Hiromi Kawakami Explained

Hiromi Kawakami
Birth Place:Tokyo, Japan
Occupation:Novelist
Nationality:Japanese
Period:1990–present
Alma Mater:Ochanomizu Women's College
Genre:Fiction, poetry
Notableworks:Tread on a Snake, The Briefcase/Strange Weather in Tokyo
Awards:

is a Japanese writer known for her off-beat fiction, poetry, and literary criticism. She has won numerous Japanese literary awards, including the Akutagawa Prize, the Tanizaki Prize, the Yomiuri Prize, and the Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature. Her work has been adapted for film, and has been translated into more than 15 languages.

Early life and education

Kawakami was born in Tokyo in 1958 and grew up in the Takaido neighborhood of Suginami City.[1] She graduated from Ochanomizu Women's College in 1980.

Career

After graduating from college Kawakami began writing and editing for NW-SF, a Japanese science fiction magazine.[2] Her first short story, "Sho-shimoku" ("Diptera"), appeared in NW-SF in 1980.[3] She also taught science in a middle school and high school, but became a housewife when her husband had to relocate for work.

In 1994, at the age of 36, Kawakami debuted as a writer of literary fiction with a collection of short stories entitled Kamisama (God).[4] In 1996 Hebi wo fumi (Tread on a Snake) won the Akutagawa Prize, one of Japan's most prestigious literary awards.[5] It was later translated into English under the title Record of a Night Too Brief.[6] She received the Tanizaki Prize in 2001 for her novel Sensei no kaban (The Briefcase or Strange Weather in Tokyo), a love story about a friendship and romance between a woman in her thirties and her former teacher, a man in his seventies.[7] After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, Kawakami rewrote her debut short story "Kamisama" ("God"), keeping the original plot but incorporating the events of Fukushima into the story.[8]

In 2014 the film Nishino Yukihiko no Koi to Bōken, based on Kawakami's 2003 novel of the same name and starring Yutaka Takenouchi and Machiko Ono, was released nationwide in Japan.[9] That same year Kawakami's novel was published by Bungeishunjū. Suisei won the 66th Yomiuri Prize in 2015, with selection committee member Yōko Ogawa praising the book for expanding the horizon of literature.[10] In 2016 Kawakami's book , a collection of 14 short stories published by Kodansha, won the 44th Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature.[11]

Writing style

Kawakami's work explores emotional ambiguity by describing the intimate details of everyday social interactions.[12] Many of her stories incorporate elements of fantasy and magical realism. Her writing has drawn comparisons to Lewis Carroll[13] and Banana Yoshimoto,[14] and she has cited Gabriel García Márquez and J. G. Ballard as influences.[15] Many of her short stories, novel extracts, and essays have been translated into English, including "God Bless You" ("Kamisama"),[16] "The Moon and the Batteries" (extract from Sensei no kaban),[17] "Mogera Wogura",[18] "Blue Moon",[19] "The Ten Loves of Nishino",[20] and "People in My Neighborhood."

Awards and honors

Film adaptation

Selected works

Original publicationEnglish publication
TitleYearTitleYear
Japanese: 神様
Kamisama		1994Partial translation included in Read Real Japanese Fiction, trans. Michael Emmerich, Kodansha, 2008
Japanese: 蛇を踏む
Hebi wo fumu		1996Record of a Night Too Brief, trans. Lucy North, Pushkin Press, 2017
Japanese: 溺れる
Oboreru		2000N/AN/A
Japanese: センセイの鞄
Sensei no kaban		2001The Briefcase, trans. Allison Markin Powell, Counterpoint,
Strange Weather in Tokyo, trans. Allison Markin Powell, Counterpoint, 		2012
2017
Japanese: パレード
Parēdo		2002Parade: A Folktale, trans. Allison Markin Powell, Soft Skull Press, 2019
Japanese: 龍宮
Ryūgū		2002Dragon Palace, trans. Ted Goossen, Stone Bride Press, 2023
Japanese: ニシノユキヒコの恋と冒険
Nishino Yukihiko no koi to bōken		2003The Ten Loves of Nishino, trans. Allison Markin Powell, Europa Editions, 2019
Japanese: 古道具 中野商店
Furudōgu Nakano shōten		2005The Nakano Thrift Shop, trans. Allison Markin Powell, Europa Editions, 2016
Japanese: 真鶴
Manazuru		2006Manazuru trans. Michael Emmerich, Counterpoint, 2010
Japanese: パスタマシーンの幽霊
Pasutamashīn no yūrei		2010N/AN/A
Japanese: 水声
Suisei		2014N/AN/A
Japanese: 大きな鳥にさらわれないよう
Ōkina tori ni sarawarenai yō		2016Under the Eye of the Big Bird, trans. Asa Yoneda, Soft Skull Press, 2024
Japanese: このあたりの人たち
Kono atari no hitotachi		2016People From My Neighborhood, trans. Ted Goossen, Soft Skull Press (publisher), 2021
Japanese: 三度目の恋
Mitabime no koi		2020The Third Love, trans. Ted Goossen, Granta Books, 2024

