Oya Soichi Nonfiction Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 3 (1972) award
Yoko Kirishima
きりしま ようこ
Kirishima Yoko
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1937-07-06 （Tokyo）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Tokyo (birth) → Hayama, Kanagawa (grew up) → Los Angeles / USA (residence/travel) → East Hampton (USA, temporary residence) → Vancouver (secondary residence) → Naka-Meguro (home; ran private school 'Shinra-juku')
Career
- Occupations
- essayist, non-fiction writer, translator, columnist
- Active Years
- 1957-2016
- Influenced By
- Experience from overseas reporting and residence in the United States, Observation of counterculture and social customs
- Influenced
- Young women seeking independence since the 1970s, Writers and editors in women's magazines and lifestyle discourse
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seisen Jogakuin (Seisen Girls' School) | — | — | — | — | Japan |
| Tokyo Metropolitan Komaba High School | — | — | — | — | Japan |
Seisen Jogakuin (Seisen Girls' School)
Country:
Japan
Tokyo Metropolitan Komaba High School
Country:
Japan
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Oya Soichi Nonfiction Prize | Lonely Americans | — | — | winner |
Oya Soichi Nonfiction Prize
1971
Work:
Lonely Americans
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Nagisa to Mio to Kaji
1970 autobiographical essayAn autobiographical essay recounting candid experiences as a single mother.
motherhoodindependencewandering
Lonely Americans
1971 non-fiction / reportageBased on experiences in the United States, a critical portrait of American society including hippies and Black Power; winner of the Oya Soichi Nonfiction Prize.
American culturecounterculturesocial observation
Smart Women Cook Well
1976 essay / lifestyleAn essay on women's lives and food that became a bestseller; includes lifestyle suggestions.
women's lifefood culturematurity
Bibliography
- Nagisa to Mio to Kaji (1970)
- Lonely Americans (1971)
- Smart Women Cook Well (1976)
- Mother Goose and the Three Little Pigs (1978)
- Sailing into the Invisible Sea (1994)
- Memories of Pegasus (co-authored, 2022)
Translations by Author
- Women Cook Their Lives with Dignity (translation, 1984)
- Deep Studies of Affection (translation, 1986)
- The Motherhood Era (co-translation, 1987)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- conversational essayistic stylecandid, self-revealing narration
- Recurring Motifs
- motherhood and childrentravel and wanderingwomen's independencerinjuki (autumn/mature period of life)
Health
-
Alzheimer's disease2014年頃からInterrupted a serial essay in 2016 due to worsening cognitive symptoms. Subsequent constraints reduced writing activity.
Legacy
An author who embodied a free and unconventional way of life since the 1970s, influencing discussions on women's lifestyles and independence. She reached a wide readership through essays and nonfiction; in later years her work was continued by family amid her publicized dementia.
In Popular Culture
- Known as an iconic single-mother figure for readers of the magazine Croissant.
- Symbolic of the 1970s buzzphrase 'tonderu onna' (a free-spirited woman).
Trivia
- Started working as a reporter for Bungeishunju at age 20.
- Gave birth to her first daughter as an unwed mother in 1970 and wrote about the experience.
- In a 1994 book she wrote about spirituality, including psychic phenomena and faith healing.