Kokuhō Youth Edition Asahi Bunko Japanese Literature Book

Product Description

This novel is a powerful coming-of-age story set in the world of Japanese performing arts. It follows two young actors from vastly different backgrounds—one from a yakuza family and the other from a traditional theater lineage—as they dedicate their youth to mastering their craft. The story begins on New Year's Day in 1964 at a renowned restaurant in Nagasaki, where the protagonist, Kikuo Tachibana, is born amidst chaos. Despite his origins in a world of organized crime, Kikuo's extraordinary beauty and talent draw people in and lead him on an unexpected journey through the performing arts. The narrative spans from Nagasaki to Osaka and post-Olympic Tokyo, paralleling Japan's own period of rapid growth. The novel explores deep family bonds, conflicts, scandals, glory, trust, and betrayal as the characters strive for artistic excellence across stage, film, and television during a transformative era in Japanese entertainment. This work, which received both the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Art Encouragement Prize and the Chuo Koron Literary Prize, stands as a monumental achievement in the author's 20-year career.

Product Specification

- Genre: Contemporary Japanese fiction / Performing arts novel
- Setting: Nagasaki, Osaka, Tokyo (1964 and onward)
- Themes: Coming-of-age, family, ambition, artistry, trust, betrayal
- Awards: Art Encouragement Prize, Chuo Koron Literary Prize
- Serialization: Originally published in a major Japanese newspaper
- Notable: Celebrates the author's 20th anniversary as a novelist