The Cikada Prize was founded in 2004 following the 100th anniversary celebration in commemoration of the birth of the Swedish Nobel Prize winner, Harry Martinson

Harry Martinson

Harry Martinson was a Swedish sailor, author and poet. In 1949 he was elected into the Swedish Academy. He was awarded a joint Nobel Prize in Literature in 1974 together with fellow Swede Eyvind Johnson. The choice for Eyvind Johnson and Harry Martinson was very controversial as both were on the...

. The award consists of 20.000SEK and an art piece designed by the Swedish ceramics artist Gunilla Sundström.

The award is being presented in cooperation with Handelshögskolans Japan-Institut (The European Institute of Japanese Studies), Yasuragi Hasseludden, Judiska Teatern (Jewish Theater), Östasieninstitutet (East Asia Institute) and Nyteboden.

The name of the prize has been inspired by Martinson's poetry collection "Cikada", which was published in 1953. In this collection is also included the first 29 poems of Aniara, "The Song about Doris and Mima". The atomic bombs in Japan, followed by the construction of the world's first H-bomb in 1953, had a big impact in the creation of the Aniara-songs. The prize is aimed at Eastern poets (Chinese, Korean, and Japanese) because of Harry Martinson's great admiration for this part of the world, but also because the rich poetry of these countries deserves better recognition.

Prize Winners

• The 1st Cikada Prize was given to the poet So Sakon (1919-2006). The prize was presented in connection with the opening of a symposium about Japanese literature at the Yasuragi in Stockholm
  Stockholm
  Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
  
   on the 6th of August 2004. The prize was given to So Sakon at the Swedish Embassy in Tokyo
  Tokyo
  , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
  
   on the 3rd of September 2004.

• The winner of the 2nd Cikada Prize was the haiku poet Kaneko Tota (born 1919). The prize was given to Kaneko Tota at the Swedish Embassy in Tokyo
  Tokyo
  , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
  
   the 13th of December 2005 by the Princess Desirée of Sweden.

• The 3rd Cikada Prize was given to the Korean poet Ko Un
  Ko Un
  Ko Un is a South Korean poet. His works have been translated and published in more than 15 countries and he has been imprisoned many times...
  
   at the Swedish Embassy in Seoul
  Seoul
  Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
  
  , South Korea
  South Korea
  The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
  
   on the 28th of November 2006.

• The 4th Cikada Prize was given to the Korean poet Shin Kyong Rim on 2007.