Japanese Literary Awards

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Hisako Hirose

ひろせ ひさこ

Hirose Hisako

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1937-10-12 （Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Nantan, Kyoto Prefecture (childhood onward) → Kyoto (staff at Kyoto University) → United States (lived for several years around 1970s) → Chiba Prefecture (resident)

Career

Occupations
children's writer, tanka poet, university staff
Active Years
1960-
Affiliations
Japan Children's Literature Association (served as director, executive director, auditor)
Memberships
Japan Children's Literature Association

Education

Kyoto Prefectural Sonobe High School
Country: Japan
Studied haiku and tanka in middle and high school

Awards

Children's Literary Newcomer Prize (8th)
1978
Work: Jun's Little Wonderful Friend
Result: 受賞
Japan Children's Literature Association Award (27th)
2003
Work: The Phantom Ninja
Organization: Japan Children's Literature Association
Result: 受賞
Akai Tori Literary Prize (33rd)
2003
Work: And Then, the Frog Flies!
Organization: Akai Tori Literary Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award (55th, Grand Prize)
2007
Work: We Passed Through the 'Bat Cave'
Category: 大賞
Organization: Sankei Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Children's Culture Meritorious Service Award (48th)
2009
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Jun's Little Wonderful Friend

1978 children's literature

A children's story based on her experience in the United States, depicting friendship and cross-cultural understanding.

friendshipcross-cultural experiencecoming of age

And Then, the Frog Flies!

2002 children's literature

A playful, picture-book-like story emphasizing children's sense of adventure and humor.

adventurehumorimagination

The Phantom Ninja

2002 children's literature

A children's adventure story centered on ninjas, touching on tradition and imagination.

traditionadventureimagination

We Passed Through the 'Bat Cave'

2007 children's literature

A longer children's novel about solidarity among peers and adventure.

companionshipadventurecourage

Bibliography

  • Jun's Little Wonderful Friend
  • The Little House Beyond the Wind
  • Peach-Tree Apartment, Blue Wind
  • Muu-chan's Souvenir
  • The Transfer Student from America
  • Muu-chan's Big Koinobori Operation
  • I Am a Samurai
  • The Ninja Who Became the Wind
  • Me — Takkun
  • Words of Love Told by Piano (Chopin)
  • Go! The Secret Treasure Case
  • Goodbye, My Very Own Ghost
  • Run! Fly! Little Tengu Saburo
  • And Then, the Frog Flies!
  • The Phantom Ninja
  • I Am Ayashimaru the Ninja
  • A Cat Came Along
  • The Hidden Forest Tree
  • The Rabbit's Garden
  • Secret Gonzu Club
  • From the Wobbly Bridge: Onmyoji
  • Kaguya-hime's Younger Brother

Style & Themes

Literary Style
clear, child-centered narrationconcise expressions influenced by tanka and haiku
Recurring Motifs
naturefriendshipninja and folk-tale elementschildren's adventures

Legacy

Hisako Hirose has been a steady presence in Japanese children's literature, acclaimed for adventure tales and imagination-stirring works. With multiple major awards and leadership roles in the Japan Children's Literature Association, she is regarded as an important postwar children's author.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Children's Literature Association

Archives

  • National Diet Library (bibliographic records)
  • VIAF (authority record)
  • WorldCat (library catalog)
  • Library of Congress (authority identifier)

Trivia

  • Grew up in Nantan, Kyoto from age five.
  • Studied haiku and tanka from junior high; became a member of the journal 'To' and was mentored by tanka poet Kunitoyo Takayasu.
  • Lived in the United States for several years in the 1970s due to her husband's transfer; that experience influenced some works.