is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

writer. He has won the Noma Literary New Face Prize, the Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature, the Itō Sei Literature Prize, and the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award. His work has been translated into English.

Biography

While studying Russian at

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies , often referred to as TUFS, is a specialist National university, national research university in Fuchū, Tokyo, Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan. TUFS is primarily devoted to foreign language, international relations, international affairs and area studies. ...

, Shimada published a story called ' that was nominated for the

Akutagawa Prize The is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. Because of its prestige and the considerable attention the winner receives from the media, it is, along with the Naoki Prize, one of Japan's most sought after literary prizes. History Th ...

. The next year he won the 6th Noma Literary New Face Prize for his novel '. ' was published in Japan in 1989, with an English translation by

Philip Gabriel James Philip Gabriel (born 1953) is an American translator and Japanologist. He is a full professor and former department chair of the University of Arizona's Department of East Asian Studies and is one of the major translators into English of the ...

following in 1992. In her review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Julia Just praised ''Dream Messenger'' as "proof that the Japanese novel is taking some fantastic turns in the hands of a new generation of writers." A 2017 retrospective review by Stephen Mansfield of ''

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 by ...

'' described ''Dream Messenger'' as "existential novel that manages to remain firmly grounded within the parameters of a compelling narrative." The same year that ''Dream Messenger'' was published in English, Shimada won the 20th Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature for , a parody of

Natsume Sōseki , born , was a Japanese novelist. He is best known for his novels ''Kokoro'', ''Botchan'', ''I Am a Cat'', ''Kusamakura (novel), Kusamakura'' and his unfinished work ''Light and Darkness (novel), Light and Darkness''. He was also a scholar of Br ...

's novel '' Kokoro''. Shimada wrote the libretto for Shigeaki Saegusa's opera ''

Chūshingura is the title given to fictionalized accounts in Japanese literature, theater, and film that relate to the historical incident involving the forty-seven ''rōnin'' and their mission to avenge the death of their master, Asano Naganori. Including ...

'', which

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...

directed in its 1997 Tokyo debut. Shimada directed and performed in his own play Yurariumu (Ulalium) in 1990. His Japanese translation of Steve Erickson's Rubicon Beach appeared in 1991. In 2016 Shimada won the 70th Mainichi Publishing Culture Award for his novel '.

Recognition

* 1984: 6th Noma Literary New Face Prize * 1992: 20th Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature * 2006: 17th Itō Sei Literature Prize * 2016: 70th Mainichi Publishing Culture Award * 2022: Medal with Purple Ribbon

Bibliography

* ' (

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

, 1984). ''Music for a Somnambulant Kingdom'' * ' (

, 1989). ''Dream Messenger'', trans. Philip Gabriel (

, 1992, ) *''Miira ni naru made'' (1990). ''Until I Am a Mummy'' * ''Armadillo'' (

Shinchosha is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in , 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'' (1985), '' Ute ...

, 1991), * ' (Fukutake Shoten, 1992, ) *''Jiyū shikei'' (自由死刑) (1999). ''Death by Choice'', trans. Meredith McKinney (Thames River Press, 2013, ) * ',

, 2015,

References

External links

Masahiko Shimada
at J'Lit Books from Japan

at JLPP (Japanese Literature Publishing Project)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shimada, Masahiko 1961 births 20th-century Japanese novelists 21st-century Japanese novelists Living people International Writing Program alumni Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon