Kinoshita Naoyuki Wins Bunkamura Deux Magots Prize for Riding the Elephant
A prize decided by a single selector went to a scholar who studies elephants, sideshows, and other subjects outside conventional art history, rewarding research on what Aramata called useless things.
Reporting from 1 source: KAI-YOU.
The 36th Bunkamura Deux Magots Literary Prize went to art historian Kinoshita Naoyuki for Riding the Elephant, a book that reads Japanese culture through elephants. Aramata Hiroshi, the sole selection committee member, chose the work, praising Kinoshita's research on art lacking artistic value. The winner receives a certificate and 1 million yen, with a ceremony planned in Tokyo in November.
Riding the Elephant, published by University of Tokyo Press in 2026, traces what elephants meant to the Japanese through nine themes such as riding, washing, pulling, and eating. The guide is Taka-chan, an Asian elephant kept on the rooftop of Nihonbashi Takashimaya after the war. The book grew out of the special exhibition We Really Love Elephants at the Takashimaya Historical Museum TOKYO, which Kinoshita supervised.
Kinoshita, born in Hamamatsu in 1954, worked as a curator and professor before becoming Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo. Aramata said he sought someone hand-digging in overlooked areas who would not become an authority even upon winning, and closed with the praise: Mr. Kinoshita, I rode this elephant too!
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.