External links

Notes and References

  1. 作家の読書道：第7回　川上 弘美さん. ja. Author's Reading Path Volume 7: Hiromi Kawakami. Hiromi. Kawakami. WEB本の雑誌 Editorial Department. WEB本の雑誌. September 8, 2018.
  2. Book: Ashley, Mike. Gateways to Forever: The Story of the Science-fiction Magazines from 1970 to 1980. Liverpool University Press. 2007.
  3. Web site: Japan Society Book Club: Record of a Night Too Brief by Hiromi Kawakami. Japan Society of the UK. March 13, 2017. June 18, 2018. November 8, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191108140904/https://www.japansociety.org.uk/event/book-club-record-night-hiromi-kawakami/. dead.
  4. News: どっち派？ 川上弘美と小川洋子. ja. May 2, 2018. September 8, 2018. September 9, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180909112715/https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/life/book/column/honline/20180423-OYT8T50104.html. dead.
  5. News: 'Record of a Night Too Brief': Hiromi Kawakami uncoils life's mysteries with an exploration of dreams. Flanagan. Damian. The Japan Times. May 27, 2017. June 21, 2018.
  6. Web site: The Folkloric and the Fantastic: Hiromi Kawakami's "Record of a Night Too Brief". Los Angeles Review of Books. Larson. M. W.. July 19, 2017. June 18, 2018.
  7. Web site: 谷崎潤一郎賞受賞作品一覧 (List of Tanizaki Prize Award Winners). ja. Chuo Koron Shinsha. June 20, 2018.
  8. Book: Dejima, Yukiko. Japan after 3/11: Global Perspectives on the Earthquake, Tsunami, and Fukushima Meltdown. University Press of Kentucky. September 15, 2016. Karan. Pradyumna. Suganuma. Unryu. Chapter 3: Tsunamis and Earthquakes in Japanese Literature.
  9. News: ニシノユキヒコの恋と冒険. ja. Nikkei Style. 宇田川. 幸洋. February 8, 2014. September 9, 2018.
  10. News: 小説賞 川上弘美 「水声」. ja. Novel Prize: Hiromi Kawakami for Suisei. Yomiuri Shimbun. February 2, 2015. September 8, 2015. September 9, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180909112752/https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/life/book/feature/CO016713/20150605-OYT8T50130.html. dead.
  11. News: 泉鏡花文学賞 川上弘美さんが受賞. ja. Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature awarded to Hiromi Kawakami. Mainichi Shimbun. October 13, 2016. September 8, 2018.
  12. Web site: The Anxiety of Intimacy in Hiromi Kawakami's "The Nakano Thrift Shop". Los Angeles Review of Books. Larson. M.W.. November 27, 2017. June 18, 2018.
  13. News: Japanese author Hiromi Kawakami leads us down increasingly bizarre rabbit holes. South China Morning Post. Kidd. James. February 9, 2017. June 18, 2018.
  14. News: 'The Nakano Thrift Shop': Hiromi Kawakami furthers her exploration of form and style. The Japan Times. Moloney. Iain. July 1, 2017. June 18, 2018.
  15. News: Hiromi Kawakami briefs us on her literary life. The Irish Times. Doyle. Martin. May 5, 2014. June 17, 2018.
  16. Web site: God Bless You. Granta. Kawakami. Hiromi. Goossen. Ted. Shibata. Motoyuki. March 20, 2012. June 18, 2018.
  17. Web site: The Moon and the Batteries. Granta. Kawakami. Hiromi. Markin Powell. Allison. January 11, 2012. June 18, 2018.
  18. News: https://web.archive.org/web/20140110160947/https://www.theparisreview.org/fiction/5482/mogera-wogura-hiromi-kawakami. January 10, 2014. Mogera Wogura. Paris Review. Kawakami. Hiromi. Emmerich. Michael. 2005. 173. June 18, 2018.
  19. Web site: Blue Moon. Granta. Kawakami. Hiromi. North. Lucy. April 24, 2014. June 18, 2018.
  20. Web site: Gattig. Nicolas. 2019-07-13. 'The Ten Loves of Nishino': Ten tales to chronicle the growing sadness of an aging Casanova. 2020-11-24. The Japan Times. en-US.
  21. Web site: Hiromi Kawakami AUTHOR Translation Works Japanese Literature Publishing Project:JLPP. 2021-11-11. www.jlpp.go.jp.
  22. Web site: 伊藤整文学賞. ja. 伊藤整文学賞の会. June 21, 2018.
  23. Web site: 芸術選奨歴代受賞者一覧（昭和25年度～）. ja. Agency for Cultural Affairs. September 9, 2018.
  24. Web site: Man Asian literary prize shortlist stages Booker re-match . . Alison Flood . 9 January 2013 . January 9, 2013.
  25. Web site: Knausgaard heads Independent foreign fiction prize shortlist . The Guardian . Alison Flood . 8 April 2014 . April 10, 2014.
  26. Web site: 第６６回読売文学賞（２０１４年度）. ja. 66th Yomiuri Prize for Literature (published in 2014). Yomiuri Shimbun. September 8, 2018. November 8, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191108140902/https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/contest/clspgl/detail/634.html. dead.
  27. Web site: 泉鏡花文学賞. ja. Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature. City of Kanazawa. September 8, 2018. January 10, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190110072857/https://www4.city.kanazawa.lg.jp/11020/bungaku/kyouka/index.html. dead.
  28. News: 川上弘美『ニシノユキヒコの恋と冒険』が映画化、主演・竹野内豊が多彩女優陣と恋に. ja. Cinra.net. July 29, 2013. September 9, 2018.

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