine was started by writer Kikuchi Kan in 1923 in tandem with the founding of Bungeishunjū. The name of the magazine came from the title of the literary review column in the magazine Shinchō by Kan...

 magazine, in memory of author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

Ryunosuke Akutagawa

was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "Father of the Japanese short story". He committed suicide at age of 35 through an overdose of barbital.-Early life:...

. It is currently sponsored by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature

Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature

The is an organisation, established in 1938, to promote Japanese literature.It organises five literary prizes:*Akutagawa Prize*Kikuchi Prize*Matsumoto Prize*Naoki Prize*Ohya Prize- External links :* * at Culturalprofiles.net...

, and is awarded in January ('E' in the list, below) and July ('L' in the list below) to the best serious literary

Literature

Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

 story published in a newspaper or magazine by a new or rising author.

The winner receives a pocket watch and a cash award of 1 million yen. Short stories and novellas win the prize more frequently than do full-length novels. Because of its prestige and the considerable attention the winner receives from the media, it is Japan's most sought after literary prize.

Winners

• 001 1935E Tatsuzō Ishikawa
  Tatsuzo Ishikawa
  was a Japanese author. He was the winner of the first Akutagawa Prize.-Biography:Born in Yokote, Akita Prefecture, Japan, Ishikawa was raised in several places, including Kyoto and Okayama Prefecture. He entered Waseda University's literature department but left before graduating. In 1930 he left...
  
   for 蒼氓 Sōbō
• 002 1935L no prize awarded
• 003 1936E Oda Takeo for 城外 Jyōgai
• 003 1936E Tsuruta Tomoya for コシャマイン記 Koshamain ki
• 004 1936L Jun Ishikawa
  Jun Ishikawa (author)
  was the pen-name of a modernist author, translator and literary critic active in Shōwa period Japan. His real name was Ishikawa Kiyoshi.-Early life:...
  
   for 普賢 Fugen
• 004 1936L Tomisawa Uio for The Mediterranean Sea (地中海 )
• 005 1937E Ozaki Kazuo for Leisure Glasses (暢気眼鏡 )
• 006 1937L Ashihei Hino for 糞尿譚 Fun'nyōtan
• 007 1938E Nakayama Gishu
  Nakayama Gishu
  was the pen-name of a Japanese writer active in Showa period Japan. His real name was Takama Yoshihide.-Early life:Gishū was born in what is now Shirakawa city, Fukushima Prefecture, and was a graduate of Waseda University...
  
   for 厚物咲 Atsumonozaki
• 008 1938L Nakazato Tsuneko for 乗合馬車 Noriaibasha, Nikkōshitsu
• 009 1939E Handa Yoshiyuki for Chicken Trouble (鶏騒動 )
• 009 1939E Hase Ken for Children Of Asakusa (あさくさの子供 )
• 010 1939L Samukawa Kotaro for The Poacher (密猟者 )
• 011 1940E no prize awarded
• 012 1940L Sakurada Tsunehisa for 平賀源内 Hiraga gen'nai
• 013 1941E Tada Yukei for Choko Delta (長江デルタ )
• 014 1941L Shibaki Yoshiko for The Garden City (青果の市 )
• 015 1942E no prize awarded
• 016 1942L Kuramitsu Toshio for The Liaison (連絡員)
• 017 1943E Ishizuka Kikuzo for 纏足の頃 Chanzū no koro
• 018 1943L Tonobe Kaoru for 和紙 Washi
• 019 1944E Yagi Yoshinori for 劉廣福 Ryūkanbu
• 019 1944E Ono Juzo for The Ascent (登攀 )
• 020 1944L Shimizu Motoyoshi
  Shimizu Motoyoshi
  was a Japanese novelist and poet, active during the Showa and Heisei periods of Japan.-Biography:Shimizu was born in Tokyo, and attended the Seisoku Eigo Gakko in Kanda. His first work, Tsuru published in 1941 caught the attention of noted poet Ishida Hakyo, who took him on as a student. He later...
  
