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Rieko Matsuura

まつうら りえこ

Matsuura Rieko

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1958-08-07 （Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan → Marugame, Kagawa, Japan → Tokyo, Japan (moved to attend university)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Writer
Active Years
1978-
Influenced By
Marquis de Sade, Jean Genet, Kenji Nakagami
Nominations
Akutagawa Prize nominee (The Day of the Funeral) - 1978, Akutagawa Prize nominee (Dry Summer) - 1979, Mishima Yukio Prize nominee (Natural Woman) - 1988, Mishima Yukio Prize nominee (The Apprenticeship of Big Toe P) - 1993

Education

Aoyama Gakuin University
Faculty of Letters / French Literature
Degree: 学士
Country: Japan
Majored in French literature; reportedly chose the department to read Jean Genet in the original French.

Awards

Bungei-kai Newcomer Award
1978
Work: The Day of the Funeral
Organization: Bungei-kai (Bungei)
Result: winner
Women's Literary Award
1994
Work: The Apprenticeship of Big Toe P
Organization: Women's Literary Award
Result: winner
Yomiuri Literary Prize
2008
Work: Dog Body
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: winner
Izumi Kyōka Literary Prize
2017
Work: The Beloved Child
Organization: Izumi Kyōka Literary Prize
Result: winner
Noma Literary Prize
2022
Work: Hikari Essays
Organization: Noma Cultural Foundation
Result: winner
Sense of Gender Award
2007
Work: Dog Body
Organization: Sense of Gender Award
Result: declined

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Day of the Funeral

1980 Novel

A short work portraying a strange exchange between a professional mourner and a professional laugher. Written while still at university and winner of the Bungei-kai Newcomer Award.

deathritualsunusual human relationships

Sebastian

1981 Novel

An early mid-length novel with decadent and experimental elements.

decadenceidentity

Natural Woman

1987 Novel

A novel depicting lesbian life that drew attention after receiving praise from Kenji Nakagami. It addresses gender and sexuality.

gendersexualityidentity
Adaptations
  • [Film] Natural Woman / 佐々木浩久 (1994)

The Apprenticeship of Big Toe P

1993 Novel

A long novel telling the story of a woman whose right big toe becomes a penis. Provocative in its treatment of sex and the body, it won the Women's Literary Award in 1994.

body transformationsexualityfeminist critique
Translations
  • English translation: 'The Apprenticeship of Big Toe P' (trans. Michael Emmerich, 2009)

Alternate Version

2000 Novel

A mid-length novel following The Apprenticeship of Big Toe P; continues Matsuura's concerns, depicting sex and the body from different angles.

sexualitythe bodyexperimental narrative

Dog Body

2007 Novel

A novel about a woman reincarnated as a puppy, exploring love that crosses species. Published in 2007 and awarded the Yomiuri Literary Prize the following year.

reincarnationboundaries between animals and humanslove

Kika

2012 Novel

A mid/long-length work from later in her career that continues her focus on the body and desire.

desirethe bodyhuman relationships

The Beloved Child

2017 Novel

A novel depicting girls who build their own private kingdom. It won the Izumi Kyōka Literary Prize in 2017.

girlhoodfriendshipprotection and violence
Translations
  • Italian translation by Anna Speccio (title varies)

Hikari Essays

2022 Essays / Fiction (includes short pieces)

A 2022 collection comprising essays and short fiction, gathering recent pieces.

remembrancefragmentary narrationcontemporary society

Bibliography

  • The Day of the Funeral
  • Sebastian
  • Natural Woman
  • The Apprenticeship of Big Toe P
  • Alternate Version
  • Dog Body
  • Kika
  • The Beloved Child
  • Hikari Essays
  • Pocket Fetish
  • Occult Taste Test (co-authored)
  • For a Gentle Castration
  • Drowning Life Advice

Adaptations

  • Film 'Natural Woman' (1994, dir. Hirohisa Sasaki; starring Kaori Shimamura and Tamaki Ogawa)

Translations of Works

  • 'The Apprenticeship of Big Toe P' — English translation by Michael Emmerich (2009)
  • 'The Beloved Child' — Italian translation by Anna Speccio (title varies)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
transgressive and provocative narrationexplicit and sensual descriptionallegorical and sometimes fantastical elements
Recurring Motifs
sex and gendermetamorphosis of the bodyanimalization / reincarnationgirlhood and friendship

Legacy

Rieko Matsuura is regarded as a transgressive writer consistently addressing sex, the body, and gender. Her awards, translations and a film adaptation have brought attention domestically and abroad, making her an important figure in feminist and queer literary contexts.

In Popular Culture

  • Film adaptation ('Natural Woman')
  • Her interest in women's professional wrestling and fandom of Bull Nakano have been noted in popular discussions

Trivia

  • She is known to be fond of dogs.
  • She is a fan of women's pro wrestling and has mentioned Bull Nakano as a favorite.
  • She writes infrequently, with long intervals between major works (for example, about seven years between The Apprenticeship of Big Toe P and Alternate Version, and another seven years until Dog Body).
  • Dog Body was selected for the Sense of Gender Award grand prize, which she declined.