Hiromi Kawakami

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox writer Template:Nihongo 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.<ref name=webdoku>Template:Cite interview</ref> She graduated from Ochanomizu Women's College in 1980.<ref name=japansocietyuk />

Career

After graduating from college Kawakami began writing and editing for NW-SF, a Japanese science fiction magazine.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Her first short story, "Sho-shimoku" ("Diptera"), appeared in NW-SF in 1980.<ref name=japansocietyuk>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She also taught science in a middle school and high school, but became a housewife when her husband had to relocate for work.<ref name=yomiuriogawa /><ref name=webdoku />

In 1994, at the age of 36, Kawakami debuted as a writer of literary fiction with a collection of short stories entitled Kamisama (God).<ref name=yomiuriogawa>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1996 Hebi wo fumi (Tread on a Snake) won the Akutagawa Prize, one of Japan's most prestigious literary awards.<ref name=akutagawa>Template:Cite news</ref> It was later translated into English under the title Record of a Night Too Brief.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=tanizaki>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> That same year Kawakami's novel Template:Nihongo 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2016 Kawakami's book Template:Nihongo, a collection of 14 short stories published by Kodansha, won the 44th Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2025, Under the Eye of the Big Bird, Asa Yoneda's English translation of this collection, was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize.<ref name=A-Marshall-1>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Writing style

Kawakami's work explores emotional ambiguity by describing the intimate details of everyday social interactions.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Many of her stories incorporate elements of fantasy and magical realism. Her writing has drawn comparisons to Lewis Carroll<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Banana Yoshimoto,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and she has cited Gabriel García Márquez and J. G. Ballard as influences.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Many of her short stories, novel extracts, and essays have been translated into English, including "God Bless You" ("Kamisama"),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "The Moon and the Batteries" (extract from Sensei no kaban),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "Mogera Wogura",<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> "Blue Moon",<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "The Ten Loves of Nishino",<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and "People in My Neighborhood."

Awards and honors

  • 1996 Akutagawa Prize for 蛇を踏む - Hebi wo fumu (A Snake Stepped On)<ref name=akutagawa />
  • 1999 Murasaki Shikibu Prize for 神様 - Kamisama (God's Bear)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • 2001 Tanizaki Prize for センセイの鞄 - Sensei no kaban (The Briefcase / Strange Weather in Tokyo)<ref name="tanizaki" />
  • 2007 57th MEXT Minister's Award for Literature<ref name=mext>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • 2015 66th Yomiuri Prize for 水声 - Suisei <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • 2016 44th Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature for 大きな鳥にさらわれないよう - Ōkina tori sarawarenai yō (Under the Eye of the Big Bird)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Film adaptation

Selected works

Original publication English publication
Title Year Title Year
lang}}
Kamisama 		1994 Partial translation included in Read Real Japanese Fiction, trans. Michael Emmerich, Kodansha, Template:ISBN 2008
lang}}
Hebi wo fumu 		1996 Record of a Night Too Brief, trans. Lucy North, Pushkin Press, Template:ISBN 2017
lang}}
Oboreru 		2000 N/A N/A
lang}}
Sensei no kaban 		2001 The Briefcase, trans. Allison Markin Powell, Counterpoint, Template:ISBN
Strange Weather in Tokyo, trans. Allison Markin Powell, Counterpoint, Template:ISBN 		2012
2017
lang}}
Parēdo 		2002 Parade: A Folktale, trans. Allison Markin Powell, Soft Skull Press, Template:ISBN 2019
lang}}
Ryūgū 		2002 Dragon Palace, trans. Ted Goossen, Stone Bride Press, Template:ISBN 2023
lang}}
Nishino Yukihiko no koi to bōken 		2003 The Ten Loves of Nishino, trans. Allison Markin Powell, Europa Editions, Template:ISBN 2019
lang}}
Furudōgu Nakano shōten 		2005 The Nakano Thrift Shop, trans. Allison Markin Powell, Europa Editions, Template:ISBN 2016
lang}}
Manazuru 		2006 Manazuru trans. Michael Emmerich, Counterpoint, Template:ISBN 2010
lang}}
Pasutamashīn no yūrei 		2010 N/A N/A
lang}}
Suisei 		2014 N/A N/A
lang}}
Ōkina tori ni sarawarenai yō 		2016 Under the Eye of the Big Bird, trans. Asa Yoneda, Soft Skull Press, Template:ISBN 2024
lang}}
Kono atari no hitotachi 		2016 People From My Neighborhood, trans. Ted Goossen, Soft Skull Press (publisher), Template:ISBN 2021
lang}}
Sandome no koi 		2020 The Third Love, trans. Ted Goossen, Granta Books, Template:ISBN 2024

References

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