直木三十五賞
Kikuchi founded the Naoki Prize with the Akutagawa Prize, which targets a new or rising author of literary fiction. The two prizes are viewed as "two sides of the same coin" and inseparable from one another. Because of the prestige associated with the Naoki Prize and the considerable attention the winner receives from the media, it, along with the Akutagawa Prize, is one of Japan's most sought after literary awards of recognition.