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Atsuko Anzai

あんざい あつこ

Anzai Atsuko

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1927-08-11 （Murasame-chō, Suma Village, Muko District, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan (now Suma Ward, Kobe)）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Germany (Berlin) → Qingdao, China → Kanagawa Prefecture (Yokohama, Kamakura), Japan

Career

Occupations
Novelist
Active Years
1953-
Affiliations
Member of Japan PEN Club
Memberships
Japan PEN Club
Influenced By
Yoshihide Nakayama

Education

Kanagawa Prefectural Yokohama Daiichi Girls' High School (now Kanagawa Prefectural Yokohama Hiranuma High School)
Period: 〜1945
Year of Graduation: 1945
Country: Japan
Graduated from a prewar girls' high school
Qingdao Higher Girls' School
Period: 在学〜1941
Year of Graduation: 1941
Country: China
Lived in Qingdao during father's transfer; attended a local higher girls' school

Awards

Naoki Prize (Naoki Sanjugo Award)
1965
Work: Zhang Shaozi no Hanashi
Organization: Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Women's Literature Award
1993
Work: Black Swan
Organization: Women's Literature Award Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Kanagawa Cultural Award
1994
Organization: Kanagawa Prefecture
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Zhang Shaozi no Hanashi

1965 Historical novel

Published in 1965; winner of the Naoki Prize (52nd).

historywomen

Black Swan

1993 Fiction

Published in 1993; winner of the 32nd Women's Literature Award.

female psychologyhistory

The Woman Who Saw the Dragon

1993 Historical novel

A work that depicts Oda Nobunaga from a woman's perspective; published in 1993.

historyfemale perspectivepower

Yellow Sand and Cherry Blossoms

2001 Autobiographical novel

An autobiographical novel published in 2001.

autobiographymemoirhistory and the individual

Kasuga no Tsubone: The Turbulent Life of a Woman Who Held Power in the Ōoku

1989 Historical biography / novel

A historical work depicting the life of Kasuga no Tsubone; published in 1989.

women's historypowerEdo period

Bibliography

  • Zhang Shaozi no Hanashi
  • Mini Lessons in Love
  • A Guide to Spending Your Life as a Clever Wife
  • Love: How to Love and Be Loved
  • Silver Bridge
  • Patterns of Women
  • Tokyo
  • Historical Walks of Tokyo
  • Dawn in Colors of Happiness
  • The Sorrowful Empress (Fujiwara Teishi)
  • Chihime: A Smile
  • The Woman Who Does Not Cry
  • There Were Women
  • Sengoku Dreams
  • Women Who Defied History
  • Aizen Lantern
  • A Similar Person
  • Lady Yodo: Stories and Historic Sites
  • Can One Be Happy Alone?
  • Himiko: Frenzy
  • A Woman's Map of Tokyo
  • Flower Spot: A Fantasy Tale
  • Mother of Ieyasu
  • The Bad Women Who Made Men Succeed
  • The Joys and Sorrows of Yodo-dono
  • Perilous Eggs (Short Stories)
  • Travel Is a Surprise Box
  • Famous Wicked, Talented, and Wise Women of History
  • The Mother of Yoshitsune
  • Anzai Atsuko's Nansō Satomi Hakkenden
  • Tricks of History
  • Chronicle of Samurai Couples
  • Kasuga no Tsubone: The Turbulent Life of a Woman Who Held Power in the Ōoku
  • Remnants of Flowers at Dan-no-ura
  • Konjaku Monogatari: A Journey through the Classics
  • Season with Flowers
  • Not an Unjust Act
  • Blood Duel on Aburakoji
  • If Mad for Color
  • The Mandarin Ducks Walk Together (Short Stories)
  • Fallen in Love
  • Meeting Again (Short Stories)
  • Having Lived, Now
  • Kamakura: Life with Sea and Mountains
  • Beloved
  • Blank Moments
  • Dreams of the Quince
  • Women of Kamakura: 15 Stories Rediscovering History
  • Sisters of Luoyang
  • Hojo Tokimune and the Mongol Invasions
  • Yellow Sand and Cherry Blossoms
  • Katsuie Shibata: A Man Who Earnestly Raced Through the Sengoku Turmoil
  • Thoughts on Aging: Learning from Ancients About Life in Old Age

Style & Themes

Literary Style
historical-fictional descriptionfemale-centered narrationdetailed character construction
Recurring Motifs
women's livespower and loveinterest in classical literature and historical sites

Legacy

Atsuko Anzai is a Japanese writer known for historical novels and portrayals of women. She has received major awards including the Naoki Prize and the Women's Literature Award, maintained a long career after childhood experiences abroad, and was also honored with the Kanagawa Cultural Award.

Academic Societies

  • Japan PEN Club

Archives

  • Holdings at the National Diet Library (Japan)

Trivia

  • Born on August 11, 1927 in Murasame-chō, Suma Village (now Suma Ward, Kobe).
  • Shortly after birth she moved to Germany (Berlin) due to her father's work and lived there until 1933.
  • After returning to Japan she again lived abroad in Qingdao, China, and attended a higher girls' school there.
  • Began writing fiction under the tutelage of Yoshihide Nakayama in 1953; won the Naoki Prize in 1965 for Zhang Shaozi no Hanashi.
  • Her younger sister is the writer Haruko Sugimoto (杉本晴子).
  • Won the Women's Literature Award in 1993 for Black Swan and received the Kanagawa Cultural Award in 1994.