Writers from Japan

Minae MIZUMURA (b. 1951, Tokyo) moved to the US when she was twelve, studied French literature at Yale but later returned to Japan to dedicate herself to fiction writing. She is now a prominent member of Japan's literary establishment. All her novels pay homage to Japanese literary tradition while breaking new ground. Zoku Meian (Light and Darkness Continued, 1990) finished the unfinished final novel of Natsume Soseki, a figure revered as the greatest modern novelist in Japan . Shishosetsu from Left to Right (An I-Novel from Left to Right, 1995) made use of a bilingual text and horizontal print to question the notion of a Japanese national literature. Her most recent novel, Honkaku Shosetsu (An Orthodox Novel, 2002), is a retelling of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights in postwar Japan , featuring Heathcliff born to a Japanese woman raped by a Chinese bandit. Her novels have received critical acclaim and awards including the distinguished Yomiuri Literature Award. She has taught at Princeton, the University of Michigan and Stanford. She is participating courtesy of the Freeman Foundation.

Gozo YOSHIMASU (poet; b. 1939, Japan), a returning writer to the International Writers Program, has published several collections of poetry including Shuppatsu ( Departure ) and Devil's Wind: A Thousand Steps or More . Considered to be an emblematic presence in postwar Japanese poetry, he has given readings at the Centre Pompidou in Paris (2000) and the Taipei International Poetry Festival (2001), and exhibited his photographs and calligraphies at the São Paulo Biennale (1990) and in Strasbourg (2000), among others. In May 2003, he received the Purple Ribbon Award from the Japanese government for his significant contributions to Japanese culture. He is participating courtesy of the Freeman Foundation, and will be in Iowa City in October and November.

Kiwao NOMURA, a graduate of Waseda University Center for International Education, has published ten books of poetry, most notably Under the Sun without Character, which received the Rekitei Prize; Distribution of the Wind, which won the Takami Jun Prize; and New Inspiration, which earned the Gendaishi-Hanatsubaki Prize. Known for his critical work, his performances, and his translations, Mr. Nomura is among the most creative Japanese poets working today. He is participating courtesy of the Freeman Foundation.

Yui TANIZAKI (fiction writer, translator; Japan) is the author of the novel Maiochiru Mura (2009), which garnered her the 2007 Bungagukai Prize for New Writers.Her stories and essays are featured in numerous literary magazines; her translations include Kiran Desai’s Inheritance of Loss and Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad. She participates courtesy of the Japan Foundation.

FUJINO Kaori 藤野可織 (fiction writer; Japan) writes short stories and novellas about the horror that lurks behind everyday life. In 2006 she won the Bungakukai Prize for New Writers for her story “Iyashii tori” [The Greedy Bird]. She was nominated for the Akutagawa Prize in 2009 before winning it in 2013 for her acclaimed novella Tsume to me [Nails and Eyes]. Her book O hanashi shite ko-chan [Little Miss Tell-Me-a-Story] was published by Kodansha the same year. Her most recent collection of stories is Final Girl (2016). Fujino’s participation is made possible by the Japan Foundation.

ARAI Takako  新井 高子 (poetry; Japan) has published three poetry collections, including Tamashii dansu [Soul Dance] which won the 2008 Oguma Hideo Prize. Since 1998, she has been an editor for the poetry journal Mi’Te; she has also edited a volume of poems about, and is producing a film connected to, the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan. The poetry volume Factory Girls is forthcoming in English. Arai teaches Japanese and poetry at Saitama University. She participates courtesy of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

LI Kotomi 李琴峰 (novelist, essayist, translator; Taiwan/ Japan) is the author of Hitorimai, published in 2022 as Solo Dance, Porarisu ga furisosogu yoru [Night of the Shining North Star] (2020), and Higanbana ga saku shima [The Island Where Red Spider Lilies Bloom] (2021). She is the winner of the Akutagawa Prize and the Minister of Education’s Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists, both awarded in Japan, where she is currently based. She writes in Japanese, self-translating her work into Mandarin. Her participation was made possible by a grant from Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture.