Mieko Kawakami (川上未映子, Kawakami Mieko; born August 29, 1976) is a Japanese writer and poet. She is best known for her…
Mieko Kawakami (川上未映子, Kawakami Mieko; born August 29, 1976) is a Japanese writer and poet. She is best known for her 2019 novel Breasts and Eggs, an expanded and reworked version of her 2008 novella Chichi to Ran (乳と卵; lit. 'Breasts and Eggs'). Following the international success of Breasts and Eggs multiple of her earlier novels and most of her works since have been translated into English, among many other languages, and distributed internationally. Among them are Heaven (2009) and All the Lovers in the Night (2011), as well as Sisters in Yellow (2023), her first novel released since Breasts and Eggs. Her work is known for her "philosophical explorations of gender, class and ethics in modern society" and slice of life style. Kawakami's books often revolve around women and children. Kawakami's work has won several literary awards, including the 2007 Akutagawa Prize for Chichi to Ran, the 2009 Murasaki Shikibu Prize for Heaven and the 2013 Tanizaki Prize for her short story collection Ai no yume to ka (愛の夢とか), among many more.
Famous People from Osaka Prefecture
Osaka Prefecture: 8 people
From Osaka came the 'musical anarchist' Tadamaru Sakuragawa (桜川 唯丸, Sakuragawa Tadamaru), who sang in a style called…
From Osaka came the 'musical anarchist' Tadamaru Sakuragawa (桜川 唯丸, Sakuragawa Tadamaru), who sang in a style called Goshu ondo. With the backing of the now disbanded Spiritual Unity, Tadamaru broke out of the festival circuit with his only album, Ullambana, released in 1991. Ullambana is a Sanskrit word that refers to a Buddhism sutra, and is the origin of the Japanese word Urabonne whose shortened form Bon or Obon is now widely used throughout Japan. Tadamaru's music is characterized as a radical new workout of summer festival music from Kansai area of Japan. The song Yui Maru Bushi from the album can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/world/guidejapan2.shtml https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1W7EGULc6s Tadamaru retired in 1995 and passed his name to one of his pupils who now sings as Tadamaru Sakuragawa II (二代目 桜川唯丸). Music of Japan
Toshio Moriuchi (森内 俊雄, Moriuchi Toshio; December 12, 1936 – August 5, 2023) was a Japanese author. He was born in…
Toshio Moriuchi (森内 俊雄, Moriuchi Toshio; December 12, 1936 – August 5, 2023) was a Japanese author. He was born in Osaka Prefecture and graduated from Waseda University. He won the 42nd Yomiuri Prize (1990) for Hyōga ga kuru made ni. Moriuchi died from pneumonia on August 5, 2023, at the age of 86.
Taeko Tomioka (富岡 多恵子, Tomioka Taeko; July 28, 1935 – April 6, 2023) was a Japanese writer. She was born in Osaka, was…
Taeko Tomioka (富岡 多恵子, Tomioka Taeko; July 28, 1935 – April 6, 2023) was a Japanese writer. She was born in Osaka, was educated at Osaka Women's College, worked as a high school English teacher and moved to Tokyo in 1960. Tomioka visited New York City in 1964 and returned home to Japan in 1966. In 1969, she married Suga Kishio. Tomioka published several collections of poems. Henrei (1958) won the Mr. H Prize (H-shi Shō), awarded by the Association of Contemporary Japanese Poets. Monogatari no akuru hi (1961) received the 'Muro Saisei Prize. Tomioka also wrote a poetical drama Matsuri (1959) and a screenplay Shinju ten no Amijima (Double suicide, 1968). In 1971, she published the novel Oka ni mukatte hito wa narabu (Facing the Hills they stand). In 1974, Tomioka wrote Shokubutsu sai, which received the Tamura Toshiko Prize. In 1974, she published Meido no kazoku (Family in hell), which received the Women's Literature Prize. Her 1983 novel Namiutsu tochi was published in English as Building Waves (2012: ISBN 9781564787156). Tomioka also translated some English works by authors such as Gertrude Stein into Japanese. She has also produced essays on literature from a feminist viewpoint. In 1993, she published Nobuyoshi Araki: Akt-Tokyo, 1971-1991, a book of erotic photography. In 1997, Tomioka wrote Hiberunia kikō (A journey to Ireland), which received the Noma Literary Prize. In 2000, The Funeral of a Giraffe: Seven Stories, a collection of her stories translated from Japanese to English, was published. Tomioka died on April 6, 2023, at the age of 87.
Sankichi Tōge (峠 三吉, Tōge Sankichi; 19 February 1917 – 10 March 1953), born Mitsuyoshi Tōge, was a Japanese poet…
Sankichi Tōge (峠 三吉, Tōge Sankichi; 19 February 1917 – 10 March 1953), born Mitsuyoshi Tōge, was a Japanese poet, activist, and survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. He is best known for his collection of poems Genbaku Shishu ("Poems of the Atomic Bomb"), published in 1951.
Heiichi Sugiyama (Japanese: 杉山 平一, Hepburn: Sugiyama Heiichi; 2 November 1914 – 19 May 2012) was a Japanese poet, film…
Heiichi Sugiyama (Japanese: 杉山 平一, Hepburn: Sugiyama Heiichi; 2 November 1914 – 19 May 2012) was a Japanese poet, film critic, and film theorist.
Tatsuji Miyoshi (三好 達治, Miyoshi Tatsuji; 23 August 1900 – 5 April 1964) was a Japanese poet, literary critic, and…
Tatsuji Miyoshi (三好 達治, Miyoshi Tatsuji; 23 August 1900 – 5 April 1964) was a Japanese poet, literary critic, and literary editor active during the Shōwa period of Japan. He is known for his lengthy free verse poetry, which often portray loneliness and isolation as part of contemporary life, but which are written in a complex, highly literary style reminiscent of classical Japanese poetry.
Shinobu Orikuchi (折口 信夫, Orikuchi Shinobu; 11 February 1887–3 September 1953), also known as Chōkū Shaku (釋 迢空, Shaku…
Shinobu Orikuchi (折口 信夫, Orikuchi Shinobu; 11 February 1887–3 September 1953), also known as Chōkū Shaku (釋 迢空, Shaku Chōkū), was a Japanese ethnologist, linguist, folklorist, novelist, and poet. As a disciple of Kunio Yanagita, he established an original academic field named "Orikuchiism" (折口学, Orikuchigaku), which is a mixture of Japanese folklore, Japanese classics, and Shintō. He produced many works in a diversity of fields covering the history of literature, folkloric performing arts, folklore itself, Japanese language, the classics study, Shintōology, ancient study, and so on. Yukio Mishima once called him the "Japanese Walter Pater".