[Shinchosha Publishing Co., Ltd.] Announcement of the Winners of the 24th (2025) Kobayashi Hideo Prize and Shincho Document Prize
Shinchosha Publishing Co., Ltd. Press Release: August 29, 2025 Announcement of the winners of the 24th (2025) Kobayashi Hideo Prize and Shincho Document Prize On the afternoon of August 28th, the selection committee for the Kobayashi Hideo Award and Shincho Document Award, sponsored by the Shincho Literary Foundation, was held at the Okura Tokyo, and we are pleased to announce that the winning works have been decided. 24th Hideo Kobayashi Award Kobayashi Hideo Award: Commemorative gift and prize of 1 million yen This award will be awarded to one work that presents a new view of the world based on a free spirit and flexible intellect, in accordance with the following regulations. 1. Selection is open to general works of linguistic expression in Japanese. However, fiction (novels, plays, poetry, etc.) is excluded. 1. The period covered by the 24th competition is from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. 1. Selection committee members: Morihide Katayama, Koichiro Kokubun, Natsuo Sekigawa, Toshiyuki Horie, Takeshi Yoro (in alphabetical order) ■Award winning work■ Kawamoto Saburo’s “Kafū’s Showa Era” Part 1: From the Great Kanto Earthquake to the Outbreak of War Between Japan and the United States 《Part 2》From the Burning of Henkikan to His Final Days (Shinchosha)
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/47877/2327/47877-2327-e9a41879d51c9db572b1eb6c51026334-1260×1880.jpg ■Author biography■
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/47877/2327/47877-2327-bd711bcc39f0d9b70ef991983999da3a-280×280.png (C) Shinchosha Saburo Kawamoto Born in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo in 1944. His many books include “Taisho Illusions” (Iwanami Gendai Bunko, winner of the Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities), “Kafū and Tokyo” (Iwanami Gendai Bunko, winner of the Yomiuri Prize for Literature), “Hayashi Fumiko’s Showa” (Shinshokan, winner of the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award and the Kuwabara Takeo Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities), “Hakushu Boukei” (Shinshokan, winner of the Ito Sei Literature Award), and the collection of short stories “Distant Voices/Parasols on the Beach” (Berlibro). His translations include Capote’s “The Tree of Night” and “Answered Prayers” (both Shincho Bunko). ■Reason for award■ As if taking a walk with Kafu, the author annotates “Kafu’s Showa Era” while referencing literary and film history. With a smooth writing style, Kafu and the author ultimately become one. (Text by Shincho Literature Promotion Association Secretariat) 24th Shincho Document Award Shincho Document Award: Commemorative gift and prize of 1 million yen This award, in accordance with the following regulations, will be awarded to one work that deeply engages with contemporary society from a journalistic perspective and is recognized as being of literary quality in its composition and expression. 1. Selection will be limited to
non-fiction works (including works published in magazines). 1. The 24th survey will cover the period from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. 1. Selection committee members: Akira Ikegami, Kumiko Kakei, Yoshiko Sakurai, Masahiko Fujiwara, Masayasu Hosaka (in alphabetical order) ■Award-winning Works■ Toshiki Suzuki, “I Understand the Language of Birds” (Shogakukan)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/47877/2327/47877-2327-fbc38cfb9a2a93373c26fab736df37e6-1054×1500.jpg ■Author biography■
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/47877/2327/47877-2327-8a6a96aae876c9bec9deb5b48af2f059-1296×972.jpg Suzuki Toshitaka Born in Tokyo in 1983. Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo. Zoolinguist. Previously held positions such as a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Special Research Fellow and a Program-Specific Assistant Professor at the Kyoto University Hakubi Center. He has received numerous awards, including the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Young Scientist Award, the Miyaji Award from the Ecological Society of Japan, and the Japanese Society of Ethology Award. He discovered that great tits have the ability to speak, and founded the field of “zoological linguistics.” This work, his first solo work, won the Kawai Hayao Academic Award. ■Reason for the Award■ This beautifully documented world-class discovery was made using original and groundbreaking methods to investigate the ecology of birds that are often overlooked by the general public. (Written by Shincho Literary Promotion Association Secretariat)
The presentation ceremony will be held in Tokyo on Friday, October 10th.