Sakae Tsuboi
 |
Sakae Tsuboi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 August 1899 Sakate, Kagawa, Japan |
| Died | 23 June 1967 (aged 67) |
| Occupation | novelist, poet |
| Spouse | Shigeji Tsuboi (1925-1967) |
Sakae Tsuboi (壺井 栄, Tsuboi Sakae, 5 August 1899 – 23 June 1967) was a Japanese novelist and poet.
Biography
Early life
Sakae Tsuboi was born in the village of Sakate (now part of the town of Shōdoshima) in Kagawa Prefecture, the fifth daughter of soy sauce barrel maker, Tokichi Iwai. Despite the bankruptcy of her father's employer, and the consequent worsening of her family's economic situation, she was still able to complete eight years of schooling, before going on to work in the post office and town hall. In 1925, at the age of 26, she went to Tokyo to marry Shigeji Tsuboi.
Career
After the publication of her debut work Daikon no Ha (Radish Leaves) in 1938, she wrote prolifically, winning the Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts among other prizes. In 1954 the director Keisuke Kinoshita made a film adaptation, starring Hideko Takamine, of her 1952 novel, Nijushi no Hitomi (Twenty-Four Eyes), and Shodoshima became a household name in Japan. In 1967, she was made an honorary citizen of Uchinomi, Kagawa before dying the same year at the age of 67.
Sakae Tsuboi Prize
In 1979, to honour Tsuboi's work, Kagawa Prefecture established the Sakae Tsuboi Prize for children from the prefecture.
Important works
- Daikon no Ha (Radish Leaves)
- Kaki no Ki no Aru Ie (The House with the Persimmon Tree)
- Haha no Nai Ko to Ko no Nai Haha to (The Motherless Children and the Childless Mother)
- Sakamichi (The Slope)
- Nijushi no Hitomi (Twenty-Four Eyes) - (the only work readily available in English translation)
- Kaze (The Wind)
- Tsukiyo no Kasa (Umbrella on a Moonlit Night)