Risa Wataya Explained

Native Name:綿矢 りさ
Risa Wataya
Birth Date:1 February 1984
Birth Place:Kyoto, Japan
Occupation:Novelist, writer
Language:Japanese
Alma Mater:Waseda University
Notableworks:
  • Insutōru
  • Keritai senaka
  • Kawaisou da ne?
Awards:

is a female Japanese novelist from Kyoto. Her short novel Keritai senaka won the Akutagawa Prize and has sold more than a million copies. Wataya has also won the Bungei Prize and the Kenzaburo Oe Prize. Her work has been translated into German, Italian, French, Thai, Korean, and English.

Biography

Wataya was born in Kyoto, Japan. Her mother was a university English teacher, and her father worked for a clothing company.[1] At age 17, she told her parents that she was working on her university entrance exams, but she was actually writing her first novella, titled Insutōru (Install). Insutōru won the 38th Bungei Prize in 2001.[2] It was later adapted into a 2004 film of the same name, starring Aya Ueto.[3]

After graduating from Murasakino High School in Kyoto, Wataya attended Waseda University, where her thesis focused on the structure of Osamu Dazai's Hashire merosu (走れ、メロス Run, Melos!). In 2004, while a second-year student at Waseda, Wataya received the Akutagawa Prize for her short novel Keritai senaka ("The Back You Want to Kick"). Wataya shared the prize with Hitomi Kanehara, another young, female author. At the age of 19, Wataya became the youngest author and only the third student ever to win the Akutagawa Prize.[4] An English version of Keritai senaka was published 12 years later under the title I Want to Kick You in the Back.[5]

Wataya did not immediately write more novels after winning the Akutagawa Prize, but rather worked several jobs in Kyoto, including selling clothes in a department store and serving as a hotel waitress.[6] She returned to writing with her 2007 book Yume wo ataeru (Give Me a Dream), and in 2010 her novel Katte ni furuetero (Tremble All You Want) became a best-seller in Japan.[7] In 2017 a film adaptation of Katte ni furuetero, directed by Akiko Ohku, premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival and won the festival's Audience Award.

Wataya moved back to Kyoto in 2011. In 2012 her novel Kawaisou da ne? ("Isn't it a pity?") won the Kenzaburo Oe Prize.[8] Wataya announced her marriage in 2014.[9] Her first child, a son, was born in late 2015.

She is a fan of AKB48.

Writing style

Wataya's early work focused on strong female protagonists in high school settings.[10] While her writing addresses gender and youth sexuality, media coverage of Wataya's first two books tended to portray Wataya as more conservative than Hitomi Kanehara, her contemporary and co-winner of the 130th Akutagawa Prize.[11] [12]

She has said that Junot Díaz, Osamu Dazai, and Haruki Murakami are some of her favorite authors.[13] [14]

Recognition

Film and other adaptations

Bibliography

Books in Japanese

Selected work in English

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 作家・綿矢りささん 母は作品でも育児でも先生. ja. Nikkei Style / Nihon Keizai Shimbun. August 24, 2016. June 27, 2018.
  2. Web site: Student Affairs Division. People : "You can keep it" — her first novel since winning the Akutagawa Prize.. Waseda Weekly. Waseda University. 12 April 2012.
  3. Web site: Install (2004). IMDb. June 26, 2018.
  4. Web site: Japan Society Book Club: I Want to Kick You in the Back by Risa Wataya. The Japan Society. July 10, 2017. June 26, 2018.
  5. News: The messy, lonesome worlds of Risa Wataya. The Japan Times. March 28, 2015. June 26, 2018. Maloney. Iain.
  6. News: 美人芥川賞作家・綿矢りさが"こじらせ系作家"に変身中？. ja. Weekly Playboy News. April 19, 2013. June 27, 2018.
  7. News: 'Tremble All You Want' ('Katte ni furuetero'): Film Review: Tokyo 2017. Hollywood Reporter. Young. Deborah. October 27, 2017. June 26, 2018.
  8. Web site: Mainichi Shinbun. Novelist Wataya wins Kenzaburo Oe Prize after long drought. Mainichi Shinbun. 12 April 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121128094723/http://mainichi.jp/english/english/features/news/20120407p2a00m0na007000c.html. 28 November 2012.
  9. News: https://web.archive.org/web/20160701005534/https://www.sponichi.co.jp/entertainment/news/2014/12/30/kiji/K20141230009548880.html. July 1, 2016. 綿矢りささん結婚発表. December 30, 2014. ja. Sponichi Annex.
  10. Book: Ashcraft, Brian. Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential: How Teenage Girls Made a Nation Cool. May 13, 2014. Tuttle Publishing. 125. 9781462914098.
  11. Book: Women's Roles in Asia. Nadeau. Kathleen. Rayamajhi. Sangita. ABC-CLIO. June 11, 2013. 9780313397493.
  12. Gender, Body, and Disappointment in Kanehara Hitomi's Fiction. Japanese Language and Literature. Holloway. David. 50. 1. 2016. 75–103. 24891980.
  13. Web site: Feedback from Writers Attending the Tokyo International Literary Festival. The Nippon Foundation for Social Innovation. April 26, 2013. June 26, 2018.
  14. Web site: 第8回：綿矢りささん. ja. WEB本の雑誌. February 1, 2002. June 27, 2018.
  15. Web site: 2001年−第38回文藝賞の情報. ja. さっかつ. June 26, 2018.
  16. Web site: 芥川賞受賞者一覧. ja. 日本文学振興会. June 26, 2018.
  17. News: 創作の源は「言葉を磨く」大江健三郎、綿矢りさに語る. ja. Asahi Shimbun. June 6, 2012. June 26, 2018.
  18. Web site: Install (2004). IMDb. June 26, 2018.
  19. News: 'Tremble All You Want': Mayu Matsuoka gives a star-making turn in delightful romcom. The Japan Times. Schilling. Mark. January 3, 2018. June 26, 2018.
  20. Web site: from Install. Words without Borders. Wataya. Risa. Lundy. Katherine. August 1, 2012. November 13, 2023.

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