Kikuchi Kan Prize


The Kikuchi Kan Prize honors achievement in all aspects of Japanese literary culture. It was named in honor of Kikuchi Kan. The prize is presented annually by the literary magazine Bungei Shunjū and the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature.

History

The original Kikuchi Kan Prize was proposed by Kikuchi as an award to honor the elders of the literary world. It was established in 1938. In keeping with the intent of the prize, the jury was made up of novelists aged 45 or younger, and recipients were novelists aged 46 or older. The prize lapsed after six years, but was revived in 1952 following Kikuchi's death. The range of recipients was enlarged to honor achievements in cinema, broadcasting, and other fields in contemporary literary culture. The jury meets in October to consider works published from September 1 of the previous year through August 31, and awards are announced in the December issue of Bungei Shunjū.

Select list of prizewinners

The list of prizewinners includes a range of individual and institutional honorees.