   for Wild Geese (雁立 )
• 021 1949E Kotani Tsuyoshi for 確証 Kakushō
• 021 1949E Yuki Shigeko for 本の話 Hon no hanashi
• 022 1949L Inoue Yasushi for The Bullfight (闘牛 )
• 023 1950E Tsuji Ryoichi for The Foreigner (異邦人 )
• 024 1950L no prize awarded
• 025 1951E Abe Kobo for The Crime of S. Karuma (壁　S.カルマ氏の犯罪 )
• 025 1951E Ishikawa Toshimitsu for Spring Grass (春の草 )
• 026 1951L Hotta Yoshie for Hiroba no kotoku, kankan, sono ta
• 027 1952E no prize awarded
• 028 1952L Gomi Kosuke
  Gomi Kosuke
  was the pen-name of Gomi Yasusuke, a Japanese novelist active during the Showa period of Japan. He is primarily known for his popular fiction on historical themes.- Biography :...
  
   for 喪神 Sōshin
• 028 1952L Matsumoto Seicho for 或る「小倉日記」小伝 Aru kokura nikki den
• 029 1953E Shotaro Yasuoka
  Shōtarō Yasuoka
  is a Japanese writer.-Biography:Yasuoka was born in pre-war Japan in Kōchi, Kōchi, but as the son of a veterinary corpsman in the Imperial Army, he spent most of his youth moving from one military post to another. In 1944, he was conscripted and served briefly overseas...
  
   for Bad Company, Dismal Fun ()
• 030 1953L no prize awarded
• 031 1954E Yoshiyuki Junnosuke
  Yoshiyuki Junnosuke
  was a Japanese novelist and short-story writer.- Life :Yoshiyuki was born in Okayama, the oldest child of author Yoshiyuki Eisuke, but his family moved to Tokyo when he was 3. He attended Shizuoka High School, where he grew interested in Thomas Mann's stories, and in 1945 entered the University of...
  
   for A Rain Shower ()
• 032 1954L Kojima Nobuo
  Kojima Nobuo
  was a Japanese writer prominent in the postwar era. He is most readily associated with other writers of his generation, such as Shōtarō Yasuoka, who describe the effects of Japan's defeat in World War II on the country's psyche....
  
   for American School ()
• 032 1954L Shono Junzo
  Junzo Shono
  was a Japanese novelist. A native of Osaka, he began writing novels after World War II. He won the 1954 Akutagawa Prize for his book Purusaido Shokei...
  
   for A Poolside Scene ()
• 033 1955E Endo Shusaku for White Person ()
• 034 1955L Shintaro Ishihara
  Shintaro Ishihara
  is a Japanese author, actor, politician and the governor of Tokyo since 1999.- Early life and artistic career :Shintarō was born in Suma-ku, Kobe. His father Kiyoshi was an employee, later a general manager, of a shipping company. Shintarō grew up in Zushi...
  
   for Season Of The Sun ()
• 035 1956E Kondo Keitaro for Kaijinfune
• 036 1956L no prize awarded
• 037 1957E Kikumura Itaru for Iwo Jima ()
• 038 1957L Kaiko Takeshi
  Kaiko Takeshi
  was a prominent post-World War II Japanese novelist, short-story writer, essayist, literary critic, and television documentary writer. He was distinguished by his knowledge, intellect, sense of humor and conversational skills, and although his style has been criticized as wordy and obtuse, he was...
  
   for The Emperor's New Clothes ()
• 039 1958E Oe Kenzaburo for Prize Stock ()
• 040 1958L no prize awarded
• 041 1959E Shiba Shiro for Mountain Pagoda ()
• 042 1959L no prize awarded
• 043 1960E Morio Kita
  Morio Kita
  was the pen name of , a Japanese novelist, essayist, and psychiatrist.A graduate of Tohoku University's School of Medicine, Kita initially worked as a doctor at Keio University Hospital. Motivated by the collections of his father's poems and the books of German author Thomas Mann, he decided to...
  
   for In The Corner Of Night And Fog ()
• 044 1960L Miura Tetsuo for Hidden River ()
• 045 1961E no prize awarded
• 046 1961L Uno Koichiro for The Whale God ()
• 047 1962E Kawamura Akira for A Heroic Departure ()
• 048 1962L no prize awarded
• 049 1963E Goto Kiichi for A Boyhood Bridge ()
• 049 1963E Kono Taeko
  Kono Taeko
  is a Japanese writer and critic and is considered one of the most important contemporary writers of modern Japanese literature. She is best known in English for her collection of short stories Toddler-Hunting and Other Stories.-Biography:...
  
   for Crab ()
• 050 1963L Tanabe Seiko for Sentimental Journey ()
• 051 1964E Shiba Shou for Saredo waga hibi
• 052 1964L no prize awarded
• 053 1965E Tsumura Setsuko for Toys ()
• 054 1965L Takai Yuichi
  Takai Yuichi
  is a Japanese author.Takai won the 1965 Akutagawa Prize for Kita no kawa , the 1984 Tanizaki Prize for Kono kuni no sora , and the 1989 Yomiuri Prize for Yoru no ari .- Selected works :...
  
   for Northern Stream ()
• 055 1966E no prize awarded
• 056 1966L Maruyama Kenji for Summer's Passage ()
• 057 1967E Oshiro Tatsuhiro for The Cocktail Party ()
• 058 1967L Kashiwabara Hyozo for Dosuke Tokoyama's Returning Home ()
• 059 1968E Maruya Saiichi
  Maruya Saiichi
  is a Japanese author and literary critic.-Biography:Maruya was mobilized into the Japanese Army in 1945 when still a high-school student. After the war's end, he completed his high school studies in Niigata, then in 1947 entered the University of Tokyo to major in English literature. There he...
  
   for Remains Of The Year ()
• 059 1968E Oba Minako
  Oba Minako
  was a Japanese author and social critic.She was awarded the 1968 Akutagawa Prize for Sanbiki no kani , and the 1982 Tanizaki Prize for Katachi mo naku .Oba Minako suffered a stroke in 1996 and died on May 24, 2007.- Selected works :...
  
   for Three Crabs ()
• 060 1968L no prize awarded
• 061 1969E Shoji Kaoru for Little Red Riding Hood, Take Care ()
• 061 1969E Takubo Hideo for Deep River ()
• 062 1969L KiyookaTakayuki for Akashiya no tairen
• 063 1970E Yoshida Tomoko for Mumyōchōya
• 063 1970E Komao Furuyama for Pureō eito no yoake
• 064 1970L Yoshikichi Furui for Yoko ()
• 065 1971E no prize awarded
• 066 1971L Kaisei Ri for Kinuta wo utsu on’na
• 066 1971L Mineo Higashi
  Mineo Higashi
  Mineo Higashi is an Okinawan writer. He was awarded the Akutagawa Prize in 1971 for his novel An Okinawan Boy...
  
   for Okinawan Boy ()
• 067 1972E Hiroshi Hatayama for Sometimes The Whistle Blew ()
• 067 1972E Akio Miyahara for Dareka ga sawatta
• 068 1972L Michiko Yamamoto
  Michiko Yamamoto
  , is the pen-name of a Japanese writer of short stories and poetry in Showa and Heisei period Japan. Her real name is Michiko Furuya.-Biography:Yamamoto was born in Nakano, Tokyo and graduated from Atomi University in 1957. Her first three short stories Mahō, Ame no Isu and Betei-san no Niwa...
  
   for Betty Boop's Garden ()
• 068 1972L Shizuko Go for Requiem ()
• 069 1973E Taku Miki for Hiwa
• 070 1973L Kuninobu Noro for Vines ()
• 070 1973L Atsushi Mori for Lunar Mountain ()
• 071 1974E no prize awarded
• 072 1974L Keizo Hino for The Evening Sun ()
• 072 1974L Hiro Sakata for Earthen Vessel ()
• 073 1975E Kyoko Hayashi
  Kyoko Hayashi
  is a Japanese author.Hayashi was born in Nagasaki and spent the years from 1931-1945 with her family in Shanghai. She returned to Nagasaki in March 1945 and enrolled in Nagasaki Girls' High School, where she was mobilized in the Mitsubishi Munitions Factory. She was working at the factory when the...
  
   for Matsuri no ba
• 074 1975L Kenji Nakagami
  Kenji Nakagami
  Kenji Nakagami was a noted Japanese writer, critic, and poet of buraku ancestry. Nakagami died from kidney cancer in 1992 at the age of 46.- Life :...
  
