The selection committee for the 131st Bungei Literary Award was held on Tuesday, March 3rd, at the Bungeishunju Ltd. headquarters. With the five committee members Ms. Nanae Aoyama, Mr. Kazushige Abe, Ms. Hitomi Kanehara, Mr. Ryohei Machiya, and Ms. Sayaka Murata, the award-winning work and honorable mentions have been decided as follows.

[Selection Committee Members] (From left) Ms. Sayaka Murata, Ms. Nanae Aoyama, Mr. Ryohei Machiya, Mr. Kazushige Abe, Ms. Hitomi Kanehara

Award-Winning Work: Yu Murashi "When Solitaire Grandpa Was Around"

Honorable Mention: You Kutuno "Drop"

[Biographies of Award Winners]

Yu Murashi (むらし・ゆう)

Born in 1979. Graduated from the Faculty of Letters, Kyushu University. Resides in Kyoto Prefecture.

You Kutuno (くつの・よう)

Born in 2003. Native of Gifu Prefecture. Graduated from Gifu Prefectural Gifu Nogyo High School and Gifu University, currently enrolled in graduate school.

The full text of the award-winning work and honorable mention, along with the reviews from the five selection committee members, will be published in the May 2026 issue of "Bungei" (on sale Tuesday, April 7th).

[Related Site]

Bungei: https://books.bunshun.jp/list/mag/bungakukai

FACT BOX

  • Source: PR TIMES
  • Category: award