Lang Lee Wins Japan's "Nagai Kafu Literary Award"… First Korean National Honored

Selected as Best Work for "The Crazy Women’s History of Mothers and Daughters"
First Korean Writer to Win... Award Ceremony in Japan in November

Writer and musician Lang Lee has been awarded Japan's Nagai Kafu Literary Award. According to publisher Storyteller, this is the first time a Korean national has received this literary prize, as announced on August 7.

The Japanese edition cover of the 2026 Nagai Kafu Literary Prize-winning work, The History of Crazy Women, Mothers and Daughters. The Japanese title is Call Out Loud and Speak Up. Storyteller

The award-winning work is "The Crazy Women’s History of Mothers and Daughters," which was published in Japan under the title "Sori Naeo Bureugo, Marhamyeon Doenda," even before its Korean release. The work confronts the cycles of violence and wounds that persist in individuals and society by portraying the lives of women in her family—her mother, older sister, and herself. In particular, the narrative draws attention from Japanese readers by exploring the death of her sister, who passed away under familial and social pressures, through the concept of "exhaustion death" (shojinsa/消盡死).

The Nagai Kafu Literary Award was established to honor the literary legacy of Nagai Kafu, a prominent figure in modern Japanese literature. The award recognizes one outstanding literary work published in Japan during the past year, regardless of genre—including poetry, fiction, essays, criticism, and plays.

This year’s nominees included Hiroki Azuma, a leading Japanese critic; Akutagawa Prize-winning author Ikko Idogawa; nonfiction writer Kotaro Sawaki; and artist Kishodai Kageyama, among others. Lang Lee was ultimately selected as the winner.

The publisher noted that the first print run of 5,000 copies of the Japanese edition sold out within a few days after publication, and that the Korean edition also quickly rose to number one on the essay bestseller list, reaching its fourth printing just eight days after release.

Akutagawa Prize-winning author Hitomi Kanehara, a member of the judging panel, commented, "When I want to die, when I cannot forgive, when I seek salvation, when I cannot see the ones I love, I will continue to open this book until the day I die."

The award ceremony is scheduled to be held in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, on November 2, and the judges’ commentary will be published in issue 165 of "Mita Bungaku," scheduled for release on September 29.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.