Ito wins Akutagawa literary prize following wife's Naoki prize

Ito wins Akutagawa literary prize following wife's Naoki prize

TOKYO, Japan - Takami Ito (L) wins the 135th Akutagawa Prize on July 13 for promising new writers of serious fiction, a year after his wife Mitsuyo Kakuta received the Naoki Prize for seasoned writers of popular fiction last year. The Naoki Prize this year was given to Shion Miura (C) and Eto Mori (R).

Winners of Akutagawa and Naoki literature prizes

Winners of Akutagawa and Naoki literature prizes

TOKYO, Japan - Mitsuyo Kakuta (L), winner of the Naoki Prize, and Kazushige Abe, winner of Akutagawa Prize, shake hands in Tokyo on Jan. 13. The prizes, which were named after the novelists Ryunosuke Akutagawa and Sanjugo Naoki, were launched in 1935 to encourage writers.

Winners of Akutagawa and Naoki literature prizes

Winners of Akutagawa and Naoki literature prizes

TOKYO, Japan - Mitsuyo Kakuta (L), winner of the Naoki Prize, and Kazushige Abe, winner of Akutagawa Prize, shake hands in Tokyo on Jan. 13. The prizes, which were named after the novelists Ryunosuke Akutagawa and Sanjugo Naoki, were launched in 1935 to encourage writers. (Kyodo)

Ito wins Akutagawa literary prize following wife's Naoki prize

Ito wins Akutagawa literary prize following wife's Naoki prize

TOKYO, Japan - Takami Ito (L) wins the 135th Akutagawa Prize on July 13 for promising new writers of serious fiction, a year after his wife Mitsuyo Kakuta received the Naoki Prize for seasoned writers of popular fiction last year. The Naoki Prize this year was given to Shion Miura (C) and Eto Mori (R). (Kyodo)

Japanese novelists in Paris

Japanese novelists in Paris

Japanese novelists (from R) Mitsuyo Kakuta, Natsuo Kirino and Mariko Hayashi attend a literature symposium in Paris on Jan. 18, 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japanese novelists in Paris

Japanese novelists in Paris

Japanese novelists (from R) Mitsuyo Kakuta, Natsuo Kirino and Mariko Hayashi attend a literature symposium in Paris on Jan. 18, 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japanese novelists Mitsuyo Kakuta, Ito Ogawa

Japanese novelists Mitsuyo Kakuta, Ito Ogawa

Japanese novelists Mitsuyo Kakuta (L) and Ito Ogawa attend an event in Seoul on Dec. 12, 2018. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo