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Japan Forward
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Forward
Japanese Author of Yakuza Novel on Winning Major Crime Fiction Prize
On July 3, the United Kingdom's Crime Writers' Association (CWA) announced that The Night of Baba Yaga by Japanese author Akira Otani, translated by Sam Bett, has won the 2025 Dagger award for crime fiction in translation. Otani is the first Japanese author ever to receive this honor. Originally published in 2020, The Night of Baba Yaga is a hard-boiled novel featuring a violent, no-nonsense female protagonist. She is tasked with protecting the only daughter of a yakuza boss, plunging her into the dark heart of Japan's criminal underworld. The novel was also a finalist for the 2021 Mystery Writers of Japan Award in the best novel and short story collection category. Akira Otani (Courtesy of Kawade Shobo Shinsha Publishers) | Japanese cover of "The Night of Baba Yaga" by author Akira Otani. The CWA judges praised the novel for its brutal, almost manga-like portrayal of the yakuza world. They said it brings out the deep humanity of its eccentric characters. The writing is sharp, unsparing, and original, and it tells a strange and beautiful love story. Speaking at the award ceremony in London, Otani expressed her surprise and joy. "I still can't believe it. I'm incredibly grateful that so many people in the English-speaking world read my work — even though I'm virtually unknown here — and that I was welcomed so warmly." She continued, "An honor like this only happens once in a lifetime. I hope to keep writing and maybe return to this stage again someday." Akira Otani (right) speaks to reporters in London. (©Sankei by Yoshinari Kurose) Reflecting on the award, Otani shared a personal memory: "My grandfather, who passed away some time ago, loved foreign mystery novels. I've known about the Dagger since I was a child. For me, overseas mysteries are tied to memories of him. If I could tell anyone first, it would be him." Otani also remarked, "I'm not a full-on mystery writer, but I'm a little worried that winning a Dagger might make people think I am," she said with a laugh. Turning to publishers and editors, she added jokingly, "If you ask me to write a proper detective novel, I might be in a bit of trouble." Born in Tokyo in 1981, Akira Otani made her literary debut in 2012 with 猛獣使いと王子様 金色の笛と緑の炎 (lit "The Beast Tamer and the Prince: The Golden Flute and the Green Flame"). The Night of Baba Yaga is her first full-length novel. The Dagger awards were established in 1955, with the translation category introduced in 2006. While works by Japanese authors such as Hideo Yokoyama's Six Four , Keigo Higashino's The Devotion of Suspect X , and Kotaro Isaka's Bullet Train have previously been shortlisted, none had won until now. This year, Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder by Asako Yuzuki, translated by Polly Barton, was also among the finalists. ( Read the related article in Japanese . ) Author: Yoshinari Kurose, The Sankei Shimbun
Tokyo Weekender
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Tokyo Weekender
Akira Otani Becomes First Japanese Novelist To Win British Crime Fiction Award
Novelist Akira Otani made history this week, becoming the first Japanese winner of the best translated crime novel prize at the Dagger Awards. Her triumph was announced by the United Kingdom's Crime Writers' Association (CWA) on July 3. The Night of Baba Yaga , translated by Sam Bett, was competing against five other novels, including Butter by fellow Japanese author Asako Yuzuki. Otani's novel is a queer thriller that follows Yoriko Shindo, a fierce mixed-race fighter who becomes the bodyguard of a yakuza princess. Although several acclaimed works by Japanese writers — such as Hideo Yokoyama, Kotaro Isaka and Keigo Higashino — have been shortlisted for the Dagger Award's translation category over the years, none have received the prize. List of Contents: Embracing Ambiguity in Fiction and Life The Rise of Translated Japanese Fiction Related Posts courtesy of Kawade Shobo Shinsha Embracing Ambiguity in Fiction and Life Born in Tokyo in 1981, Otani began her career as a video game writer. Her debut in the literary world came in 2018 with Nobody Said We're Perfect , a short story collection that explores relationships between women. The Night of Baba Yaga , her fourth feature-length novel published in Japan, was the first to be translated into English in 2024. The translated work was featured in Tokyo Weekender's 2024 book recommendations list . 'I feel that the depiction of women in fiction is often fixed and unrealistic, with only a few patterns,' Otani said in an interview with Shueisha Bungei Station. 'Real friends and acquaintances are more diverse and interesting than that… I decided to portray real women in my stories.' Otani also discussed the importance of embracing gray areas in relation to her own identity as a writer during her acceptance speech at the Dagger Award Ceremony in London. 'I am not a mystery writer. I write a variety of works,' she stated , in reference to the segmentation of authors by genre in Japan. 'Ambiguity is what defines me as a writer. I believe that accepting your own ambiguity and acknowledging the ambiguity of others will make the world a better place.' There are over 38,000 copies of The Night of Baba Yaga in Japan as of today, and the novel is currently available in the United Kingdom, United States and South Korea, with plans to publish in Germany, Italy and Brazil. The Rise of Translated Japanese Fiction Otani's work is one of a number of Japanese novels to have enjoyed great success in the United Kingdom in recent years. According to figures from Nielsen BookScan, Japanese fiction represented 25% of all translated fiction sales in the UK in 2022. Last November, The Guardian reported that 43% of the top 40 translated fiction titles in the UK for 2024, up to that point, were by Japanese authors. While literary giants such as Banana Yoshimoto and Haruki Murakami are no strangers to overseas fame, the past decade has witnessed the global rise of a broader range of Japanese authors. Literary fiction titles from female perspectives by writers such as Sayaka Murata ( Convenience Store Woman ) and Mieko Kawakami ( Breasts and Eggs ) have surged in popularity, as have slice-of-life comfort fiction novels like Toshikazu Kawaguchi's Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Michiko Aoyama's What You Are Looking for Is in the Library . There has also been a huge growth in classic and contemporary crime fiction from Japan in the UK market, including Yuzuki's aforementioned bestseller Butter and golden age crime novels such as Seicho Matsumoto's Tokyo Express (also known as Points and Lines ). Related Posts Japan's Best Crime and Mystery Writers | List of 7 Visiting Real Life Locations From Haruki Murakami Novels in Tokyo Spotlight: Yasunari Kawabata — Japan's First Nobel Literature Laureate
