Sanjugo Naoki

Okay, so here's a guy whose name I say all the time without even thinking about it, because the Naoki Prize is still one of the biggest deals in Japanese popular fiction, and that prize is literally him. How wild is that, to die young and somehow have your name keep winning awards forever? Born in Osaka, Waseda-educated, he wasn't content just writing novels either, he wrote scripts and got tangled up in early movie-making too, which gives him this restless, do-everything energy I really respect. He only made it to forty-three, which stings, but honestly there's something perfect about a scrappy Meiji-era man of letters becoming the permanent measuring stick for a whole genre. I think about him every awards season, basically.

Sanjugo Naoki (February 12, 1891 – February 24, 1934) was a Japanese novelist, screenwriter, author, film producer, and film director born in Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture. He studied at Waseda University and went on to work across literature and film throughout his career. His legacy is most prominently enshrined in the Naoki Prize, one of Japan's most prestigious literary awards for popular fiction, which was established in his honor after his death at the age of 43.

Name (English)

Sanjugo Naoki

Name (Japanese)

直木三十五

Reading

なおき さんじゅうご

Born

February 12, 1891 – February 24, 1934

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Aquarius / Rabbit

Origin

Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan

Occupation

Novelist / Screenwriter / Author / Film Producer / Film Director

University

Waseda University

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9B%B4%E6%9C%A8%E4%B8%89%E5%8D%81%E4%BA%94
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q461472

Tags

• From Osaka Prefecture
• Novelist
• Screenwriter
• Author

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.