Japanese Literary Awards

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Yae Takakura

たかくら やえ

Takakura Yae

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1937
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese, English

Career

Occupations
novelist, interpreter, translator, instructor
Active Years
1983-
Influenced By
Masao Nemoto

Education

Fukuoka Prefectural Kokura High School
Country: Japan
Tokyo Woman's Christian University
Department of English and American Literature / Department of English and American Literature
Country: Japan
ISS (now ISS Institute)
Interpreter training program
Period: 1983
Year of Graduation: 1983
Country: Japan
Completed conference interpreter training

Awards

Hayashi Fumiko Literary Prize (Honorable Mention)
2015
Work: Monokage no Ame
Organization: Hayashi Fumiko Literary Prize Committee
Result: 佳作

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Ten no Hi

2011 Novel

A novel published later in life that quietly examines family and memory.

memoryfamily

Hoshizukiyo (Starry Moonlit Night)

2013 Novel

Lyrical prose exploring human relationships and inner life; a novella/short-story style work.

human relationshipssolitude

Yuki no Asa (Snow Morning)

2015 Novel

A piece layering tranquil landscapes with characters' memories; short-story-like.

nature depictionrecollection

Akai Umi (Red Sea)

2017 Novel

A novel about characters confronting different values; themes include clashes of values and choices.

clash of valueschoices

Monokage no Ame (Rain of Shadows)

2019 Novel

A story confronting resentment and memory through letters and past events. Won an honorable mention in the Hayashi Fumiko Literary Prize.

memoryresentmentletters

Yukue (Whereabouts) — e-book

2016 e-book / Short fiction

An e-published short work focusing on whereabouts and loss.

losswhereabouts

I Remember: Childhood Memories of War That Must Be Told — e-book

2017 Essay / Memory

An essay-like work conveying childhood war experiences and memories; addresses the transmission of war memory.

war memorytransmission

Bibliography

  • Ten no Hi (Nashinokisha, Sep 2011)
  • Hoshizukiyo (Kadokawa, Aug 2013)
  • Yuki no Asa (KADOKAWA, Dec 2015)
  • Akai Umi (KADOKAWA, Dec 2017)
  • Monokage no Ame (KADOKAWA, Mar 2019)
  • Yukue (e-book, Dec 2016)
  • I Remember: Childhood Memories of War That Must Be Told (e-book, Sep 2017)
  • Monokage no Ame: Resentment Rising from Letters (e-book, Sep 2017)
  • Night's Messenger: A Tragic Romantic Legend of Inevitable Fate (e-book, Sep 2017)
  • Life Beyond Dreams: Untellable Memories of War (e-book, Dec 2017)
  • Akai Umi: What Would You Do When Confronted with Completely Different Values? (e-book, Feb 2019)
  • The Imperial Palace: The People Deep within the Palace (e-book, Feb 2019)
  • The Stone of Yasukuni (e-book, Oct 2019)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical, quiet prosefocus on memory and inner states
Recurring Motifs
war memoryfemale perspectiveletters and correspondencefate and choice

Legacy

Yae Takakura is a novelist who, after a career as an interpreter, began publishing fiction in middle and later life. She is known for works addressing war memory and interior experience, and received an honorable mention in the Hayashi Fumiko Literary Prize.

Trivia

  • Graduated from ISS (now ISS Institute) in 1983 and worked as a conference interpreter.
  • Since 2004 she took novel-writing classes at the Asahi Culture Center under Masao Nemoto.
  • In 2015 she received an honorable mention in the 1st Hayashi Fumiko Literary Prize for her submitted work 'Monokage no Ame'.
  • Her works include themes of war memory and letters, and some pieces advocate transmission of wartime memories.
  • She began publishing fiction relatively late in life and has released multiple printed and e-book titles since 2011.