Masatsugu Ono at the Japan Foundation, Toronto in 2013
The Japan Foundation, Toronto would like to offer our heartfelt congratulations to Masatsugu Ono, recent winner of the Akutagawa Prize for his work 9 Nen Mae no Inori (A Prayer Nine Years Ago). The Akutagawa Prize is a coveted semi-annual Japanese literary award and has been awarded in the past to such literary giants as Abe Kobo, Ryu Murakami and Kenzaburo Oe. 9 Nen Mae no Inori tells the story of a single mother who returns to her hometown after leaving her Canadian partner.
In October 2013, the Japan Foundation had the honour of hosting Mr. Ono as part of a tour of the latest edition of the Monkey Business literary journal. In addition, Mr. Ono participated in a Japan Foundation-sponsored event entitled ‘After Fukushima: The Imagination of Disaster in Contemporary Literature’ at the University of Montreal, hosted by Professor Livia Monnet.
All the staff at the Japan Foundation wish Mr. Ono well on his future work and extend our biggest congratulations to him on this much deserved and prestigious accomplishment.
