Nahoko Uehashi facts for kids

Nahoko Uehashi (上橋 菜穂子, Uehashi Nahoko) (born July 15, 1962) is a Japanese writer. She is famous for her amazing fantasy books, especially for young readers. She has won many important awards for her stories.

Besides writing, Nahoko Uehashi is also a professor. She teaches at Kawamura Gakuen Women's University. She studies ethnology, which is the study of different cultures and peoples. She even earned a special degree for her studies on the Yamatji, who are an original group of people from Australia.

Becoming a Writer: Nahoko Uehashi's Journey

Nahoko Uehashi started her writing career in 1989. Her very first book was called The Sacred Tree (精霊の木, seirei no ki). After that, she wrote a novel titled 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 book was so good that it won an award from the Japanese Association of Writers for Children. This award helped her become one of the most well-known fantasy authors in Japan.

Award-Winning Books and Series

In 1996, Nahoko Uehashi published the first book in her very popular Moribito series. This book was called Guardian of the Spirit (精霊の守り人, Seirei no Moribito). It quickly won two awards: the Noma Children's Literature New Face Prize and the Sankei Children's Culture and Publishing award. Later, when this book was translated into English, it won the Mildred L. Batchelder Award in 2009.

In 1999, she released the second book in the Moribito series, Guardian of the Darkness (闇の守り人, Yami no Moribito). This book also won an award from the Japanese Association of Writers for Children. The entire Guardian series received the Iwaya Sazanami literature award in 2002. Then, in 2003, her book Guardian of the God (神の守り人, Kami no Moribito) won another Japanese award from the Shogakukan publishing company.

More Popular Stories

In 2003, Nahoko Uehashi wrote a novel called Beyond the Fox Whistle (狐笛のかなた, Koteki no Kanata). This story also won a Noma Children's Literature award. In 2006, she started another big series with two books called The Beast Player (獣の奏者, Kemono no Sōja). She added two more books to this series in 2009.

Books on Screen: Anime and More

Many of Nahoko Uehashi's books have been turned into exciting shows! Both Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit and the first two books of The Beast Player were made into anime series. The Moribito anime came out in 2007, and The Beast Player anime followed in 2009. Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit was also made into a radio drama. The Beast Player even became a manga comic book series.

The first two Moribito books were translated into English. They both won the Mildred L. Batchelder Award from the American Library Association. The first book won in 2009, and the second won in 2010.

International Recognition: Hans Christian Andersen Award

For her amazing and lasting contributions as a children's writer, Nahoko Uehashi won the international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2014. This award is given every two years and is one of the most important honors for children's authors.

The jury for the award said that Uehashi's stories are full of imagination and culture. They also noted that her writing style is very beautiful and complex. Her stories often use ideas from ancient Japanese myths and science-fiction fantasy. However, they are always deeply connected to real human feelings and experiences. She is known as a very popular fantasy writer for young adults in Japan.

Nahoko Uehashi's Books in English

If you want to read Nahoko Uehashi's stories, here are some of her books that have been translated into English:

• Moribito series (also known as the Guardian series)
  • Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (original title: Seirei no Moribito), translated by Cathy Hirano (published in June 2008)
  • Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness (original title: Yami no Moribito), translated by Cathy Hirano (published in May 2009)
• The Beast Player
  • The Beast Player (original title: Kemono no Sōja), translated by Cathy Hirano (published in March 2019)
  • The Beast Warrior (original title: Kemono no Sōja), translated by Cathy Hirano (published in July 2020)
• The Deer King
  • The Deer King: Survivors (original title: Shika no Ou), translated by Cathy Hirano (published in 2023)
  • The Deer King: Returners (original title: Shika no Ou), translated by Cathy Hirano (published in 2024)