The Mr. H Prize, one of the biggest and oldest awards for contemporary Japanese poetry and often compared to the Akutagawa Prize for literary fiction, was awarded to Biwa Takaki, 35, this year for her debut collection “River of Hair,” published by Shichosha.
“I was truly surprised,” Takaki tells The Japan Times. “I wasn’t even on the nominee list in the beginning, so I did not expect to be chosen. But then my name was added to the second shortlist, and after the second round of voting I won. It’s a real honor.”
The Mr. H Prize is named after Teijiro Hirasawa, a poet and a businessman who was the anonymous sponsor behind the award between 1951 and 1965. The prize is now financially backed by Hirasawa’s memorial trust fund and supported by the Japan Poets Association.
