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Takahashi Takako

たかはし たかこ

Takahashi Takako

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1932-03-02 （Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan）
Died
2013-07-12 （Chigasaki, Kanagawa, Japan） age 81
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Religion
Catholicism (Roman Catholic) Baptized in 1975
Residence History
Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan (birthplace) → Fuse (Yoshimatsu/Tsuzaki), formerly Fuse City — now Higashiōsaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan → Suita (Tarumi), Osaka Prefecture, Japan → Nikaidō, Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan → Paris, France (resided as a contemplative/in recluse) → Chigasaki, Kanagawa, Japan (later life and place of death)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Translator, Essayist, Religious sister (former)
Active Years
1971-2013
Influenced By
Kazumi Takahashi, Shūsaku Endō

Education

Faculty of Letters, Kyoto University
Faculty of Letters / French Literature
Degree: 学士（文学）
Period: 1950-1954
Year of Graduation: 1954
Country: Japan
Met Kazumi Takahashi while studying; married shortly after graduation
Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University
Graduate School of Letters / Graduate Program in French Literature
Degree: 修士（文学）
Period: 1954-1958
Year of Graduation: 1958
Country: Japan
Received master's degree

Awards

Tamura Toshiko Prize
1973
Work: To the Ends of the Sky
Organization: Tamura Toshiko Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Izumi Kyōka Literary Prize
1976
Work: The Tempter
Organization: Izumi Kyōka Literary Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Women's Literature Prize
1977
Work: Lonely Woman
Organization: Women's Literature Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Kawabata Yasunari Literature Prize
1985
Organization: Kawabata Yasunari Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Literary Prize
1986
Work: Child of Anger
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Art Award
2004
Work: Beautiful Person
Organization: Mainichi Shimbun
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Distant Sound of Water

1971 Novel

Debut work, a collection of short stories/novellas published in 1971.

lonelinessfemale psychologymemory

To the Ends of the Sky

1973 Novel

A novel exploring deep layers of love and hatred; awarded the Tamura Toshiko Prize.

love and hatredpsychological portrayalhuman relationships

The Tempter

1976 Novel

A novel centered on the suicide by a female university student at Mount Mihara; explores themes of love and despair. Winner of the Izumi Kyōka Literary Prize.

suicidelove and hatredfemale loneliness
Adaptations
  • [Radio drama] The Tempter (adaptation by Zenko Itaya) (2017)

Lonely Woman

1977 Novel

A work that quietly portrays women's loneliness and interior life. Winner of the Women's Literature Prize.

lonelinesswomeninner life
Translations
  • Lonely Woman — English translation by Maryellen Toman Mori, Columbia University Press, 2004

Child of Anger

1985 Novel

A novel depicting intense emotions and family shadows. Winner of the Yomiuri Literary Prize.

angerfamilypsychology

Beautiful Person

2003 Novel

One of her notable later works; recipient of the Mainichi Art Award.

agingbeautymemory

Bibliography

  • The Distant Sound of Water (1971)
  • Double Faces (1972)
  • Castle of Bones (1972)
  • To the Ends of the Sky (1973)
  • Symbiotic Space (1973)
  • The Lost Painting (1974)
  • Decaying Landscape (1974)
  • A Day of Splendor (1975)
  • The Dog of the Soul (1975)
  • The Tempter (1976)
  • Memories of Kazumi Takahashi (1977)
  • Lonely Woman (1977)
  • Lake of Heaven (1977)
  • Child of Anger (1985)
  • Beautiful Person (2003)
  • Final Days (posthumous, 2013)

Adaptations

  • The Tempter — radio drama adaptation (adapted by Zenko Itaya, 2017)

Translations by Author

Translations of Works

  • Lonely Woman — English translation by Maryellen Toman Mori, Columbia University Press, 2004

Style & Themes

Literary Style
quiet and detailed psychological depictioncontemplative and religious narrationa style focusing on women's inner lives
Recurring Motifs
lonelinesslove and hatredreligious salvationmemory and loss

Health

  • heart failure
    2013
    Died of heart failure in 2013

Legacy

Takahashi Takako was known for probing depictions of deep, enigmatic human psychology beyond love and hatred, leaving an important mark on postwar Japanese women's literature. In later years she experienced contemplative Catholic life and produced works with religious themes. Her copyrights were bequeathed to The Museum of Modern Japanese Literature.

Museums

  • The Museum of Modern Japanese Literature

Archives

  • The Museum of Modern Japanese Literature (recipient of copyrights and archives)

In Popular Culture

  • Works such as The Tempter were adapted as a radio drama (2017) and have been reissued and reappraised in media.

Quotes

  • He (Kazumi) was, at home, 'a madman with autism'.
    Source: Memories of Kazumi Takahashi (by Takahashi Takako) (1977)

Trivia

  • Not the same person as pianist Takako Takahashi (Takahashi Takako, pianist).
  • Converted to Catholicism in 1975; lived a contemplative religious life in Paris in the 1980s and later returned to secular life in Japan.
  • Her husband was the writer Kazumi Takahashi; the couple's copyrights were donated to The Museum of Modern Japanese Literature.