【Exceptional Talent Selected from 4,176 Submissions】Kei Saitani's Chilling Debut Work 'Umi o Suu / Niwa ni Tsugu,' Winner of the 60th Bungei Prize (Short Story Division), Now Released!
Kawade Shobo Shinsha has released 'Umi o Suu / Niwa ni Tsugu,' the debut collection by Kei Saitani, winner of the 60th Bungei Prize (Short Story Division), on April 28, 2026. This collection features the award-winning short story 'Umi o Suu' and 'Niwa ni Tsugu,' the first work after receiving the award, showcasing a world of chilling beauty and decadence by an exceptional talent selected from 4,176 submissions.
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Kawade Shobo Shinsha (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director Yu Onodera) released Kei Saitani's debut collection 'Umi o Suu / Niwa ni Tsugu,' which includes 'Umi o Suu,' the excellence award winner of the 60th Bungei Prize (Short Story Division), and 'Niwa ni Tsugu,' the first work after receiving the award, on April 28, 2026.
An extraordinary talent selected from a total of 4,176 submissions, a chilling debut work.
'Umi o Suu' depicts the shifting consciousness of a girl whose body fills with liquid through holes, while 'Niwa ni Tsugu' tells the story of a father and daughter invaded by a 'forest' and a transforming world. This is the world of aestheticism and defilement spun by an exceptional talent that astonished the judges of the 60th Bungei Prize (Short Story Division), Yumika Shibasaki, Akiko Matsuda, and the critic of strange and fantastic literature, Unga Asamiya.
The chilling debut work 'Umi o Suu / Niwa ni Tsugu' by Kei Saitani, an exceptional talent selected from a total of 4,176 submissions, has finally been published.
“Written with words that make the physical sensations and inner feelings directly palpable, like concrete textures and scenes, a writer with the power to pursue that.”
――Yumika Shibasaki (Judge, 60th Bungei Prize, Short Story Division)
“The despair towards one's own body and the endless, dead-end emotions before 'awakening' reach the end without losing tension.”
――Akiko Matsuda (Judge, 60th Bungei Prize, Short Story Division)
“The characters' bodies are wounded, dissolved, and metamorphose into something unknown. The process is breathtakingly gruesome, yet alluring.”
――Unga Asamiya (Critic of Strange and Fantastic Literature)
Work Introduction
'Umi o Suu'
Hiyori, a girl whose body is riddled with holes that fill with liquid. Ikkun tells her to 'pierce the bottom of the hole,' and her mother tells her to 'become a tube.' This is the overwhelming excellence award winner of the Bungei Prize (Short Story Division) that drags the reader into a world filled with unique heaviness and dampness.
(First published in 'Bungei' Winter 2023 issue)
'Niwa ni Tsugu'
'Beyond here is the forest,' 'This is the end of the garden and the beginning of the forest,' 'Do not enter the forest.' A father and daughter live in a house with a 'garden' leading to the forest. One day, the father returns from the forest having lost his sanity—something invades the miniature garden where only the two of them are confined. This is the first work after receiving the award, swallowed by the dense premonition of a nightmare.
(First published in 'Bungei' Winter 2025 issue)
Booksellers nationwide are shaken by 'Umi o Suu / Niwa ni Tsugu'!
“I didn't mean to. I regret having casually stepped into this story. I truly regret that I might have left footprints in the author's unique, sacred-like world that they nurtured and brought forth.”
――Dai Toyonaga (Kinokuniya Bookstore Grand Front Osaka Store)
“The expression of something viscous was so skillful that I felt as if I had touched it, even though it was just text. I mistook it for having touched something while reading.”
――Masa Nakazawa (Kumazawa Bookstore Nishiarai Store)
“There is a strong 'body.' The senses towards what comes out of the body are sharpened, with violent smells and liquids. Absorbed. Connected. An intense bodily sensation remains even when ambiguous. I shivered and felt like I was being carried away somewhere.”
――Maki Ebihara (Libro Fussa Store)
“It was disgusting, but I couldn't avert my eyes or consciousness. I kept turning the pages, not knowing where the feeling of having to see it through came from.”
――Ayako Sako (Tsutaya Books Kumamoto Sannenzaka)
“The weight of others' words and the world quietly invades. The uniquely damp writing style gently awakens the reader's senses, revealing the ambiguous boundary between the inner self and the outer world. As I pondered what it all meant, I was deeply drawn into an unknown worldview, and before I knew it, I was turning the pages again and again. A thrilling reading experience. An addictive work.”
――Sayuri Arai (Kinokuniya Bookstore Shinjuku Main Store)
“I wanted to immerse myself for a while in the happiness of savoring this sweet and supple story.”
――Ryo Yamamoto (Daiseido Bookstore Ekimae Store)
Author Introduction
Kei Saitani
Born in 2000. From Tokyo. In 2023, 'Umi o Suu' won the Excellence Award in the 60th Bungei Prize (Short Story Division).