   for The Cape ()
• 074 1975L Kazuo Okamatsu for Shikinoshima
• 075 1976E Ryu Murakami
  Ryu Murakami
  is a Japanese novelist and filmmaker. He is colloquially referred to as the "Maradona of Japanese literature".-Biography:Born as Ryūnosuke Murakami in Sasebo, Nagasaki on February 19, 1952...
  
   for Almost Transparent Blue ()
• 076 1976L no prize awarded
• 077 1977E Masahiro Mita for What Am I ()
• 077 1977E Masuo Ikeda
  Masuo Ikeda
  was a Japanese painter, printmaker, illustrator, sculptor, ceramist, novelist, and film director from Nagano Prefecture.-Awards:*Ikeda won the Akutagawa Prize for Offering In The Aegean .-External links:*...
  
   for Offering In The Aegean ()
• 078 1977L Teru Miyamoto
  Teru Miyamoto
  is a Japanese author.-Biography:Miyamoto was born in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan and graduated from the faculty of letters at Otemon Gakuin University after which he became a copywriter. In 1970, he began to write his first novel and quit his job...
  
   for Firefly River ()
• 078 1977L Shuzo Taki for The Nutmeg Tree Festival ()
• 079 1978E Kiichiro Takahashi for Nobuya
• 079 1978E Michitsuna Takahashi for September Sky ()
• 080 1978L no prize awarded
• 081 1979E Yoshiko Shigekane for Smoke In The Mountains ()
• 081 1979E So Aono
  So Aono
  is a Japanese novelist, third son of the renowned literary critic Suekichi Aono, and winner of the 1979 Akutagawa Prize and the 1991 Yomiuri Prize....
  
   for Night Of The Idiots ()
• 082 1979L Reiko Mori for The City Of Mockingbirds ()
• 083 1980E no prize awarded
• 084 1980L Katsuhiko Otsuji  for My Father Vanished ()
• 085 1981E Rie Yoshiyuki for Little Lady ()
• 086 1981L no prize awarded
• 087 1982E no prize awarded
• 088 1982L Yukiko Kato for Wall of Dreams ()
• 088 1982L Juro Kara for A Letter From Young Sagawa ()
• 089 1983E no prize awarded
• 090 1983L Jun Kasahara for Mokoji's World ()
• 090 1983L Nobuko Takagi for Hold The LIght, Friend ()
• 091 1984E no prize awarded
• 092 1984L Satoko Kizaki for Blue Paulownia ()
• 093 1985E no prize awarded
• 094 1985L Fumiko Kometani
  Fumiko Kometani
  Fumiko Kometani, born in Osaka, Japan in 1930, is a Japanese author and artist and a longtime resident of the United States. Kometani moved to the U.S. in 1960 when she was working as an abstract painter, spending time at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire where she met her husband, Josh...
  
   for The Passover ()
• 095 1986E no prize awarded
• 096 1986L no prize awarded
• 097 1987E Kiyoko Murata for In The Pot ()
• 098 1987L Natsuki Ikezawa for Still Lives ()
• 098 1987L Kiyohiro Miura for He's Leaving Home ()
• 099 1988E Man Arai for The Missing's Time ()
• 100 1988L Keishi Nagi for Diamond Dust ()
• 100 1988L Yanji I
  Yangji Lee
  Yangji Lee was a second-generation Zainichi Korean Japanese novelist born in Nishikatsura, Yamanashi, Japan...
  
   for Yuhi
• 101 1989E no prize awarded
• 102 1989L Akira Ooka for Hyōsō seikatsu
• 102 1989L Mieko Takizawa for Nekobaba no iru machi de
• 103 1990E Noboru Tsujihara
  Noboru Tsujihara
  is a prize-winning Japanese Novelist.- Prizes :* 1990 Akutagawa Prize for Mura no namae * 1999 Yomiuri Prize for Tobe kirin * 2000 Tanizaki Prize for Yudotei Enboku...
  
   for A Village's Name ()
• 104 1990L Yoko Ogawa
  Yoko Ogawa
  is a Japanese writer.-Biography:Ogawa was born in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, graduated from Waseda University, and lives in Ashiya, Hyōgo, with her husband and son. Since 1988, she has published more than twenty works of fiction and nonfiction. Her novel The Professor's Beloved Equation has been...
  
