Nanae Kumagai was born in 1964 in
Aomori, Japan but raised in
Sendai in
Miyagi Prefecture.[1] She graduated from
Waseda University in 1987 and worked in an office for several years, then quit her job to try writing a novel after reading
Ken'ichi Sakemi's 1991 novel Kōkyū shōsetsu (後宮小說).[2]
Career
Onda made her literary debut in 1992 with the novel Rokubanme no Sayoko (六番目の小夜子, The Sixth Sayoko), which was adapted into the 2000
NHK show Rokubanme no Sayoko (六番目の小夜子, Sayoko is Back) starring
Anne Suzuki and
Chiaki Kuriyama.[3][4] More novels and adaptations followed, including the 1999 novel Mokuyō kumikyoku (木曜組曲), which was adapted into a 2002 film,[5] and the 2000 novel Nebārando (ネバーランド, Neverland), which was adapted into a 2001
TBS television series starring
Tsubasa Imai.[6]
In 2005 Onda won the 26th Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Writers and the 2nd
Japan Booksellers' Award Grand Prize for her novel Yoru no pikunikku (夜のピクニック, Nighttime Picnic), a story about two half-siblings participating in their school's annual hike.[7]Yoru no pikunikku was adapted into a 2006 film of the same name, directed by
Masahiko Nagasawa and starring
Mikako Tabe.[8] After being previously nominated for a 58th
Mystery Writers of Japan Award for her book Q&A in 2005, Onda won the 59th
Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Best Novel in 2006 for her
murder mysteryYujinia (ユージニア, Eugenia).[9] The next year she won the 20th
Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize for her book Nakaniwa no dekigoto (中庭の出来事, The Incident in the Courtyard), a complex story about a playwright writing a play about a playwright who is murdered while writing a play.[10][11] Onda's 2011 novel Yumechigai (夢違, Mistaken Dreams) was adapted into the 2012 television drama
Akumu-chan, starring
Keiko Kitagawa and shown on
Nippon TV.[12][13] An Akumu-chan film sequel, also starring
Keiko Kitagawa, premiered in 2014.[14][15]
In 2017, after having been nominated six different times for the
Naoki Prize, Onda won the 156th
Naoki Prize for her 2016 book Mitsubachi to enrai (蜜蜂と遠雷, Honey Bee and Distant Thunder), a story about an international piano competition.[16][17]Mitsubachi to enrai also won the
Japan Booksellers Award Grand Prize in 2017.[18] After winning the
Naoki Award Onda visited her hometown of
Sendai and received a special award from Mayor
Emiko Okuyama.[19]
Recognition
2005 26th Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Writers[20]
^"直木賞受賞者一覧" (in Japanese). 日本文学振興会.
Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
^"夜のピクニック". Eiga.com (in Japanese).
Archived from the original on August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
^"悪夢ちゃん The 夢ovie". Eiga.com (in Japanese).
Archived from the original on August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
^Onda, Riku (2011). "The Big Drawer". Speculative Japan 2: "The Man Who Watched the Sea" and Other Tales of Japanese Science Fiction and Fantasy. Translated by Stevens Heath, Nora. Kurodahan.
ISBN9784902075182.
^Onda, Riku (2012). "The Warning". Speculative Japan 3: "Silver Bullet" and Other Tales of Japanese Science Fiction and Fantasy. Translated by Ignatov, Mikhail S. Kurodahan.
ISBN9784902075304.