Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Hiromi Ito

いとう ひろみ

Ito Hiromi

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1955-09-13 （Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan (birthplace) → Kumamoto, Japan (residence / base) → California, United States (residence / commuting)

Career

Occupations
poet, novelist, essayist, translator, university professor, lecturer
Active Years
1978-
Affiliations
Shin Nihon Bungakkai (New Japan Literary Association), Kumamoto Literary Corps (founder), Kumamoto Gakuen University (Visiting Professor), Waseda University (Professor), Hosei University Graduate School (Lecturer)
Memberships
Shin Nihon Bungakkai (New Japan Literary Association), Kumamoto Literary Corps (founder)
Influenced By
Iwao Abe, Michiko Iwasaki
Nominations
Mishima Yukio Prize nominee (1993) for 'Kazoku Art', Akutagawa Prize nominee (1998) for 'House Plant', Akutagawa Prize nominee (1999) for 'La Niña'

Education

Aoyama Gakuin University
Faculty of Letters / Department of Japanese Literature
Degree: 学士（文学）
Country: Japan
While at university, studied under Iwao Abe at the New Japan Literary Association's literary school. Participated in founding the poetry magazine 'Randamu'.

Awards

Gendai Shi Techo Prize
1978
Work: Sōmoku no Sora (Sky of Plants)
Organization: Gendai Shi Techo (Contemporary Poetry Magazine)
Result: 受賞
Noma Literary New Face Prize
1999
Work: La Niña
Organization: Noma Literary Awards Committee
Result: 受賞
Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award (Nippon Broadcasting Prize)
2002
Work: Billy Joe's Earth (translation)
Organization: Sankei Shimbun / Nippon Broadcasting System
Result: 受賞
Takami Jun Prize
2006
Work: Kawara Arakusa
Organization: Takami Jun Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Hagiwara Sakutaro Prize
2007
Work: Togenuki: Shin-Sugamo Jizo Engi
Organization: Hagiwara Sakutaro Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Murasaki Shikibu Literary Award
2008
Work: Togenuki: Shin-Sugamo Jizo Engi
Organization: Murasaki Shikibu Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Waseda University Tsubouchi Shōyō Prize
2015
Organization: Waseda University
Result: 受賞
Taneda Santoka Prize
2019
Organization: Taneda Santoka Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award (Art/Illustration Prize)
2020
Work: Nacchan's Summer
Category: 美術賞
Organization: Sankei Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Cikada Prize
2020
Organization: Cikada Prize (Sweden)
Result: 受賞
Kumamoto Nichinichi Literary Prize
2021
Work: Michi-yuki ya
Organization: Kumamoto Nichinichi (Kumamoto Literary Prize)
Result: 受賞
Komei Art Award
2021
Work: Michi-yuki ya
Organization: Komei Art Award Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Sōmoku no Sora (Sky of Plants)

1978 Poetry

Her debut poetry collection, containing poems that explore the body, everyday life, and femininity.

bodyeveryday lifefemininity

La Niña

1999 Novel

A novel published in 1999 noted for its stylistic experimentation and focus on family and women's issues.

familywomenmemory

Kawara Arakusa

2005 Poetry

A return to poetry, this collection addresses nature, the body, and perspectives on life and death.

naturebodylife and death

Togenuki: Shin-Sugamo Jizo Engi

2007 Fiction / Prose

A prose work that draws on popular faith and the legend of the Jizo of Shin-Sugamo; one of her acclaimed major works.

faithlocal culturememory

Record of Menopause

2013 Essay

An essay collection reflecting on the body and aging, delving into the experiences of women in middle age and beyond.

female bodyagingself-observation

Nacchan's Summer

2003 Children's picture book

A picture book illustrated by Ken Katayama, portraying summer from a child's perspective; noted for its artwork.

childrenseason (summer)family

Bibliography

  • Sōmoku no Sora (Sky of Plants)
  • Hime (Princess)
  • Hiromi Ito Poetry Collection
  • Oume
  • The Emotion Line Grew
  • Territory Theory II
  • Good Breasts, Bad Breasts
  • Tummy, Cheeks, Buttocks
  • A Housewife's Repayment
  • Family Art
  • I Am Anju Himeko: Poetry by Hiromi Ito
  • Parents Matter More Than Children
  • No Place to Belong!
  • Ah, There It Was
  • La Niña
  • Ito Fukigen Workshop
  • Matatabi
  • All Things OK
  • Close Your Little Eyes
  • Nacchan's Summer
  • Tales of Japanese Supernatural Stories
  • Kawara Arakusa
  • The Green Aunt
  • Coyote Song
  • Togenuki: Shin-Sugamo Jizo Engi
  • A Woman's Despair
  • Continued: Hiromi Ito Poetry Collection
  • Haltingly Reading the Tannisho Aloud
  • Record of Menopause
  • Dog's Heart
  • My Father's Life
  • Kodama Kusare
  • The Woman of Shoro
  • Someday I'll Die, Until Then I Live
  • Ito Fukigen Workshop: Surviving Adolescence
  • Stray Dog Puppy Tito

Translations by Author

  • Mother Is... (translation)
  • Fables of Jean de La Fontaine (translation)
  • Agisa Who Went to the Moon (translation)
  • Modern Translations of Higuchi Ichiyo (translation)
  • Oh, the Places You'll Go (Dr. Seuss translation)
  • The Cat in the Hat (translation)
  • Billy Joe's Earth (translation of Karen Hesse)
  • The Secret Gardenish (translation)
  • Rifka's Journey (co-translation)
  • New Translations of Setsubun/Legendary Tales (co-translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
embodied language and focus on the bodyessayistic style blending everyday life and personal experienceexperimental writing that crosses poetry and prose boundaries
Recurring Motifs
the body (breasts, abdomen, etc.)family and motherhoodlocal places (Kumamoto, Sugamo, etc.)religious and folk-belief elements

Legacy

Since her debut in 1978, she has established a distinctive poetic voice centered on the body and women's experience. Active across poetry, fiction, children's literature, and translation, she has received numerous national and international literary awards.

Academic Societies

  • Shin Nihon Bungakkai (New Japan Literary Association)
  • Kumamoto Literary Corps

In Popular Culture

  • Appeared on NHK E-Tele 'Kokoro no Jidai' episode 'Speaking Sutra in My Own Words — Poet Hiromi Ito' (2021)

Trivia

  • Debuted in 1978 with the poetry collection 'Sōmoku no Sora' and won the 16th Gendai Shi Techo Prize.
  • From 1984 she was based in Kumamoto, and from 1997 split time between Kumamoto and California.
  • Former spouse: Nishinari Hitoshi (co-author on some works).
  • Founded the 'Kumamoto Literary Corps' in 2008.