Biographies
of Authors
Contemporary Literature Category
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Inoue Areno
Novelist
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Born in Tokyo in 1961. In 1989, Inoue Areno won the Femina Prize for “Watashi no Nureefu,” the Shimase Award for Love Stories in 2004 for “Jun’ichi,” the Naoki Prize in 2008 for “Kiriha e,” the Chuokoron Literary Prize in 2011 for “Soko e Ikuna,” the Shibata Renzaburō Award in 2016 for “Aka e,” and the Oda Sakunosuke Prize in 2018 for “Sono Hanashi wa Kyou wa Yameteokimashou.” Other notable works include “Hidoi Kanji: Chichi Inoue Mitsuharu” and “Achira ni Iru Oni,” which portrays her father, mother, and Setouchi Jakucho as models. Her works have been translated into French, Korean, Chinese, English, and other languages.
Classical Literature Category
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Iseki Takako
1785 – 1844
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Born in Edo, Iseki Takako was the daughter of Shoda Yasutomo, a hatamoto (samurai in direct service to the shogun) in the late Edo period. At the age of 30, she married Iseki Yaemon, another hatamoto who had lost his first wife. Iseki Yaemon died when Takako was 42. Without studying with any particular teacher, she deepened her understanding of classical literature by reading extensively from her family's collection of books. She mastered waka poetry and kokugaku, Japanese studies, and served in the Ōoku (the women's quarters of Edo Castle). From 1840 until 20 days before her death in 1844, she kept a diary for about five years, vividly and meticulously documenting events at Edo Castle, social events, her family's activities and the seasonal changes in nature.