   for Pregnancy Calendar ()
• 105 1991E Yo Henmi for The Automatic Wake-up Machine ()
• 105 1991E Anna Ogino
  Anna Ogino
  is a Japanese author and professor of literature at Keio University.-Early Years:Ogino was born as Anna Gaillard in Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, to a Japanese mother and father of European-American ancestry...
  
   for Water Burden ()
• 106 1991L Eiko Matsumura for Uptown ()
• 107 1992E Tomomi Fujiwara for Driver ()
• 108 1992L Yoko Tawada
  Yoko Tawada
  Yōko Tawada is a Japanese writer currently living in Berlin, Germany.Tawada was born in Tokyo, received her undergraduate education at Waseda University in 1982 with a major in Russian literature, then studied at Hamburg University where she received a master's degree in contemporary German...
  
   for The Bridegroom Was A Dog ()
• 109 1993E Haruhiko Yoshimeki for Sekiryōkōya
• 110 1993L Hikaru Okuizumi
  Hikaru Okuizumi
  , born 6 February 1956, is a Japanese novelist. His real name is Yasuhiro Okuizumi.-Biography:Hikaru Okuizumi was born in Mikawa, Yamagata Prefecture, and attended high school in Saitama Prefecture, before studying Humanities at ICU in Tokyo. He completed a master's course at the same university,...
  
   for The Stones Cry Out ()
• 111 1994E Mitsuhiro Muroi for Odorodeku
• 111 1994E Yoriko Shono
  Yoriko Shono
  , born 16 March 1956, is a Japanese writer who describes her writing as 'avant-pop'.- Biography :Yoriko Shono was born in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, grew up in Ise and studied in the Law Department at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto...
  
   for The Time Slip Industrial Complex ()
• 112 1994L no prize awarded
• 113 1995E Kazushi Hosaka for Kono hito no iki
• 114 1995L Matayoshi Eiki for Pig's retribution ()
• 115 1996E Hiromi Kawakami for Tread On A Snake ()
• 116 1996L Hitonari Tsuji
  Hitonari Tsuji
  is a Tokyo-born Japanese writer, composer, and film director. In his film and singing work he uses the name Jinsei Tsuji, an alternative reading of the Japanese writing of his name. He debuted as a writer in 1989. His films include and ....
  
   for The Light from the Strait ()
• 116 1996L Miri Yu
  Miri Yu
  Miri Yu is a Zainichi Korean playwright, novelist, and essayist. Yu writes in Japanese, her native language, but is a citizen of South Korea.Yu was born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, to Korean parents...
  
   for Family Cinema ()
• 117 1997E Shun Medoruma
  Shun Medoruma
  Shun Medoruma is, along with Matayoshi Eiki, one of the most important contemporary Okinawan writers. He was awarded the Akutagawa Prize in 1997 for his short story A Drop of Water...
  
   for A Drop Of Water ()
• 118 1997L no prize awarded
• 119 1998E Mangetsu Hanamura for Geranium Nights ()
• 119 1998E Shu Fujisawa for Midnight In Buenos Aires ()
• 120 1998L Keiichiro Hirano
  Keiichiro Hirano
  is a Japanese novelist.Hirano was born in Gamagori, Aichi prefecture, Japan. He published his first novel in 1998 and won the Akutagawa Prize the next year as one of the youngest winners ever . He graduated from the Law Department of Kyoto University in 1999...
  
   for Eclipse ()
• 121 1999E no prize awarded
• 122 1999L Gengetsu for A Dwelling In The Shade ()
• 122 1999L Chiya Fujino
  Chiya Fujino
  is a Japanese writer of literary fiction. She has published several novels and short stories, and has been awarded three major Japanese literary prizes....
  
   for Summer Promise ()
• 123 2000E Kou Machida for Shreds ()
• 123 2000E Hisaki Matsuura
  Hisaki Matsuura
  is a noted Japanese professor, poet, and novelist.Matsuura was born in Tokyo. In 1981 he obtained his Ph.D. in French literature from the University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle, and 1982 became an assistant professor in the French Department at the University of Tokyo where he is now a...
  