The Mainichi
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
Novelist Otani becomes Japan's 1st to win British crime writing award
LONDON (Kyodo) -- A Japanese novelist on Thursday became her country's first to win a major British award for crime and mystery writing, highlighting a boom in the popularity of translated Japanese fiction. Akira Otani was given the best translated crime novel prize at the Dagger Awards for "The Night of Baba Yaga," beating out five shortlisted competitors including fellow Japanese author Asako Yuzuki. "I'm in complete shock. My head is kind of upside down," Otani, 44, said during an award ceremony through an interpreter. Otani also told reporters that she has known about the Dagger Awards since she was young as her late grandfather loved foreign mystery novels. "So, if possible, I would want to tell him the most that I won this award," she said. Her novel tells the story of a woman kidnapped by a yakuza crime syndicate and forced to serve as a bodyguard to the boss's daughter. As the story progresses, the relationship between the pair develops in unexpected ways as the attitudes of the men around them grow darker and more sinister. Judges compared the story to a manga comic, praising the work for its raw depiction of the yakuza as well as the humanity and feeling of its characters in the competition organized by the Crime Writers' Association. "This saga sparkles with originality and delivers a splendid if bizarre love story," the judges said. The book, originally published in Japanese in 2020, is Otani's first work to appear in English. It was translated by Sam Bett and released in July 2024 in the United States, followed by publication in Britain two months later. The popularity of translated Japanese novels has grown in recent years in Britain. According to NielsenIQ statistics, three of the five best-selling translated fiction books in Britain for the first eight months of 2024 were by Japanese authors. The Guardian reported in November that among the top 40 translated fiction titles for 2024, 43 percent were Japanese. Otani was born in Tokyo and grew up mostly in the neighboring countryside. On writing the novel, she said she started out with the idea of resisting patriarchal society and that fiction allowed her to explore the concept. She added that for her, writing the story with the relationship between two women as the focus was not a conscious choice, but merely felt "more natural" to her than one between a man and a woman. Speaking to Kyodo News before the ceremony, Otani said that she thought one of the reasons it resonated with overseas readers was because she "wrote it with only domestic readers in mind." "Small things like place names and canned coffee, stuff that Japanese people would just understand right away, give it this feeling of being very authentically Japanese," she said. (By Callum Cafferty)
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
Japan's Akira Otani Wins British Crime Novel Award
News from Japan Culture World Jul 4, 2025 13:43 (JST) London, July 3 (Jiji Press)--The English version of "The Night of Baba Yaga," a novel by Japanese author Akira Otani, has won a prestigious British crime novel award, Britain's Crime Writers' Association said Thursday. Otani, 44, was awarded the 2025 Dagger prize for crime fiction in translation, becoming the first Japanese winner of the prize. The novel "sparkles with originality and delivers a splendid if bizarre love story," judges said. In the category, "Butter," a novel by Japanese author Asako Yuzuki, which received the debut fiction category of the 2025 British Book Awards in May, was also shortlisted. Otani told reporters, "I didn't expect this to happen, and it doesn't feel real." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Asahi Shimbun
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Asahi Shimbun
Akira Otani's thriller earns Dagger Award for translation
LONDON—Akira Otani's gangland thriller centered around two women is the first Japanese work to win the translation division of the prestigious Dagger Awards. 'The Night of Baba Gaya,' translated by Sam Bett, was awarded the Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger by the Crime Writers' Association in Britain on July 3. 'Like a manga cartoon, this savage depiction of Japanese yakuza life is relentlessly violent if only to highlight the deep humanity of its fish out of water characters,' a CWA statement quoted judges as saying. 'Mean and lean, this saga sparkles with originality and delivers a splendid if bizarre love story.' The story revolves around a violence-hungry woman who serves as bodyguard to the 'princess' daughter of a yakuza boss and the bond they develop. The original novel was published by Kawade Shobo Shinsha in 2020. The English version has been well-received not only in Britain but also in the United States. In a speech at the award ceremony, Otani, who was born in Tokyo in 1981, said being ambiguous is her theme as a writer. 'The protagonists in this work also obtain relationships and lives that cannot be clearly labeled,' she said in Japanese. 'That is the stuff that I wanted to read more than anything.' Otani, who began focusing on novels after working as a freelance writer, gave special thanks to Bett for skillfully translating small details of Japanese elements in her story. The Dagger Awards, founded in 1955, honor outstanding English-language crime and mystery novels published in Britain over the year. They are the world's best-known prizes in the genre along with the Edgar Awards, sponsored by the Mystery Writers of America. While translated works were originally considered with other novels, a dedicated division was created in 2006. 'Butter,' written by Japanese author Asako Yuzuki and translated by Polly Barton, was also nominated in the division this year. The CWA statement said Otani's novel 'pipped' Yuzuki's work 'to the post.' In the past, books by Japanese writers Hideo Yokoyama, Keigo Higashino and Kotaro Isaka were shortlisted. (This article was written by Rina Horikoshi and Gakushi Fujiwara.)
