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Miri Yu

ゆう みり

Yu Miri

Aliases: 유미리
Pen Names: Akutagawa Ryu（Used as a pseudonymous byline for the serial "On Air" as presented by the magazine editorial staff）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1968-06-22 （Tsuchiura, Ibaraki, Japan）
Nationality
South Korea
Languages
Japanese
Religion
Catholicism Baptized in 2020 （Baptismal Name: Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein)）
Residence History
Yokohama (childhood and upbringing) → Kamakura (resident for a period) → Odaka, Minamisoma, Fukushima (resident since 2015)

Career

Occupations
Playwright, Novelist, Essayist, Lyricist, Editor (former)
Active Years
1988-
Affiliations
Seishun Gogatsu-to (theatre troupe; founder/leader), Full House (bookstore/bookcafe owner)
Influenced By
Yutaka Higashi (Tokyo Kid Brothers; mentor)

Education

Yokohama Kyoritsu Gakuen High School
Period: 1983-1984
Country: Japan
Left school after one year (did not complete high school)

Awards

Kishida Kunio Drama Award
1993
Work: Fish Festival
Organization: Kishida Kunio Drama Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Izumi Kyoka Literary Award
1996
Work: Full House
Organization: Izumi Kyoka Literary Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Noma Literary New Face Award
1996
Work: Full House
Organization: Noma Literary New Face Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Akutagawa Prize
1997
Work: Family Cinema
Organization: Akutagawa Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Kiyama Johei Literary Award
1999
Work: Gold Rush
Organization: Kiyama Johei Literary Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Galaxy Award (Encouragement Prize)
1999
Work: Miri Yu's All Night Nippon (radio)
Organization: Galaxy Award Committee
Result: 受賞
National Book Award (Translated Literature)
2020
Work: Tokyo Ueno Station (English translation, tr. Morgan Giles)
Category: 翻訳/Translation
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: Winner
Berkeley Japan Prize
2022
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Full House

1996 Novel / Fiction

A work exploring the dark side of family life and social isolation; one of her representative books published in 1996.

familylonelinesssocial exclusion

Family Cinema

1997 Novel / Short fiction

A work focused on family secrets and revelations; winner of the Akutagawa Prize.

familysecretsviolence
Adaptations
  • [Film] Family Cinema (film adaptation) / パク・チョルス (Park Chul-soo)

Gold Rush

1998 Novel

A provocative novel that engaged with contemporary social issues, including youth violence and related topics.

juvenile crimeviolencesocial critique

Life (first in the 'Life' tetralogy)

2000 Autobiographical novel / literary nonfiction

A candid autobiographical work drawing on personal and family history; later continued in the tetralogy 'Sei / Tamashii / Koe'.

familyabuserecoverymotherhood
Adaptations
  • [Film] Life (film adaptation) / 篠原哲雄

Tokyo Ueno Station

2014 Novel

A novel that delicately portrays postwar history, memory, and social marginalization through the viewpoint of an elderly homeless man.

postwar historyhomelessnessmemorymarginalization
Translations
  • Tokyo Ueno Station — English translation by Morgan Giles (Tilted Axis Press 2019; Riverhead Books 2020)
  • Korean edition (2015)
  • French edition (Actes Sud, 2015)
  • Polish edition (2020)

Fish Swimming in Stone

1994 Novel (debut short novel)

A debut novel based on a real person that led to litigation over privacy and was later subject to publication restrictions.

individual vs. fictionalizationethicsprivacy

To a Friend in the Water (play)

1988 Play / Drama

Her debut as a playwright; premiered in 1988 with the theatre unit Seishun Gogatsu-to.

youththeatrical expression

Bibliography

  • Full House (1996)
  • Family Cinema (1997)
  • Gold Rush (1998)
  • Life (2000)
  • Tokyo Ueno Station (2014)

Adaptations

  • Family Cinema (film)
  • Life (film)
  • After Rain and Dreams (TV drama)
  • Rouge (NHK drama adaptation)

Translations of Works

  • JR Ueno Station (Tokyo Ueno Station) — English translation by Morgan Giles
  • Tokyo Ueno Station — translated into French, Korean, Polish and other languages

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Poetic, lyrical proseDirect and accusatory social depictionContemporary narration with dramatic structures
Recurring Motifs
darkness of familydiscrimination / Zainichi Korean perspectivememory and postwar historyviolence and healinglocality and reconstruction

Legacy

As a Zainichi Korean writer she won major Japanese literary awards and attracted attention domestically and internationally for her candid treatment of social issues. Her community work in Minamisoma — including opening a bookstore — has also had notable local impact.

Archives

  • National Diet Library (access restrictions to passages of 'Ishi ni Oyogu Sakana'/'Fish Swimming in Stone')

In Popular Culture

  • The English translation of 'Tokyo Ueno Station' was listed in TIME's 100 best books of 2020
  • Opened the bookstore 'Full House' in Odaka, Minamisoma, contributing to local revitalization

Quotes

  • Sharpened, refined prose
    Source: Comment by Ryotaro Shiba

Trivia

  • Her legal name is Miri Yu; it is not a pen name according to the author
  • Moved from Kamakura to Minamisoma in 2015 and became active in local community work
  • Baptised into the Catholic Church in 2020; baptismal name Teresa Benedicta (Edith Stein)
  • Opened the bookstore 'Full House' in 2018 by renovating her home