   for A Spoiling Rain ()
• 124 2000L Yuichi Seirai for Holy Water ()
• 124 2000L Toshiyuki Horie
  Toshiyuki Horie
  is a Japanese author and translator.Horie was born in Gifu Prefecture, and studied at Waseda University. He teaches French Literature at Meiji University, where he is a critic and translator of authors including Michel Foucault, Hervé Guibert, Michel Rio, and Jacques Réda.-Prizes:* 1999 Mishima...
  
   for The Bear And The Paving Stone ()
• 125 2001E Sokyu Genyu for Flowers In Limbo ()
• 126 2001L Yu Nagashima for More Speed Mama ()
• 127 2002E Shuichi Yoshida
  Shuichi Yoshida
  , born 14 September 1968, is a Japanese novelist.-Biography:Shūichi Yoshida was born in Nagasaki, and studied Business Administration at Hosei University. He won the Bungakukai Prize for New Writers in 1997 for his story "Saigo no Musuko", and the Akutagawa Prize in 2002 for "Park Life"...
  
   for Park Life ()
• 128 2002L Tamaki Daido for Salty Drives (しょっぱいドライブ )
• 129 2003E Manichi Yoshimura for The Hairworm (ハリガネムシ )
• 130 2003L Risa Wataya
  Risa Wataya
  is a female Japanese novelist from Kyoto.-Life:She rose to fame in 2003 upon receiving the Akutagawa Prize for her short novel Keritai Senaka , while at Waseda University. The prize was shared between Wataya and Hitomi Kanehara, another young, female author...
  
   for A Back I Want To Kick (蹴りたい背中 )
• 130 2003L Hitomi Kanehara
  Hitomi Kanehara
  is an award-winning Japanese novelist.-Biography:A high school drop-out since the age of 15, Kanehara pursued her passion for writing with the support of her father, Mizuhito Kanehara, a literary professor and translator of children's literature. She was born and currently lives in Tokyo.She wrote...
  
   for Snakes and Earrings
  Snakes and Earrings
  is a novel written by the Japanese author Hitomi Kanehara in 2003, and it won the 2003 Akutagawa Prize for literature. It was translated into English by David Karashima. In 2007, a film-version directed by Yukio Ninagawa was released.-Synopsis:...
  
  (蛇にピアス )
• 131 2004E Norio Mobu for Introduction to Nursing Care (介護入門 )
• 132 2004L Kazushige Abe for Grand Finale (グランド・フィナーレ )
• 133 2005E Fuminori Nakamura for A Child in the Ground (土の中の子供 )
• 134 2005L Akiko Itoyama
  Akiko Itoyama
  is a Japanese novelist, who won the 134th Akutagawa Prize.-Biography:After graduation from Shinjuku High School and , Waseda University, she worked as a saleswoman for a major household equipment company and, as is common in Japanese corporate life, was transferred several times to various localities...
  
   for Waiting Offshore (沖で待つ )
• 135 2006E Takami Itō
  Takami Ito
  is a Japanese author who won an Akutagawa Prize in 2006.-Biography:Itō was born in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. As a middle-school student, he was a classmate of Ken Hirai...
  
   for Throwing Stuff Away on a Road in August (八月の路上に捨てる )
• 136 2006L Nanae Aoyama
  Nanae Aoyama
  is a Japanese fiction writer. She studied at the University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, and later moved to Tokyo. Her literary debut was Mado no Akari " in 2005, winning the Bungei Prize. Aoyama was awarded the 136th Akutagawa Prize for promising new writers of serious fiction for her novel...
  
   for Hitori Biyori (ひとり日和)
• 137 2007E Tetsushi Suwa
  Tetsushi Suwa
  is a Japanese writer from Nagoya, Aichi. He was awarded the Akutagawa Prize in 2007 for Asatte no Hito . The novel was first published in the literary magazine Gunzo, winning the magazine's award for new writers.-References:...
  
   for Asatte no Hito (アサッテの人)
• 138 2007L Mieko Kawakami
  Mieko Kawakami
  Mieko Kawakami is a Japanese singer and writer from Osaka. She was awarded the 138th Akutagawa Prize for promising new writers of serious fiction for her novel Chichi to Ran . Kawakami has released three albums and three singles as a singer. "Chichi to Ran" is her second novel...
  
