[Kawade Shobo Shinsha] Kimura Beni’s “Where Are the Bears?” wins the 61st Tanizaki Junichiro Prize!
Kawade Shobo Shinsha Press release: August 29, 2025 To Members of the Press Kimura Beni’s “Where is the Bear?” wins the 61st Tanizaki Junichiro Prize! This prestigious award goes to a topical work that has received rave reviews from various publications. Each bear is feared, resisted, and sought after.
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On August 29, 2025, the selection committee for the 61st Tanizaki Junichiro Prize (sponsored by Chuokoron-Shinsha) was held. After judging by four judges, Natsuki Ikezawa, Hiromi Kawakami, Natsuo Kirino, and Toshiyuki Horie (Yasutaka Tsutsui was absent), it was decided that Beni Kimura’s “Where Are the Bears?” (published by Kawade Shobo Shinsha) would be the winner. The selection commentary will be published in the November issue of Chuokoron (on sale October 10th). The award ceremony will be held in Tokyo on October 21st. A masterpiece acknowledged by both himself and others, “Where Are the Bears?” Ritsu and Ai live a semi-self-sufficient life in a house deep in the mountains that shelters women fleeing violence. Saki lost her place to live and hope in the tsunami, while Hiro moved after volunteering after the disaster. The wounds of the past, inflicted whether they liked it or not, and inescapable sexuality. “Where Are the Bears?” is a full-length novel about four women whose lives change when an unidentified infant is discovered in “M City” seven years after the earthquake. Set in a land hit by an unprecedented disaster, this is the author’s undisputed masterpiece since “Someone Safe for You,” which won the Bunkamura Deux Magots Literary Prize (judge: Robert Campbell) in 2022. Immediately after its publication in the fall issue of Bungei last year, it became a hot topic in various publications, including literary reviews. In the Asahi Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun joint project “2024 Literary Review,” author Hideo Furukawa and critic Satoshi Osawa both selected it as one of their “Top 5 of 2024.” Since its publication in February of this year, this much-talked-about work has received enthusiastic praise from many readers, and now it has been crowned the recipient of this award. It’s rare to find a novel of this intensity, and this one truly is a bear. ――Hideo Furukawa (author) I feel like I’ve been in a dream like this before. A novel like a never-ending aftershock. ――Mariko Saito (translator) Author Information Kimura Kumi (Kimura Kumi) Born in 1976. In 2006, she made her debut with “The Fade-Away Woman,” winning the 102nd Bungakukai Newcomer Prize. In 2022, she won the 32nd Bunkamura Deux Magots Literature Prize for “A Safe Person for You.” Her other works include “The Day of the Lunar Eclipse,” “The Atelier in the Corner of the Night,” “The Teacher Split in Two,” “Yukiko’s Footsteps,” and “Someone’s Shore at Night.” Bibliographic information
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/12754/1022/12754-1022-b938c661b346c7061af2f37c47512baf-1551×2302.jpg Title: Where Are the Bears? Author: Beni Kimura Specifications: 46-page / hardcover / 192 pages Release date: February 6, 2025 Price including tax: ¥1,980 (¥1,800 excluding tax) ISBN: 978-4-309-03946-6 Cover illustration: Shirokoma Tao Title: Motoi Shibayama Book Design: Seiichi Suzuki Design Office Ayumi Miyamoto Bibliography URL:
https://www.kawade.co.jp/np/isbn/9784309039466/ *E-books are also available. Please check with your local e-book store for details.
