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Tomiko Miyao

みやお とみこ

Miyao Tomiko

Aliases: 前田とみ子
Pen Names: Tomiko Maeda（Pen name used early in her career (Maeda Tomiko)）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1926-04-13 （Kōchi City, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan）
Died
2014-12-30 （Komae, Tokyo, Japan） age 88
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Religion
Buddhism
Residence History
Kōchi City (birthplace) → Manchuria (as part of the Manchuria settlers, 1944–1946) → Kobe (research and residence, 1960s) → Tokyo (moved to Tokyo from 1966) → Komae, Tokyo (later life)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Scriptwriter, Essayist
Active Years
1948-2014

Education

Takasaka Higher Girls' School
Period: 〜1943
Year of Graduation: 1943
Country: Japan
Graduated from an old-system higher girls' school (Takasaka Higher Girls' School).

Awards

Women's Newcomer Award
1962
Work: Ren
Organization: Fujin Koron
Result: 受賞
Dazai Osamu Prize
1973
Work: Kai
Organization: Chikuma Shobo
Result: 受賞
Women's Literary Award
1977
Work: Kantsubaki
Organization: Women's Literary Award Committee
Result: 受賞
Naoki Prize
1979
Work: Ichigen no Koto
Organization: Naoki Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize
1982
Work: Jo no Mai
Organization: Yoshikawa Eiji Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Bungei Shunju Readers' Award
1989
Work: Matsukaze no Ie
Organization: Bungei Shunju
Result: 受賞
Order of the Purple Ribbon
1989
Organization: Japanese Government
Result: 受章
Elan d'Or Awards (Special Prize)
1995
Work: Kura
Organization: Elan d'Or Awards Committee
Result: 受賞
Japan Sake Grand Prize
1996
Organization: Japan Sake Grand Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Order of the Precious Crown, Fourth Class
1998
Organization: Japanese Government
Result: 受章
Kikuchi Kan Prize
2008
Organization: Kikuchi Kan Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Person of Cultural Merit
2009
Organization: Japanese Government
Result: 顕彰
Shinran Award
2010
Work: Nishiki
Organization: Shinran Award Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Kai

1972 Autobiographical novel

An autobiographical long novel drawing on her upbringing in Kōchi's pleasure quarter and geisha world, portraying a woman's resilience amid turbulent times.

Women's independenceFamily and separationLocal community
Adaptations
  • [Film] Kai (1985)
Translations
  • Translated into Chinese (Taiwan)

Ichigen no Koto

1978 Contemporary novel / Arts-themed fiction

A delicate portrayal of human relationships within the world of performing arts; notable for meticulous research-based characterization.

Performing artsWomen's life choicesHonor and sacrifice
Adaptations
  • [TV drama] Ichigen no Koto (2000)
Translations
  • Ichigen no Koto (Taiwanese translation)

The Life of Hanako Kiryūin

1980 Historical novel / Biographical fiction

Based on a real woman, this long novel depicts a tragic and dramatic life; one of her representative works adapted for film and TV.

Women's fateHonor and societyHistory and the individual
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Life of Hanako Kiryūin (1982)
  • [TV drama] The Life of Hanako Kiryūin (TV) (1984)
Translations
  • The Life of Hanako Kiryūin (Chinese translation)

Jo no Mai

1982 Historical novel / Arts-themed fiction

Using traditional performing arts as a theme, it portrays human relationships and women's lives amid historical change; acclaimed and adapted to screen.

Traditional performing artsWomen's livesEra and the individual
Adaptations
  • [Film] Jo no Mai (1984)
  • [TV drama (special)] Jo no Mai - New Year Drama Special (1984)

Tenshōin Atsuhime

1984 Historical novel

A historical novel about Tenshōin Atsuhime of the late Edo period; praised for its painstaking research and characterization.

Late Edo periodWomen in historyPolitics and the individual
Adaptations
  • [TV (NHK Taiga drama)] Atsuhime (2008)
Translations
  • Tenshōin Atsuhime (translated into Chinese/Taiwan and others)

Kura

1993 Historical novel / Family saga

A long novel about family and inheritance; adapted into a film in 1995 and considered one of her representative works.