   for Chichi to Ran (乳と卵)
• 139 2008E Yang Yi (author)
  Yang Yi (author)
  Yang Yi is the pen name of Liu Qiao, a Chinese-born novelist who has lived in Japan since 1987.Yang was born in the Chinese city of Harbin and remains a Chinese citizen. In 2008, she won the 139th Akutagawa Prize for her novel Tokiga nijimu asa...
  
   for Toki ga Nijimu Asa (時が滲む朝)
• 140 2008L Kikuko Tsumura for Potosuraimu no fune (ポトスライムの舟)
• 141 2009E Ken'ichirō Isozaki for Tsui no sumika (終の住処)
• 142 2009L No prize awarded
• 143 2010E Akiko Akazome for The Anonymous Tip of a Virgin (乙女の密告)
• 144 2010L Mariko Asabuki for Kikotowa [きことわ]
• 144 2010L Kenta Nishimura for Kueki Ressha [苦役列車]
• 145 2011E No prize awarded

The list is a translation of Bungeishunjū

Bungeishunju

, established in 1923, is a Japanese publishing company known for its leading monthly magazine Bungeishunjū. It also grants the annual Akutagawa Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Japan, as well as the annual Naoki Prize for popular novelists. It also grants the annual...

's website with titles of English editions.

Current members of the selection committee

• Natsuki Ikezawa
  Ikezawa Natsuki
  is a Japanese poet, novelist, essayist and translator.He draws upon the relationship between civilization and nature in his writing, among other themes. Ikezawa translates a wide variety of writing, from contemporary Greek poetry to modern novels, and translates American literature into the...
  
  
• Shintaro Ishihara
  Shintaro Ishihara
  is a Japanese author, actor, politician and the governor of Tokyo since 1999.- Early life and artistic career :Shintarō was born in Suma-ku, Kobe. His father Kiyoshi was an employee, later a general manager, of a shipping company. Shintarō grew up in Zushi...
  
  
• Hiromi Kawakami
• Senji Kuroi
• Ryu Murakami
  Ryu Murakami
  is a Japanese novelist and filmmaker. He is colloquially referred to as the "Maradona of Japanese literature".-Biography:Born as Ryūnosuke Murakami in Sasebo, Nagasaki on February 19, 1952...
  
  
• Teru Miyamoto
  Teru Miyamoto
  is a Japanese author.-Biography:Miyamoto was born in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan and graduated from the faculty of letters at Otemon Gakuin University after which he became a copywriter. In 1970, he began to write his first novel and quit his job...
  
  
• Yoko Ogawa
  Yoko Ogawa
  is a Japanese writer.-Biography:Ogawa was born in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, graduated from Waseda University, and lives in Ashiya, Hyōgo, with her husband and son. Since 1988, she has published more than twenty works of fiction and nonfiction. Her novel The Professor's Beloved Equation has been...
  
  
• Nobuko Takagi
• Amy Yamada
  Amy Yamada
  born February 8, 1959, is a popular but controversial contemporary Japanese writer who is most famous for her stories that address issues of sexuality, racism, and interracial marriage, topics not typically discussed openly in Japanese society....
  
  

Special occurrences

Occasionally, when consensus cannot be reached between judges over disputes about the winning story or the quality of work for that half year, no prize is awarded. The judges usually include contemporary writers, literary critics, and former winners of the prize. From 1945 through 1948, no prizes were awarded due to postwar instability.

On January 15, 2004, the awarding of the 130th Akutagawa Prize made significant news when two women became the award's youngest winners. The prize went to both Wataya Risa, 19, and Kanehara Hitomi, 20. Previously, the youngest Akutagawa winners were all males over 23 years old, among them the current Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara

Shintaro Ishihara

is a Japanese author, actor, politician and the governor of Tokyo since 1999.- Early life and artistic career :Shintarō was born in Suma-ku, Kobe. His father Kiyoshi was an employee, later a general manager, of a shipping company. Shintarō grew up in Zushi...

 and novelist Kenzaburo Oe

Kenzaburo Oe

is a Japanese author and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His works, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issues including nuclear weapons, social non-conformism and existentialism.Ōe was awarded...

 who later went on to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1994.