Nahoko Uehashi

{{Infobox writer

| name = Nahoko Uehashi

| native_name = 上橋菜穂子

| native_name_lang= ja

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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1962|07|15}}

| birth_place = Tokyo, Japan

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| occupation = Writer, ethnologist

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| nationality = Japanese

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| genre = Fantasy, children's literature

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| notableworks = Moribito series

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| awards = Noma Children's Literature New Face Prize (1996),
Noma Children's Literature award (2004),
Sankei Children's Culture and Publishing award,
Mildred L. Batchelder Award (2009),
Hans Christian Andersen Award (2014)

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{{nihongo|Nahoko Uehashi|上橋菜穂子|Uehashi Nahoko}} (born July 15, 1962) is a Japanese writer, primarily of fantasy books, for which she has won many awards.

Uehashi is also Professor of Ethnology at Kawamura Gakuen Women's University, having completed a PhD focusing on the Yamatji, an indigenous Australian people.{{cite web|url=http://www.webdoku.jp/rensai/sakka/michi095_uehashi/20090930_4.html|script-title=ja:作家の読書道第95回：上橋菜穂子さん|publisher=WEB本の雑誌|accessdate=March 26, 2014|language=Japanese}}

Biography

Uehashi's career as a writer started in 1989. Her first book was {{nihongo|The Sacred Tree|精霊の木|seirei no ki}}. She then wrote the novel {{nihongo|O God, Sleep Ye in The Forest of Moon|月の森にカミよ眠れ|tsuki no mori ni kami yo nemure}}. This novel received an award from the Japanese Association of Writers for Children,{{cite web|url=http://jibunkyo.main.jp/index.php/award|script-title=ja:過去の受賞作品日本児童文学者協会ホームページ|publisher=日本児童文学者協会 (Japanese Association of Writers for Children)|accessdate=March 26, 2014|language=Japanese}} which made her one of the famous Japanese-fantasy authors.

In 1996, she published the first book of her Moribito series, {{nihongo|Guardian of the Spirit|精霊の守り人|Seirei no Moribito}}. The novel received the Noma Children's Literature New Face Prize{{cite web|url=http://corp.kodansha.co.jp/award/archive/noma-jido-bungei-shinjin.html|script-title=ja:野間児童文芸新人賞 (過去の受賞者一覧)|publisher=Kodansha|accessdate=March 26, 2014|language=Japanese|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809170419/http://corp.kodansha.co.jp/award/archive/noma-jido-bungei-shinjin.html|archive-date=August 9, 2013|url-status=dead}} and the Sankei Children's Culture and Publishing award{{cite web|url=http://www.eventsankei.jp/child_award/old_prize.html|script-title=ja:産経児童出版文化賞過去の授賞作品|publisher=Sankei Shimbun|accessdate=March 26, 2014|language=Japanese}} and the English translation was awarded the Mildred L. Batchelder Award in 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/batchelderaward/batchelderpast|title=Batchelder Award winners, 1968-Present | Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)|date=30 November 1999|publisher=ala.org|accessdate=May 27, 2014}} In 1999, Uehashi published the second book of the Moribito series, {{nihongo|Guardian of the Darkness|闇の守り人|Yami no Moribito}}. With this novel she received the Japanese Association of Writers for Children's award. In 2002 The Guardian series won the Iwaya Sazanami literature award,{{cite web|url=http://www.seibun.or.jp/prize/iwaya_history.html|script-title=ja:巖谷小波文芸賞過去の受賞者|publisher=Japanese Culture Foundation for Youths|accessdate=March 26, 2014|language=Japanese|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407072531/http://www.seibun.or.jp/prize/iwaya_history.html|archive-date=April 7, 2014|url-status=dead}} and in 2003, {{nihongo|Guardian of the God|神の守り人|Kami no Moribito}} won another Japanese award from the Shogakukan publishing company.{{cite web|url=http://www.faje.or.jp/4shuppanbunka.htm|script-title=ja:小学館児童出版文化賞|publisher=The Foundation for the Advancement of Juvenile Education in Japan|accessdate=March 26, 2014|language=Japanese}} Then, in 2003, Uehashi wrote the novel {{nihongo|Beyond the Fox Whistle|狐笛のかなた|Koteki no Kanata}}, which received a Noma Children's Literature award.{{cite web|url=http://corp.kodansha.co.jp/award/archive/noma-jido-bungei.html|title=野間児童文芸賞：講談社|publisher=corp.kodansha.co.jp|accessdate=May 27, 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809170738/http://corp.kodansha.co.jp/award/archive/noma-jido-bungei.html|archivedate=August 9, 2013}} In 2006 she wrote the two-volume {{nihongo|The Beast Player|獣の奏者|Kemono no Sōja}}, which she complemented with two more volumes in 2009.

