Akira Otani

Japanese fiction writer

Akira Otani
王谷 晶

Born| 1981; 44 years ago (1981)
Tokyo, Japan
Occupation| Writer
Nationality| Japanese
Genre|

* short story
* novel
* essay

Subject| Gender
Notable works|

* Kampeki janai, atashitachi
* Baba Yaga no yoru

Akira Otani (王谷 晶, Ōtani Akira; born 1981) is a Japanese fiction writer born in Tokyo. Known for a sharp, economical style,[1] her work often subverts genres like mystery and noir and focuses on characters that exist outside the gender archetypes of Japanese fiction, which she has described as "stiff and lacking reality."[2] Her novel Baba Yaga no yoru (The Night of Baba Yaga), a yakuza thriller concerned with sisterhood, has been compared to Thelma and Louise[3] and was shortlisted for the Mystery Writers of Japan Award. Otani is lesbian.[4] In December 2021, Big Comic Spirits published a short manga entitled "The tale of Sattun, who has become a fish (サカナになった さっつんの話, Sakana ni natta Satsun no hanashi)," for which Otani wrote the text and artist Ayumu Hida (肥田アユム) did the drawings.[5]

## Awards

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In 2025, Otani became the first person from Japan to win in the UK-based Dagger Awards for her novel "The Night of Baba Yaga", which won the best translated crime novel category.[6]

## Selected works

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### Story collections

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* 完璧じゃない、あたしたち (Kampeki janai, atashitachi) with stories by Akira Ōtani (Poplar Publishing, #O-17-1, Popurasha Bunko series, 2019. 978-4-591-16494-5 - 23 short stories
* 怪談 奇談 (Kaidan, Kidan) stories adapted from Lafcadio Hearn, revised by Akira Ōtani (Sayūsha, Bī-eru koten serekushon series No.3, 2019) 978-4-86528-240-5. - Boys' love
* 君の六月は凍る（Kimi no rokugatsu wa kōru） (Asahi Shimbun Publications, 2023) 978-4-02-251908-5 - includes ベイビー、イッツ・お東京さま (beibī issu o-Tōkyō-sama), a half-self biography

### Novels

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* Edited by Office Six (2012) : 猛獣使いと王子様 : 金色の笛と緑の炎 (Mōjūtsukai to ōjisama - Kin'iro no fue to midori no honō) (Hifumishobo, 978-4-89199-081-7).
* あやかしリストランテ : 奇妙な客人のためのアラカルト (2015) (Ayakashi risutorante - Kimyō na kyakujin no tame no arakaruto ) (Shueisha, Orange Bunko series, 978-4-08-680018-1.)
*       * 時を超えたハンバーグ (Toki wo koeta hanbāgu)
* 乙女の冒険フルコース (Otome no bōken furu kōsu)
* 恋の狩人のためのタルト(koi no karyūdo not tame no arakaruto)

* 探偵小説（ミステリー）には向かない探偵 (2016) (Tantei shōsetsu (misuterī) ni wa mukanai tantei) (Shueisha, #O:1-2, Orange Bunko series, 978-4-08-680077-8. )
* ババヤガの夜 (2020) (Baba Yaga no yoru) (Kawade Shobō Shinsha)
* Translated into English: The Night of Baba Yaga. Translated by Sam Bett. New York: Soho Crime Press. 2024. ISBN 978-1641294911..

### Essays

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* どうせカラダが目当てでしょ (2019) (Dōse karada ga me-ate deshō) (Kawade Shobō Shinsha, 978-4-309-02794-4.)
* 40歳だけど大人になりたい (2023） (Yonjussai dakedo otona ni naritai) （Heibonsha, 978-4-582-83918-0.)

### Manga

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Novela adopted to:

* Otani, Akira (6 December 2021). "サカナになったさっつんの話" [Sakana ni natta Satsun no hanashi]. Shūkan Big Comic Spirits (in Japanese) (1). Hida Ayumu (drawings) (weekly ed.). Shogakukan - via National Diet Library, Tokyo.

## References

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1. ^ "著者別インデックス 王谷晶" [Otani Akira -Author index]. Sayusha Website. Retrieved 10 December 2021. "A novelist with edgy writing style in the footlight (エッジの効いた文体で最注目の小説家)"
2. ^ "ガールミーツガール 冷静な当事者が生み出す、夢のように刺激的な物語 (Gāru mītu gāru : reisei na tōjisha ga umidasu, yume no yōni shigekiteki na monogatari )" [Girl Meets Girl: A Cool-Headed Account of Firsthand Experience, Told through Dreamy, Stimulating Stories]. Bungei. Shueisha. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2021. "―I feel that the image of women in fiction is flat and unrealistic, with only a few patterns. (フィクション上の女性像が、いくつかのパターンがあるだけの、固定的でリアリティがないものだと感じていて)"
3. ^ "The Night of Baba Yaga". Japan Book Bank. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
4. ^ Otani, Akira (17 October 2018). "DA YA THINK I'M LUCKY?". i-D Japan. Vice Media. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
5. ^ Otani & Hida 2021
6. ^ "Novelist Otani becomes Japan's 1st to win British crime writing award". Kyodo News. 4 July 2025. Retrieved 4 July 2025.

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Japan
* Netherlands
* Korea

Academics|

* CiNii