Akiko Akazome

Akiko Akazome (赤染 晶子, Akazome Akiko), born Akiko Seino (瀬野 晶子, Seino Akiko), was a Japanese writer. Akazome won the 143rd Akutagawa Prize and the 99th Bungakukai Prize before her death in 2017.

Akiko Akazome
Native name
瀬野 晶子
Born(1974-10-31)October 31, 1974
Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
DiedSeptember 18, 2017(2017-09-18) (aged 42)
Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Pen name赤染 晶子
OccupationWriter
LanguageJapanese
NationalityJapanese
Education
GenreFiction
Notable worksOtome no mikkoku
Notable awards

Biography

Akazome graduated from the Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, where she studied German, in 1996.[1] She entered graduate school at Hokkaido University intending to become an academic, but instead started writing stories that reflected her Kyoto upbringing.[2][3]

In 2004 Akazome won the 99th Bungakukai Prize for her story "Hatsuko-san," which was later published in book form as Utsutsu utsura (うつつ・うつら).[4] Her 2010 book Otome no mikkoku (乙女の密告, The Maiden's Betrayal), about a group of women in a German class reading Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl, generated controversy for using a casual writing style to discuss serious subject matter.[5] Otome no mikkoku won the 143rd Akutagawa Prize, with the selection committee praising the use of humor to discuss social problems.[6][7] The next year her book Uonteddo kaijin nijūichimensō (WANTED!!かい人21面相) was published by Bungeishunjū. It was nominated for the Oda Sakunosuke Prize.[8]

Akazome died of acute pneumonia in 2017 at the age of 42.[9]

Recognition

Works
  • Utsutsu utsura (うつつ・うつら), Bungeishunjū, 2007, ISBN 9784163259307
  • Otome no mikkoku (乙女の密告, The Maiden's Betrayal), Shinchosha, 2010, ISBN 9784103276616
  • Uonteddo kaijin nijūichimensō (WANTED!!かい人21面相), Bungeishunjū, 2011, ISBN 9784163807409

References
  1. "事！芥川賞受賞の快挙　平成８年度ドイツ語学科卒の赤染さん" (in Japanese). Kyoto University of Foreign Studies. July 16, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  2. "The changing book world". The Japan Times. August 1, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  3. "Authors: Akiko Akazome". Books from Japan. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  4. "第99回文學界新人賞発表". Bungakukai (in Japanese). Bunshun. December 1, 2004. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  5. Coutts, Angela. "Remembering Anne Frank in Japan: Akazome Akiko's Otome no Mikkoku / The Maiden's Betrayal". Contemporary Women's Writing. 8 (1): 71–88. doi:10.1093/cww/vpt002.
  6. "Akazome, Nakajima win book awards". The Japan Times. July 26, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  7. "芥川賞に赤染晶子氏、直木賞に中島京子氏". Nihon Keizai Shimbun (in Japanese). July 15, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  8. "赤染晶子さん４２歳＝芥川賞作家". Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). December 11, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  9. "赤染晶子さん、芥川賞作家". Sankei West News (in Japanese). December 11, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  10. "芥川賞受賞者一覧" (in Japanese). 日本文学振興会. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
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