Ichigensan

Ichigensan - The Newcomer is Swiss author David Zoppetti's debut novel. Written in Japanese, in 1996 it won the 20th Subaru Prize, awarded to new works by Subaru Novel Magazine, and was published by Shueisha that year. It was made into a film in 1999, and an English translation by Okinawan professor Takuma Sminkey was published by Ozaru Books in 2011.

Synopsis from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Everything below written here.