IWL Executive Committee Member, Professor Mitsuyoshi Numano, laureate of the Tsubouchi Shoyo Grand Prize

We are delighted to announce that our IWL Executive Committee Member, Professor Mitsuyoshi Numano, has been awarded the 10th Tsubouchi Shoyo Grand Prize sponsored by Waseda University on December 1, 2025. 

Tsubouchi Shoyo was a figure who laid the foundations for modern literature in Meiji-era Japan. He studied European literature, introduced European literary theories to Japan, and completed the Japanese translation of all Shakespeare's plays.

According to Waseda University's official website, the award is dedicated  “to the memory of Tsubouchi Shoyo, who can be called a creator of modern Japanese literature and culture. [The award is one way] to connect his spirit to the creation of new culture in the future. It honors individuals (or groups) who have made outstanding contributions in cultural and artistic activities.” The first recipient of the award was Haruki Murakami in 2007.

The award is a celebration of Professor Mitsuyoshi Numano's lifetime work with an emphasis on his indefatigable commitment to introducing the discipline of world literature in Japan. In his speech at the award ceremony, Robert Campbell, one of the selection committee members, praised Professor Numano's work for being on a par with David Damrosch's, our IWL founding Director and Chair of the Executive Committee. In 2018, Professor Numano hosted the IWL at the University of Tokyo while also leading one of the most original and outstanding IWL seminars, Somewhere in Between: Boundaries, Resonances, and Interactions in Time and Space.

Information about the Tsubouchi Shoyo Grand Prize can be found on the official Waseda University website: https://www.waseda.jp/culture/news/2025/10/17/33714/