FamilyProperty and successionLocal community
Adaptations
  • [Film] Kura (1995)

Bibliography

  • Kai
  • Yōkirō
  • Kantsubaki
  • Iwagō Oboegaki
  • Ichigen no Koto
  • Kagee
  • The Life of Hanako Kiryūin
  • At My Mother's Side
  • Kyara no Kaori
  • A Woman's Footsteps
  • Pilgrimage to Beautiful Things
  • The Thread of Weaving
  • Jo no Mai
  • Another Encounter
  • When the Yambo Fruit Ripens
  • Kimono of Flowers
  • Memoirs of Hands and Stars
  • Tenshōin Atsuhime
  • A Grown-up's Taste
  • Flowers Blooming While Bowed to the Ground
  • Shuka
  • Even Little Flowers Have Butterflies (Dialogues)
  • A Woman's Calendar
  • Shuntō
  • My Four-Season Calendar
  • Songs of Living (co-authored)
  • Matsukaze no Ie
  • Kinone - The Sound of Clappers
  • People of Kikuttei Yaoyoshi
  • Collected Works of Tomiko Miyao (15 vols.)
  • Kura
  • The Tears of Tōfukumon-in Kazuko
  • Kikuribachi
  • Cleopatra
  • Fragments of Memory
  • Flowers at the Edge of the World
  • Records of the Outskirts
  • Kimono Stories
  • Niyodogawa
  • Miyao's Heike Monogatari (4 vols.)
  • Living Through the Returning Seasons
  • Women of the Tale of the Heike
  • Yoshitsune
  • The Marshlands
  • Atsuhime's Life
  • Nishiki
  • The Strength to Live

Adaptations

  • Film 'The Life of Hanako Kiryūin' (1982)
  • Film 'Yōkirō' (1983)
  • Film 'Jo no Mai' (1984)
  • Film 'Kai' (1985)
  • Film 'Yogisha' (1987)
  • Film 'Kantsubaki' (1992)
  • Film 'Kura' (1995)
  • TV drama 'Kai' (1975, 1999)
  • NHK Taiga drama 'Atsuhime' (2008, based on her novel)
  • NHK Taiga drama 'Yoshitsune' (2005, based on her Heike/Yoshitsune works)

Translations of Works

  • Ichigen no Koto (Taiwanese translation, 2011)
  • Tenshōin Atsuhime (Chinese/Taiwanese translations, 2010–2011)
  • Miyao's Heike Monogatari (Taiwanese translation, 2007)
  • Kai (Chinese translations available)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Meticulous structureRealistic depictions based on extensive researchDelicate portrayal of women's psychology
Recurring Motifs
Women's life and independenceThe world of performing arts and professionsIndividuals buffeted by historyFamily and generational inheritance

Health

  • Cardioneurosis (neurocirculatory asthenia)
    青年期〜生涯を通じて持病
    Limited ability to fly (fear/medical restriction), which affected travel for research and promotion; first overseas trip was by ship.
  • Pulmonary tuberculosis
    1947（入院・療養）
    Required long-term treatment; during convalescence she began keeping a diary, which led to her early fiction writing.

Legacy

Known for autobiographical works rooted in her Kōchi background and research-based historical novels. Many works were adapted for film and television; she is highly regarded in postwar women's literature and historical fiction. Recipient of numerous literary prizes and national honors.

Museums

  • Kōchi Prefectural Literary Museum (holds Miyao materials) Kōchi City, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan
  • Tomiko Miyao Literature Memorial Museum Date, Hokkaido, Japan (memorial museum)

Archives

  • Collections at Kōchi Prefectural Literary Museum
  • National Diet Library of Japan (authority records and catalogs)
  • NHK Archives (materials related to TV adaptations)

In Popular Culture

  • Her works served as original material or sources for NHK Taiga dramas such as 'Yoshitsune' (2005) and 'Atsuhime' (2008).
  • Numerous film and television adaptations brought her work to a broad popular audience.

Quotes

  • She is a writer who conducts meticulous research and finely depicts women buffeted by history.
    Source: Overview from works and biographies (Wikipedia summary) (2004)

Trivia

  • Debut work: short story 'Murashibai' (1948)
  • She went to Manchuria as part of the Manchuria settlers; the experience inspired works such as 'Shuka'.
  • Because of cardioneurosis she could not fly; her first overseas trip was by ship aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 (1984).
  • Her posthumous Buddhist name was 舜文院登覚妙叡大姉 (shunbun-in ...)