Natsuko Kuroda

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Natsuko Kuroda
Native name
黒田 夏子
Born1937 (age 86–87)
Tokyo, Japan
OccupationWriter
LanguageJapanese
Alma materWaseda University
GenreFiction, short story
Notable worksa b sango
Notable awards

Natsuko Kuroda (黒田 夏子, Kuroda Natsuko, born 1937) is a Japanese writer. At age 75 she won the 148th Akutagawa Prize, making Kuroda the oldest winner in the history of the prize.

Biography[edit]

Kuroda was born in 1937 in Tokyo and attended Waseda University.[1] While at Waseda University she started the journal Sajo (Sandcastles), where she published her fiction.[2] She graduated from Waseda University with a degree in Japanese, then worked various jobs as a teacher, administrator, and copy editor while continuing to write fiction.[3] In 1963 her story "Mari" ("Ball") won the 63rd Yomiuri Shimbun Short Story Newcomer Prize.[4]

For decades Kuroda wrote stories that were published but did not win recognition in the form of literary awards.[1][5] In 2012, nearly fifty years after her previous literary award, Kuroda won the Waseda Bungaku new writer competition for her experimental story a b sango, which was written mostly in hiragana rather than kanji, composed horizontally rather than vertically, and used no names or pronouns.[6] The next year a b sango won the 148th Akutagawa Prize, making Kuroda, at age 75, the oldest winner in the prize's history.[7] The Akutagawa Prize committee was not unanimous in its decision, but committee members commended Kuroda's experimental style.[8] In 2013 her story Kanjutai no odori, which she had written many years before a b sango, was published in book form.[5]

Recognition[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

Books in Japanese[edit]

  • Ruiseitai meijaku, Shinbisha, 2010, ISBN 9784788331365
  • a b sango, Waseda Bungakkai, 2013, OCLC 862829243
  • Kanjutai no odori : sanbyakugojūban, Bungeishunjū, 2013, ISBN 9784163828404

Selected work in English[edit]

  • "From Ball", translated by Angus Turvill, Comparative Critical Studies, 2015[11]
  • "Waymarkers", translated by Asa Yoneda, Words Without Borders, 2015[12]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b 海老, 沢類 (March 10, 2014). "作家・黒田夏子（７６）（１）この年齢になると何でもすごく気楽". Sankei News (in Japanese). Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  2. ^ "Authors: Natsuko Kuroda". Books from Japan. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  3. ^ "Contributor: Natsuko Kuroda". Words Without Borders. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "芥川賞候補に７５歳・黒田夏子さん 受賞なら最年長". Sports Hochi. Yomiuri Shimbun. January 7, 2013. Archived from the original on January 9, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  5. ^ a b 「文學界」編集部 (January 8, 2014). "黒田夏子『感受体のおどり』著者インタビュー". Bunshun Online (in Japanese). Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  6. ^ "７５歳の黒田夏子さん会見詳報 「生きているうちに見つけてくれてありがとう」". Sankei News (in Japanese). January 16, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  7. ^ "Natsuko Kuroda, 75, becomes oldest Akutagawa literary award winner". The Japan Times. January 17, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  8. ^ "７５歳が芥川賞受賞…シニア層 文学界に活気". Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). February 27, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  9. ^ "第24回早稲田文学新人賞 受賞作決定のお知らせ" (in Japanese). Waseda Bungaku Editorial Department. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  10. ^ "芥川賞受賞者一覧" (in Japanese). 日本文学振興会. January 1, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  11. ^ Kuroda, Natsuko. "From Ball by Natsuko Kuroda". Comparative Critical Studies. 12 (1). Translated by Turvill, Angus: 143–145. doi:10.3366/ccs.2015.0161.
  12. ^ Kuroda, Natsuko (March 1, 2015). "Waymarkers". Words Without Borders. Translated by Yoneda, Asa. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
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