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Chiyo Tsutsumi

つつみ ちよ

Tsutsumi Chiyo

Aliases: 堤 文子 / 福留 文子
Pen Names: Fumiko Tsutsumi（Birth name (legal name)）, Fumiko Fukudome（Married legal name）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1917-09-20 （Yarai-chō, Ushigome, Tokyo, Japan）
Died
1955-11-10 age 38
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Children's literature author
Active Years
1940-1955

Awards

Naoki Prize (11th)
1940
Work: Koyubi (Little Finger)
Organization: Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Koyubi (Little Finger)

1940 Short novel / Novel

Winner of the 11th Naoki Prize. A representative work portraying domestic life and women's emotions with sensitivity.

familywomenlove

The Wind of Our Home

1943 Novel

A long novel about family and daily life. Adapted into a film in 1943 directed by Shigeo Tanaka.

familyeveryday lifelife during wartime
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Wind of Our Home / 田中重雄 (1943)

Buncho (Java Sparrow)

1947 Novel

A long novel featuring birds as a motif, reflecting Tsutsumi's recurring bird imagery.

birdsfamilyloneliness

Oshiroi-cho (Powdered Face Notebook)

1949 Novel

A story concerning women's psychology and makeup. There is a record of a film adaptation.

female psychologymakeupsociety
Adaptations
  • [Film] Oshiroi-cho / 野淵昶 (1947)

Minna Kita Michi (All Came This Way)

1950 Children's literature

A collection of children's stories addressing themes for young readers.

friendshipgrowthadventure

The Day the Canary Sings

1953 Children's literature

A children's novel with lyrical narration depicting a girl's sensitivity.

girlssensitivitysong

Bibliography

  • Koyubi (Little Finger)
  • Saikai (Reunion)
  • Yuzumeso (Evening Sparrow Grass)
  • The Four Seasons of the Willow
  • The Wind of Our Home
  • Nioi-burashi
  • Blue Gloves
  • Buncho (Java Sparrow)
  • My Love Comes Early in the World
  • Love Letter
  • The Little Bird's Kiss
  • Light Dwells in Dew and Forever
  • Oshiroi-cho
  • Minna Kita Michi
  • Somewhere There Is a Star
  • The Day the Canary Sings
  • Lover
  • Flower Bouquet
  • Nemuno Hana
  • Daisy Story
  • Unrequited Love
  • Reiko's Road
  • Ruritori
  • Young Eyes
  • Days of Distant Dreams
  • The Maple Bird's Song
  • Red Flowers
  • Komondori
  • Pure Wife
  • Yayako Story
  • Waiting for the Sparrow
  • Love
  • One Stream
  • Though Flowers Fall

Adaptations

  • The Wind of Our Home (film, dir. Shigeo Tanaka, 1943)
  • Oshiroi-cho (film, dir. Nobuchi/野淵昶, 1947)
  • The Wind of Our Home (film adaptation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyricaldomestic fictiongentle narration aimed at young female readers
Recurring Motifs
birdshome/familygirlsloveillness

Health

  • serious heart condition
    幼時 - 生涯
    Unable to attend school; spent much of life largely confined at home and wrote prolifically.
  • cerebral thrombosis (stroke)
    1955年（致命的）
    Suffered cerebral thrombosis and died on 1955-11-10.

Legacy

Chiyo Tsutsumi was a Showa-era female writer who sensitively depicted family life, girls and female psychology. She won the 11th Naoki Prize in 1940. If born in 1917, her award age (22 years 10 months) is cited as the youngest Naoki Prize winner, though her birth year has been disputed (1911 appears in a family memoir). Several works were adapted for film and she produced notable children's literature.

Trivia

  • Winner of the 11th Naoki Prize (1940).
  • Her award age (22 years 10 months, if born in 1917) is still cited as the youngest Naoki Prize winner, but her birth year is disputed (a 1911 date appears in a family memoir).
  • Had a serious heart condition from childhood and wrote prolifically while largely confined at home.
  • Several works were adapted into films (e.g., The Wind of Our Home, Oshiroi-cho).
  • Birth name Fumiko Tsutsumi; married legal name Fumiko Fukudome.