Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Jakucho Setouchi

せとうち じゃくちょう

Setouchi Jakucho

Pen Names: Mitani Harumi（Pen name used during debut period）, Sachi Mitani（Pen name for prize-winning in 'Himawari' magazine）, Harumi Setouchi（Name used after marriage and before ordination）, Harumi（Abbreviated form）, Purple（Pen name for mobile novel submissions）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1922-05-15 （Heiriya-cho, Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan）
Died
2021-11-09 （Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan） age 99
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Religion
Tendai Buddhism
Residence History
Tokushima City → Tokyo → Kyoto City

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Buddhist Nun
Active Years
1955-2021

Education

Tokyo Woman's Christian University
Department of Japanese Language / Department of Japanese Language
Period: ～1943年
Year of Graduation: 1943
Country: Japan

Awards

Shincho Literary Magazine Award
1956
Work: Joshi Daisei – Kyoku Airi
Organization: Shinchosha
Result: 受賞
Tamura Toshiko Award
1961
Work: Tamura Toshiko
Organization: Bungeishunju
Result: 受賞
Women's Literature Award
1963
Work: Summer's End
Organization: Bungeishunju
Result: 受賞
Tanizaki Junichiro Prize
1992
Work: Ask the Flower
Organization: Chuokoron-Shinsha
Result: 受賞
Art Encouragement Prize by the Minister of Education
1996
Work: Shiro michi
Organization: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Result: 受賞
Noma Literary Prize
2001
Work: Place
Organization: Noma Cultural Foundation
Result: 受賞
Person of Cultural Merit
1997
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受選
Order of Culture
2006
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
Izumi Kyoka Prize for Literature
2011
Work: Scenery
Organization: Shinchosha
Result: 受賞
Asahi Prize
2018
Organization: Asahi Shimbun Company
Result: 受賞
Katsura Nobuko Prize
2019
Organization: Japan Literature Promotion Organization
Result: 受賞
Junior Third Rank Posthumous Honor
2021
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 叙位

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Flower Core

1958 Novel

Summer's End

1962 Novel

Kanoko Ryoran

1962 Novel

Beauty Lies in Disorder

1965 Novel

Ask the Flower

1992 Novel

Modern Japanese Translation of The Tale of Genji

1996 Translation

Place

2001 Novel

Adaptations

  • Miren
  • A Woman's Chronicle
  • Summer's End
  • Jakucho Setouchi: 99 Years of Living and Thinking

Translations by Author

  • Modern Translation of Towazugatari
  • Modern Japanese Translation of The Tale of Genji

Health

  • Age-related macular degeneration
    2007年8月
    Lost most vision in her right eye
  • Vertebral compression fracture
    2010年
    Bedridden for six months
  • Gallbladder cancer
    2014年
    Underwent surgery and recovered
  • Heart failure
    2021年11月9日
    Cause of death

Legacy

A representative figure in Japanese literature and an influential Buddhist nun.

Museums

  • Tokushima Prefectural Literature and Calligraphy Museum Tokushima City Opened in 2002
  • Uji City Tale of Genji Museum Uji City

Quotes

  • There is neither God nor Buddha anymore
    Source: Tetsuko's Room (2015)

Trivia

  • Lived through four eras: Taisho, Showa, Heisei, and Reiwa
  • Died at age 99