Both Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit and the first two volumes of The Beast Player have had anime adaptations, in 2007{{cite web|url=http://www.moribito.com/|script-title=ja:精霊の守り人|accessdate=March 26, 2014|language=Japanese}} and 2009,{{cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-10-22/i.g-to-animate-ju-no-soja-novels-from-moribito-author|title=I.G to Animate Moribito Author's The Beast Player Novels - News - Anime News Network|publisher=animenewsnetwork.com|accessdate=May 27, 2014}} respectively. Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit has also been made into a radio drama{{cite web|url=http://www.nhk.or.jp/audio/old/prog_se_former2006.html|title=NHKオーディオドラマ青春アドベンチャー放送済みの作品（2006年）|publisher=NHK|accessdate=March 26, 2014|language=Japanese}} and The Beast Player into a manga.{{cite web|url=http://bookclub.kodansha.co.jp/books/topics/kemono/|title=『獣の奏者』上橋菜穂子：講談社BOOK倶楽部|publisher=bookclub.kodansha.co.jp|accessdate=May 27, 2014}} The first two books in the series were translated to English and won the Mildred L. Batchelder Award from the American Library Association, the first volume in 2009, and the second, in 2010.{{Cite web |title=Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit {{!}} Awards & Grants |url=https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/content/moribito-guardian-spirit |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=www.ala.org}}{{Cite web |title=Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness {{!}} Awards & Grants |url=https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/content/moribito-ii-guardian-darkness |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=www.ala.org}}

For her "lasting contribution" as a children's writer, Uehashi won the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2014.

Announced late in March, it will be presented on 10 September at the annual conference of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) in Mexico City.

According to the IBBY jury chaired by María Jesús Gil of Spain, "Uehashi tells stories that are replete with imagination, culture and the beauty of a sophisticated process and form. Her literary subjects are based on ancient Japanese mythology and science-fiction fantasy that are deeply rooted in human reality."[http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=1315 "2014 Awards"]. Hans Christian Andersen Awards. International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY). With contemporary material including the [http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=1367 17 March 2014 shortlist press release] and

[http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=1368 24 March 2014 final press release]. Retrieved 27 March 2014.

She has been called "a highly popular fantasy writer for young adults" in Japan.{{Cite book |last=Doi |first=Yasuko |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rZJdrgEACAAJ |title=The Routledge Companion to International Children's Literature |publisher=Routledge |year=2017 |isbn=1315771667 |editor-last=Stephens |editor-first=John |pages=399–409 |chapter=The Moribito series and its relation to trends in Japanese children's literature}}

Works in English translation

Moribito series (Guardian series)
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (original title: Seirei no Moribito), translated by Cathy Hirano (Arthur A. Levine Books, June 2008)
Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness (original title: Yami no Moribito), translated by Cathy Hirano (Arthur A. Levine Books, May 2009)
The Beast Player
The Beast Player (original title: Kemono no Sōja), translated by Cathy Hirano (Henry Holt and Co., March 2019)
The Beast Warrior (original title: Kemono no Sōja), translated by Cathy Hirano (Henry Holt and Co., July 2020)
The Deer King
The Deer King: Survivors (original title: Shika no Ou), translated by Cathy Hirano (Yen Press New York, 2023)
The Deer King: Returners (original title: Shika no Ou), translated by Cathy Hirano (Yen Press New York, 2024)

