Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Yuriika Suzuki

すずき ゆりいか

Suzuki Yuriika

Pen Names: Yuriika Suzuki（Pen name used for poetry and translation (legal name Masako Suzuki)）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1941-10-30 （Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Gifu City (birthplace) → Taiwan (age 3–6) → Aomori Prefecture (raised until high school)

Career

Occupations
poet, translator, picture-book author, editor
Active Years
1960-2025

Education

Meiji University
Faculty of Letters / Department of French Literature
Degree: 学士
Period: 1961-1964
Year of Graduation: 1964
Country: Japan
Studied French literature

Awards

La Mer Newcomer Prize
1984
Work: Living Shells
Organization: Gendai Shi La Mer (literary magazine)
Result: 受賞
H Prize
1986
Work: Mobile / Love
Organization: Shichosha
Result: 受賞
Shiika Bungakukan Award
1988
Work: I Hear the Sea's Violin
Organization: Poetry and Verse Museum
Result: 受賞
Contemporary Poets Prize
2021
Work: When the Wind Blows from Said
Organization: Contemporary Poets Prize Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Mobile / Love

1985 Poetry collection

A collection of experimental poems layering metaphors and fragmentary images.

lovememoryfragmentation

I Hear the Sea's Violin

1987 Poetry collection

A poetry collection that symbolically depicts the sea, wind, and shells while weaving personal memory and history.

seamemorynature

Women Carrying Buildings

1991 Poetry collection

Contains poems focusing on the city, labor, and corporeality.

citylaborbody

Collected Poems of Yuriika Suzuki

2015 Collected poems (selected)

A selected collection covering works from her early period to recent poems.

recollectionlanguagetime

When the Wind Blows from Said

2020 Poetry collection

A recent collection that includes reflections on politics and the imagination of the other.

the otherwindpolitics

Please Think of Me as a Dream

2020 Poetry collection

Contains poems that question the boundary between dream and reality.

dreamrealityself

Bibliography

  • Mobile / Love (Shichosha, 1985)
  • I Hear the Sea's Violin (Shichosha, 1987)
  • Women Carrying Buildings (Shichosha, 1991)
  • Collected Poems of Yuriika Suzuki (Gendai Shi Bunko, 2015)
  • When the Wind Blows from Said (Shoshi Kankanbo, 2020)
  • Please Think of Me as a Dream (Shoshi Kankanbo, 2020)
  • A White Flower Riding a Bicycle with Gunjō (Shoshi Kankanbo, 2020)

Translations by Author

  • Little Rabbit series (Alan Baker, translated, Sekai Bunka-sha, 1996)
  • Where Is Santa? (Jenny Tulip, translated, Sekai Bunka-sha, 1997)
  • The Snowman's Gift (Jenny Tulip, translated, Sekai Bunka-sha, 1997)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical and rich in metaphorexperimental layering of fragmentary images
Recurring Motifs
seashellswinddreamsmemory

Legacy

A poet active in the postwar Japanese poetry scene, also known for translations and picture-book work. Her metaphor-rich, experimental style has been widely recognized.

Archives

  • National Diet Library author record (NDL)
  • VIAF / international bibliographic authority

Quotes

  • Please think of me as a dream.
    Source: Poetry collection "Please Think of Me as a Dream" (2020)

Trivia

  • Legal name is Masako Suzuki.
  • Lived in Taiwan from age 3 to 6.
  • Graduated from Meiji University, Department of French Literature.
  • Editor-in-chief (responsible editor) of the poetry magazine "Something" (2005–2022).