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Mitsuko Takahashi

たかはし みつこ

Takahashi Mitsuko

Pen Names: Yuki Kamijo（Pen name used primarily for shōjo (girls') novels）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1928-08-15 （Kawanoe Town, Uma District, Ehime Prefecture (now Shikokuchuo City), Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Musashino, Tokyo, Japan

Career

Occupations
novelist, scriptwriter
Active Years
1965-
Affiliations
Japan Writers' Association, Gunjō (literary circle)
Memberships
Japan Writers' Association
Nominations
Akutagawa Prize nominee (1965 'Season of the Butterfly'), Akutagawa Prize nominee (1972 'No Sin Shall Remain')

Education

Ehime Prefectural Kawanoe Girls' High School
Country: Japan

Awards

Bungakukai Newcomer Award
1965
Work: Season of the Butterfly
Organization: Bungakukai (literary magazine)
Result: 受賞
Ushio Prize – Non-fiction Excellence Award
1993
Work: Takabatake Kasho and His Brother
Category: ノンフィクション
Organization: Ushio Prize (Ushio Publishing Co.)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Season of the Butterfly

1965 literary fiction

Debut work. A short piece that delicately depicts a woman's inner life and subtle everyday emotions.

female psychecoming-of-agenature

No Sin Shall Remain

1981 literary fiction

A novel addressing postwar memories and feelings of guilt.

memories of warsin and atonementfamily

Takabatake Kasho and His Brother

1993 non-fiction

A biographical non-fiction work exploring the artist Takabatake Kasho and his family.

biographyart historyfamily

I Am a Balloon Bomb

2018 children's literature

A work for younger readers recounting her experiences with balloon bombs and memories of war.

memories of warchildren and historypeace

Toshiko-san: Someone Like You

1966 short stories

A collection of short stories focusing on everyday life and human relationships.

daily lifefamilyhuman relationships

The Man Who Became a Hamster

1984 fiction

A humorous short/medium-length work exploring family and individual oddities.

humorfamilyidentity

Bibliography

  • Toshiko-san: Someone Like You (1966)
  • Teacher! I Won't Cry (1968)
  • Season of the Butterfly (1965)
  • No Sin Shall Remain (1981)
  • The Man Who Became a Hamster (1984)
  • Mother: The Land of Peace (1988)
  • These Wonderful Women (1989)
  • Kampo: A Wonderful Life (1992)
  • Takabatake Kasho and His Brother (1993)
  • The 'Snow Woman' Legend: The Mysterious Writer Makiko Mori (1995)
  • The One Phrase from My Mother That Supported Me: 39 Mothers (1995)
  • A Peaceful Death (1999)
  • Season of the Butterfly (reprint 2001)
  • Sea Murmurs (2008)
  • Portrait of a Family (2016)
  • I Am a Balloon Bomb (2018)
  • The Bell of Love Rings in My Heart (as Yuki Kamijo, 1973)
  • Goodbye, River of Sorrow (as Yuki Kamijo, 1976)
  • I Saw a Beautiful Burning Flame (as Yuki Kamijo, 1976)
  • The Pearl of My Heart (as Yuki Kamijo, 1977)
  • Love, Just the Two of Us (as Yuki Kamijo, 1978)
  • Tears of the White Butterfly (as Yuki Kamijo, 1979)
  • Distant Voices, Distant Seas (as Yuki Kamijo, 1980)
  • Lovers' Dawn (as Yuki Kamijo, 1980)
  • Tsuwano Love (as Yuki Kamijo, 1980)
  • Harbor Lights at Dawn (as Yuki Kamijo, 1982)
  • Solo Journey of Love (as Yuki Kamijo, 1982)
  • Chasing First Love (manga adaptation, 1978)
  • Orpheus' Window (co-authored, 1983)
  • The Miracle Poem (translation by Yuki Kamijo, 1975)

Adaptations

  • Chasing First Love (manga adaptation; art by Kikukawa Chikako)
  • Orpheus' Window (manga/novelization; co-authored)

Translations by Author

  • 'The Miracle Poem' (original by Giuseppe Scote?; translated by Yuki Kamijo; Shueisha, 1975)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
delicate, introspective proselyrical descriptions
Recurring Motifs
butterfliesmother-child relationshipsmemories of war

Legacy

Since her debut with 'Season of the Butterfly' (1965), Mitsuko Takahashi has written across literary fiction, shōjo novels and non-fiction. She is known for works dealing with memories of war and women's inner lives, and has been active as a member of the Japan Writers' Association.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Writers' Association

Archives

  • Holdings at the National Diet Library of Japan
  • Catalog records via VIAF / WorldCat

Trivia

  • As a high school student she was mobilized for labor and took part in manufacturing balloon bombs.
  • Under the pen name Yuki Kamijo she wrote shōjo novels for publishers such as Shueisha's Cobalt Bunko in the 1970s–80s.
  • She debuted with 'Season of the Butterfly' and won the Bungakukai Newcomer Award in 1965.