Bibliography

=The Guardian series=

Novels{{cite web|url=http://www.kaiseisha.co.jp/author.html?page=shop.author_page&author_id=944|script-title=ja:偕成社著者紹介上橋菜穂子|publisher=偕成社 (Kaiseisha)|accessdate=March 27, 2014|language=Japanese}}{{cite web|url=http://www.shinchosha.co.jp/writer/3387/|script-title=ja:新潮社著者一覧上橋菜穂子|publisher=Shinchosha|accessdate=March 27, 2014|language=Japanese}}
# {{nihongo|Guardian of the Spirit|精霊の守り人|Seirei no Moribito}}, 1996
#* Kaiseisha, July 1996, {{ISBN|978-4-03-540150-6}}
#* Shincho Bunko, March 2007, {{ISBN|978-4-10-130272-0}}
# {{nihongo|Guardian of the Darkness|闇の守り人|Yami no Moribito}}, 1999
#* Kaiseisha, January 1999, {{ISBN|978-4-03-540210-7}}
#* Shincho Bunko, July 2007, {{ISBN|978-4-10-130273-7}}
# {{nihongo|Guardian of Dreams|夢の守り人|Yume no Moribito}}, 2000
#* Kaiseisha, May 2000, {{ISBN|978-4-03-540230-5}}
#* Shincho Bunko, December 2007, {{ISBN|978-4-10-130274-4}}
# {{nihongo|Traveler of Void|虚空の旅人|Koku no Tabibito}}, 2001
#* Kaiseisha, July 2001, {{ISBN|978-4-03-540270-1}}
#* Shincho Bunko, July 2008, {{ISBN|978-4-10-130275-1}}
# {{nihongo|Guardian of the God: The Book of Coming|神の守り人来訪編|Kami no Moribito: Raihō hen}}, 2003
#* Kaiseisha, January 2003, {{ISBN|978-4-03-540280-0}}
#* Shincho Bunko, August 2009, {{ISBN|978-4-10-130276-8}}
# {{nihongo|Guardian of the God: The Book of Returning|神の守り人帰還編|Kami no Moribito: Kikan hen}}, 2003
#* Kaiseisha, January 2003, {{ISBN|978-4-03-540290-9}}
#* Shincho Bunko, August 2009, {{ISBN|978-4-10-130277-5}}
# {{nihongo|Traveler of the Indigo-Blue Road|蒼路の旅人|Sōro no Tabibito}}, 2005
#* Kaiseisha, April 2005, {{ISBN|978-4-03-540310-4}}
#* Shincho Bunko, August 2010, {{ISBN|978-4-10-130279-9}}
# {{nihongo|Guardian of Heaven and Earth: The Kingdom of Lota|天と地の守り人ロタ王国編|Ten to Chi no Moribito: Rota ōkoku hen}}, 2006
#* Kaiseisha, November 2006, {{ISBN|978-4-03-540320-3}}
#* Shincho Bunko, May 2011, {{ISBN|978-4-10-130280-5}}
# {{nihongo|Guardian of Heaven and Earth: The Kingdom of Kanbal|天と地の守り人カンバル王国編|Ten to Chi no Moribito: Kanbaru ōkoku hen}}, 2007
#* Kaiseisha, January 2007, {{ISBN|978-4-03-540330-2}}
#* Shincho Bunko, May 2011, {{ISBN|978-4-10-130281-2}}
# {{nihongo|Guardian of Heaven and Earth: The New Yogo Empire|天と地の守り人新ヨゴ皇国編|Ten to Chi no Moribito: Shin Yogo ōkoku hen}}, 2007
#* Kaiseisha, February 2007, {{ISBN|978-4-03-540340-1}}
#* Shincho Bunko, May 2011, {{ISBN|978-4-10-130282-9}}
Short story collections
{{nihongo|Wanderers|流れ行く者|Nagare yuku mono}}, 2008
Kaiseisha, April 2008, {{ISBN|978-4-03-540360-9}}
Shincho Bunko, August 2013, {{ISBN|978-4-10-130283-6}}
{{nihongo||炎路を行く者|Enro o yuku mono}}, 2012
Kaiseisha, January 2012, {{ISBN|978-4-03-540380-7}}

=The Beast Player series=

Novels{{cite web|url=http://bookclub.kodansha.co.jp/books/topics/kemono/|title=『獣の奏者』上橋菜穂子：講談社BOOK倶楽部|publisher=Kodansha|accessdate=March 27, 2014|language=Japanese}}
# {{nihongo|The Beast Player I: The Fighting Serpent Chapter|獣の奏者 I 闘蛇編|Kemono no Sōja Ichi: Tōda hen}}, 2006
#* Kodansha, November 2006, {{ISBN|978-4-06-213701-0}}
#* Kodansha Bunko, August 2009, {{ISBN|978-4-06-276446-9}}
# {{nihongo|The Beast Player II: The King Beast Chapter|獣の奏者 II 王獣編|Kemono no Sōja Ni: Ōjū hen}}, 2006
#* Kodansha, November 2006, {{ISBN|978-4-06-213700-3}}
#* Kodansha Bunko, August 2009, {{ISBN|978-4-06-276447-6}}
# {{nihongo|The Beast Player III: The Quest Chapter|獣の奏者 III 探求編|Kemono no Sōja San: Tankyū hen}}, 2009
#* Kodansha, August 2009, {{ISBN|978-4-06-215632-5}}
#* Kodansha Bunko, August 2012, {{ISBN|978-4-06-277344-7}}
# {{nihongo|The Beast Player IV: The Final Chapter|獣の奏者 IV 完結編|Kemono no Sōja Yon: Kanketsu hen}}, 2009
#* Kodansha, August 2009, {{ISBN|978-4-06-215633-2}}
#* Kodansha Bunko, August 2012, {{ISBN|978-4-06-277345-4}}
Short story collection
{{nihongo||獣の奏者外伝刹那|Kemono no Sōja Gaiden: Setsuna}}, 2010
Kodansha, September 2010, {{ISBN|978-4-06-216439-9}}
Kodansha Bunko, October 2013, {{ISBN|978-4-06-277660-8}}

