Takenishi Hiroko

Takenishi Hiroko ( Japanese 竹 西 寛 子 ; born April 11, 1929 in Hiroshima , Hiroshima Prefecture ) is a Japanese writer and member of the Japanese Art Academy .

Life

Takenishi Hiroko was born into a brewery family. Her childhood was shaped by the Second World War . During the war she attended the Hiroshima-Minami State High School ( 広 島 県 立 広 島 皆 実 高等学校 ) and she did labor service in ammunition factories towards the end of the war. The dropping of the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945 destroyed not only her hometown, but also a large part of her world. The center of the explosion was 2.5 km from her parents' home, her health deteriorated, many of her classmates lost their lives. This experience is the reason for and the subject of her literary work.

In 1952 she graduated from the renowned Waseda University with a degree in Japanese literature. In 1957 she began to work at Chikuma Shobō ( 株式会社 筑 摩 書房 ). In 1962 she gave up work in the publishing house to devote herself exclusively to her writing career.

Her most important works include: the Ōkan no ki criticism and the two novels Kangensai and Zōtō no Uta , in which she processes the experience of the atomic bomb being dropped. Takenishi has received numerous prestigious literary prizes for her literary work.

Prizes and awards

• 1964 Tamura Toshiko Prize for Ōkan no ki - Nihon no koten ni omou ( 往還 の 記 - 日本 の 古典 に 思 う )
• 1973 Hirabayashi Taiko Literature Prize for Shikishi-naishinnō, Eifuku-mon'in ( 式子 内 親王 ・ 永福 門 院 )
• 1978 Women's Literature Prize for Kangensai ( 管絃 祭 )
• 1981 Kawabata Yasunari Literature Prize for Heitai yado ( 兵 隊 宿 )
• 1985 Mainichi Art Prize for Yamagawa Tomiko ( 山 川登 美 子 )
• 2003 Noma Literature Prize for Zōtō no Uta ( 贈答 の う た )

Works

• 1964 Ōkan no ki - Nihon no koten ni omou ( 往還 の 記 - 日本 の 古典 に 思 う )
• 1967 Genji Monogatari -ron ( 源氏物語論 )
• 1969 Gishiki ( 儀式 )
  • German ceremonies. Translated by Jürgen Berndt. In: That day. Literary testimonies about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Berlin 1985　　
• 1970 Hito to kiseki: 9-nin no josei ni toku ( 人 と 軌跡 9 人 の 女性 に 聴 く )
• 1974 Mono ni oeru nichi ( も の に 逢 え る 日 )
• 1975 Koten nikki ( 古典 日記 )
• 1975 Tsuru ( 鶴 )
• 1976 Gendai no bunshō ( 現代 の 文章 )
• 1978 Kangensai ( 管絃 祭 )
• 1980 Aisuru to iu kotoba ( 愛 す る と い う 言葉 )
• 1981 Kogo ni kiku ( 古語 に 聞 く )
• 1982 Heitai yado ( 兵 隊 宿 )　　
• 1982 Watashi no heian bungaku ( 私 の 平安 文学 )
• 1988 Haiku ni yomareta hana ( 俳 句 に よ ま れ た 花 )
• 1989 Nihon no joka ( 日本 の 女 歌 ) ( Telekolleg at NHK )
• 2003 Zōtō no Uta ( 贈答 の う た )

Web links

• Biographical demolition (English)

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus, Takenishi is the family name, Hiroko the first name.