Juzo Itami Award

The Juzo Itami Award (伊丹十三賞, Itami Jūzō Shō) honors achievement and outstanding talent in any of the myriad fields in which its namesake Juzo Itami worked, including essay writing, non-fiction literature, translation, film editing and directing, cooking, television, TV commercials, acting, illustration, and graphic design.

The prize, worth ¥1 million, is presented annually by the ITM Itami Memorial Foundation in collaboration with Itami Productions.

The selection committee comprises film director Masayuki Suo, architect Yoshifumi Nakamura [ja], essayist Yoko Hiramatsu [ja], and illustrator Shinbo Minami [ja].

[1] The Juzo Itami Award was established in March 2009, twelve years after Itami's death, with the help of his wife, Nobuko Miyamoto.

In 2013, journalist Akira Ikegami donated his entire monetary award to the World Food Programme.