=The Deer King series=

Novels{{cite web|url=http://uehashi.com/en/book/novels/|title= Official Website NAHOKO UEHASHI|publisher=Nahoko Uehashi|accessdate=May 17, 2020|language=English}}
# Shika no o jokan: ikinokotta mono (The Deer King I: Survivors), 2014
#* Part 1
#** Kadokawa, June 2017, {{ISBN|9784041054895}}
#* Part 2
#** Kadokawa, June 2017, {{ISBN|9784041055083}}
# Shikano o gekan: kaette iku mono (The Deer King II: Returnees), 2014
#* Part 1
#** Kadokawa, July 2017, {{ISBN|9784041055090}}
#* Part 2
#** Kadokawa, July 2017, {{ISBN|9784041055106}}
# Shika no o: minasoko no hashi (The Deer King : Bridge Underwater), 2019
#* Kadokawa, March 2019, {{ISBN|9784041071182}}

=Standalone fantasy novels=

{{nihongo|The Sacred Tree|精霊の木|Seirei no Ki}}, 1989
Kaiseisha, 1989, {{ISBN|978-4-03-720780-9}}
Kaiseisha, 2004, {{ISBN|978-4-03-744150-0}} (revised edition)

:In the far future, when the earth was completely polluted and people could no longer live on it, human beings spread out onto other planets. For the Planet Nira, where Shin Yamano lives, it's the 200th anniversary since humans first settled on it. But something is wrong. Shin's cousin Licia suddenly awakens to the ESP-like ability of the Roshnars, an aboriginal tribe of Nira that was said to have been extinct ages ago....

{{nihongo|O God, Sleep Ye in the Forest of Moon|月の森にカミよ眠れ|Tsuki no Mori ni Kami yo Nemure}}, 1991
Kaiseisha, 1991, {{ISBN|978-4-03-720810-3}}
Kaiseisha Bunko, 2000, {{ISBN|978-4-03-652430-3}}

:Torn between the love of the god of the Moon Forest and the need of her tribe to kill the very same god, the young oracle girl Kishime is distressed. Her tribe talks of killing the god and felling the sacred forest for rich harvest. But should she listen to the urgent needs of her tribe, or should she fulfill her duty as the oracle of the god of the forest?

{{nihongo|Beyond the Fox Whistle|狐笛のかなた|Koteki no Kanata}}, 2003{{cite web|url=http://www.rironsha.com/?pid=27243856|script-title=ja:理論社狐笛のかなた|publisher=理論社 (Rironsha)|accessdate=March 27, 2014|language=Japanese}}
Rironsha, 2003, {{ISBN|978-4-652-07734-4}}
Shincho Bunko, 2006, {{ISBN|978-4-10-130271-3}}

:The young girl, Sayo has inherited the ability of "hearing" people's minds from her mother. In her childhood, she had once saved a fox cub from some hunter's hounds. But that fox was a werefox that lives between the world of the gods and this world, owned by human, sent to kill a lord. Despite her will, Sayo is dragged into the ugly fight between two countries...

=Ethnology=

{{nihongo|The Backyard Aborigines|隣のアボリジニ|Tonari no Aborijini}}, 2000{{cite web|url=http://www.chikumashobo.co.jp/author/001523/|script-title=ja:筑摩書房上橋菜穂子|publisher=筑摩書房 (Chikuma Shobo)|accessdate=March 27, 2014|language=Japanese}}
Chikuma Shobo, May 2000, {{ISBN|978-4-480-04237-8}}
Chikuma Bunko, September 2010, {{ISBN|978-4-480-42727-4}}

:Uehashi's only book as an ethnologist. About Aborigines who live in town with the white-skinned Australians. When you first look at them, these people seem to have no difference from the white Australians, but something is different....

References

{{Reflist |refs=

{{isfdb name|154709}} (ISFDB). Retrieved 2014-03-27.}}

External links

[http://uehashi.com/en/ Nahoko Uehashi Official Website] {{in lang|en}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20071226090033/http://www.kaiseisha.co.jp/moribito/index.html Moribito novels] {{in lang|ja}}
[http://www.moribito.com Moribito anime] {{in lang|ja}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20141205094847/http://www.booksfromjapan.jp/authors/item/1540-nahoko-uehashi Nahoko Uehashi] at J'Lit Books from Japan
{{isfdb name|154709}}
{{LCAuth|nr92032562|Nahoko Uehashi|3|}}

Category:1962 births

Category:Japanese children's writers

Category:Japanese women children's writers

Category:Japanese ethnologists

Category:Japanese fantasy writers

Category:Rikkyo University alumni

Category:Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing winners

Category:Living people