The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam (The Japan Foundation) and the Inoue Yasushi Memorial Foundation are pleased to announce the results of the 7th Inoue Yasushi Award for Japanese Literature Research Essay Contest as follows:

I: Researcher Category:

01 First Prize:

Nguyen Bich Nha Truc (Lecturer, Faculty of Literature, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education)

Title: Haruki Murakami’s and Franz Kafka’s Novels from the Lens of Archetypal Criticism

01 Second Prize:

Luong Hai Van ((Lecturer, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi Metropolitan University) Title: The sense of Beauty in Haruki Murakami’s novels

01 Third Prize:

Nguyen Huu Minh (PhD Candidate, Faculty of Literature, University of Education, Hue University) Title: Existential sense of beauty in the short stories of Nagai Kafu

II: Student Category:

01 First Prize: 

Le Dinh Nhan (Faculty of Literature, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education)

Title: The motif of the journey to hell in the novel Killing Commendatore (Haruki Murakami)

02 Second Prizes: 

Duong Thi Thanh Tu (Faculty of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City)

Title: The Silent cry of Oe Kenzaburo: The ambiguous world of boundaries

Tran Trong Doan (Faculty of Literature, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education)

Title: From Bodily Regulation to Trauma of Female Hibakusha in Three Works: Black Rain (Ibuse Masuji), Fireflies (Ota Yoko), and The House of Hands (Inoue Mitsuharu)

01 Third Prize:

Vu Thi Minh Hong ((Department of Journalism, Academy of Journalism and Communication)

Title: Postmodern narrative structures in Haruki Murakami’s novels and the transformation of narrative forms in contemporary Japanese literature

An award ceremony will be held in December 2025 to present trophies, certificates, and prizes to the award-winning researchers and students.

※ The Organizing Committee will not consider any complaints or requests for reconsideration regarding the evaluation results.