Japanese Literary Awards

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Tazu Sasaki

ささき たづ

Sasaki Tazu

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1932-06-28 （Tokyo, Japan）
Died
1998-04-03 age 65
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese, English
Residence History
Tokyo, Japan (birthplace) → Yokohama, Japan (training school) → Seijo, Tokyo, Japan (residence) → London, United Kingdom (training) → Kent, England, United Kingdom → Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, United Kingdom

Career

Occupations
Children's literature author
Active Years
1956-1998
Influenced By
Kodō Nomura, Saneatsu Mushanokōji, Jōji Tsubota

Education

Tokyo Metropolitan Komaba High School
Period: 在学中に中退（1950年前後）
Country: Japan
Left school after losing sight
Yokohama Training School for the Blind
Period: 1953–1954（目の不自由な子どものための施設での訓練）
Year of Graduation: 1954
Country: Japan
Learned braille, typing and English after losing sight

Awards

Minister of Health and Welfare Children's Welfare Culture Award
1959
Work: The Hill of the White Hat
Organization: Ministry of Health and Welfare (Japan)
Result: 受賞
Japan Essayists' Club Award
1965
Work: Roberta — Come, Let's Walk
Organization: Japan Essayists' Club
Result: 受賞
Noma Children's Literature Recommended Work Prize
1969
Work: I Wrote a Diary
Organization: Noma Children's Literature Award Committee
Result: 受賞（推奨作品賞）
Andersen Award Special Merit (International Year of the Child recognition)
1979
Work: Roberta — Come, Let's Walk
Organization: International Year of the Child / Andersen Award committee
Result: 受賞（特別優良作品賞）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Hill of the White Hat

1958 Children's short stories

A self-published collection of children's tales featuring warm short stories told from children's perspectives.

Growing upFriendshipNature

Roberta — Come, Let's Walk

1964 Essay / Children's literature-related

An essay recounting the author's encounter and life with her guide dog Roberta, describing her blindness and daily life with the dog.

IndependenceGuide dogHope

I Wrote a Diary

1969 Children's literature (diary form)

Written in the form of a diary by the guide dog Roberta; based on experiences including study abroad.

Animal perspectiveCross-cultural experiencesCooperation

Bibliography

  • The Hill of the White Hat
  • The Burning Island
  • The Boy and the Young Raccoon
  • Roberta — Come, Let's Walk
  • I Wrote a Diary
  • Next Year Will Be a Good Year
  • Mochiyaku Smoke and the Jizo
  • The Story of the Little White Rabbit Mashiro
  • The Little Rascal's God
  • The Good-Eared Pony
  • The Golden Thread and the Rainbow
  • Children's Life Songs
  • Kiyo-chan's Magic
  • Spring Errand
  • The Golden Thread: Japanese Stories for Children (translated)

Translations of Works

  • The Golden Thread: Japanese Stories for Children (translated by Fanny Hagin Mayer, Charles E. Tuttle, 1968)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Simple, warm narrative toneNarration from a child's perspectiveEmotionally rich short stories
Recurring Motifs
Bond between guide dog and humanGrowth and independenceConnection with nature

Health

  • Blindness (glaucoma and related conditions)
    1950–1998（1950年に片目を失明、1953年に両目を失明）
    Caused her to leave high school and change life course; she learned braille, typing and English and turned to writing.

Legacy

Despite visual impairment, she produced many works in children's literature and became widely known for writings about life with a guide dog. She was recognized within the children's literature community and received awards domestically and internationally.

Academic Societies

  • Mentioned in contexts of the Japanese Association of Children's Literature

Archives

  • Holdings and bibliographic records at the National Diet Library

Trivia

  • Lost sight in one eye at 18 and later became completely blind.
  • Her self-published debut 'The Hill of the White Hat' attracted attention and won the Minister of Health and Welfare Children's Welfare Culture Award.
  • Her book about her guide dog Roberta, 'Roberta — Come, Let's Walk', won the Japan Essayists' Club Award.