Shogo Imamura
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Shogo Imamura | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 今村翔吾 |
| Born | June 18, 1984 Kamo, Kyoto, Japan |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Language | Japanese |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Notable works |
|
| Notable awards | 166th Naoki Prize |
| Relatives | Katsuhiko Imamura (father) |
| Website | |
| www | |
Shogo Imamura (Japanese: 今村翔吾, Hepburn: Imamura Shōgo; born June 18, 1984) is a Japanese writer. He is best known for writing historical fiction novels. He won the 166th Naoki Prize in 2022.
Imamura was born in Kamo, Kyoto (now Kizugawa) on June 18, 1984.[1][2] His father, Katsuhiko Imamura, is a former elementary school teacher.[3] He graduated from Nara Women's University Secondary School and Kansai University's Faculty of Letters.[4][5] Upon graduation, he worked as a dance instructor and an archeologist at the Moriyama Buried Cultural Properties Center.[3][6]
Career
While in fifth grade, Imamura read Sanada Taiheiki by Shōtarō Ikenami, which lead him to consider pursuing a career as a writer.[3] After going through health issues in 2013 and 2014, he decided to start writing in his spare time.[3][7] In 2016, Imamura won the Izu Literary Award Grand Prize for Kire, Hikogoro.[6] Later that year, Imamura won the Kyushu Saga Popular Literature Award for Kitsune no Shiro. Kenzo Kitakata, who was on the selection committee for the award, recommended to an editor at Shodensha to publish a work by Imamura. Shodensha published Hikuidori: Ushūboro Tobigumi in 2017, which was Imamura's first published work.[8]
In February 2018, Imamura quit his job at the Moriyama Buried Cultural Properties Center to pursue writing full time.[6] His work Warabe no Kami was nominated for the 160th Naoki Prize in 2019.[9] He was nominated for the 163rd Naoki Prize in 2020 for Jinkan.[6] He won the 166th Naoki Prize in 2022 for Saiō no Tate.[10] Later that year, he started screenwriting with Saturday wa Nanisuru!?, a Japanese television drama.[11] He began appearing on the radio show Imamura Shōgo × Yamazaki Reina no Itotteseshete in September 2022 with former Nogizaka46 member Rena Yamazaki.[12] In 2023, Imamura founded Hon Mirai, an organization to promote young writers.[13]
In 2022, his novel Last Samurai Standing was adapted into a manga illustrated by Katsumi Tatsuzawa. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Morning beginning in December 2022, with its chapters collected in six tankōbon volumes as of November 2025.[14] In 2025, it was made into a live-action TV series of the same name.[15] The series was released in November 2025 on Netflix.[16]
Personal life
Imamura resides in Ōtsu, Shiga, Japan.[6]
In 2021, Imamura purchased Kinoshita Book Center, a struggling bookstore in Minoh, Osaka. After undergoing renovations, it was reopened on November 1, 2021.[3] Imamura opened Saga no Shoten, a bookstore in the Saga Station, in December 2023.[17]