Bibliographic Information
Title: Umi o Suu / Niwa ni Tsugu
Author: Kei Saitani
Specifications: 46-size / Hardcover / 128 pages
Release Date: April 28, 2026
Tax-included Price: 1,870 yen (Body price 1,700 yen)
ISBN: 978-4-309-03264-1
Book Design: Naoko Nakui
Cover Art: Mariko Enomoto
Bibliographic URL: https://www.kawade.co.jp/np/isbn/9784309032641/
*An e-book version is also scheduled for release soon.
Please check each e-book store for details.
An extraordinary talent selected from a total of 4,176 submissions, a chilling debut work.
'Umi o Suu' depicts the shifting consciousness of a girl whose body fills with liquid through holes, while 'Niwa ni Tsugu' tells the story of a father and daughter invaded by a 'forest' and a transforming world. This is the world of aestheticism and defilement spun by an exceptional talent that astonished the judges of the 60th Bungei Prize (Short Story Division), Yumika Shibasaki, Akiko Matsuda, and the critic of strange and fantastic literature, Unga Asamiya.
The chilling debut work 'Umi o Suu / Niwa ni Tsugu' by Kei Saitani, an exceptional talent selected from a total of 4,176 submissions, has finally been published.
“Written with words that make the physical sensations and inner feelings directly palpable, like concrete textures and scenes, a writer with the power to pursue that.”
――Yumika Shibasaki (Judge, 60th Bungei Prize, Short Story Division)
“The despair towards one's own body and the endless, dead-end emotions before 'awakening' reach the end without losing tension.”
――Akiko Matsuda (Judge, 60th Bungei Prize, Short Story Division)
“The characters' bodies are wounded, dissolved, and metamorphose into something unknown. The process is breathtakingly gruesome, yet alluring.”
――Unga Asamiya (Critic of Strange and Fantastic Literature)
Work Introduction
'Umi o Suu'
Hiyori, a girl whose body is riddled with holes that fill with liquid. Ikkun tells her to 'pierce the bottom of the hole,' and her mother tells her to 'become a tube.' This is the overwhelming excellence award winner of the Bungei Prize (Short Story Division) that drags the reader into a world filled with unique heaviness and dampness.
(First published in 'Bungei' Winter 2023 issue)
'Niwa ni Tsugu'
'Beyond here is the forest,' 'This is the end of the garden and the beginning of the forest,' 'Do not enter the forest.' A father and daughter live in a house with a 'garden' leading to the forest. One day, the father returns from the forest having lost his sanity—something invades the miniature garden where only the two of them are confined. This is the first work after receiving the award, swallowed by the dense premonition of a nightmare.
(First published in 'Bungei' Winter 2025 issue)
Booksellers nationwide are shaken by 'Umi o Suu / Niwa ni Tsugu'!
“I didn't mean to. I regret having casually stepped into this story. I truly regret that I might have left footprints in the author's unique, sacred-like world that they nurtured and brought forth.”
――Dai Toyonaga (Kinokuniya Bookstore Grand Front Osaka Store)
“The expression of something viscous was so skillful that I felt as if I had touched it, even though it was just text. I mistook it for having touched something while reading.”
――Masa Nakazawa (Kumazawa Bookstore Nishiarai Store)
“There is a strong 'body.' The senses towards what comes out of the body are sharpened, with violent smells and liquids. Absorbed. Connected. An intense bodily sensation remains even when ambiguous. I shivered and felt like I was being carried away somewhere.”
――Maki Ebihara (Libro Fussa Store)
“It was disgusting, but I couldn't avert my eyes or consciousness. I kept turning the pages, not knowing where the feeling of having to see it through came from.”
――Ayako Sako (Tsutaya Books Kumamoto Sannenzaka)
“The weight of others' words and the world quietly invades. The uniquely damp writing style gently awakens the reader's senses, revealing the ambiguous boundary between the inner self and the outer world. As I pondered what it all meant, I was deeply drawn into an unknown worldview, and before I knew it, I was turning the pages again and again. A thrilling reading experience. An addictive work.”
――Sayuri Arai (Kinokuniya Bookstore Shinjuku Main Store)
“I wanted to immerse myself for a while in the happiness of savoring this sweet and supple story.”
――Ryo Yamamoto (Daiseido Bookstore Ekimae Store)
Author Introduction
Kei Saitani
Born in 2000. From Tokyo. In 2023, 'Umi o Suu' won the Excellence Award in the 60th Bungei Prize (Short Story Division).
Bibliographic Information
Title: Umi o Suu / Niwa ni Tsugu
Author: Kei Saitani
Specifications: 46-size / Hardcover / 128 pages
Release Date: April 28, 2026
Tax-included Price: 1,870 yen (Body price 1,700 yen)
ISBN: 978-4-309-03264-1
Book Design: Naoko Nakui
Cover Art: Mariko Enomoto
Bibliographic URL: https://www.kawade.co.jp/np/isbn/9784309032641/
*An e-book version is also scheduled for release soon.
Please check each e-book store for details.