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Yayoi Tanaka

たなか やよい

Tanaka Yayoi

Aliases: 高市弥生
Pen Names: Yayoi Tanaka（Name used professionally (pen name)）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1972-03-04 （Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan）
Died
2016-09-24 （Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan (home)） age 44
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Literary critic
Active Years
2006-2016

Education

Tokyo University of the Arts
Faculty of Fine Arts
Country: Japan
Graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts

Awards

Gunzo New Writers' Award
2006
Work: Kairi suru watashi — Essay on Fuminori Nakamura
Category: 評論部門
Organization: Gunzo (literary magazine)
Result: 優秀作

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Thrilling Women

2012 Literary criticism

A collection of criticism focusing on six female writers — Maki Kashimada, Yukiko Motoya, Risa Wataya, Hitomi Kanehara, Rio Shimamoto, and Yuka Shibasaki. Analyzes each author's style and themes and develops discussion on contemporary women writers.

women writerscontemporary Japanese literaturegender

Bibliography

  • Thrilling Women (Kodansha, 2012)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
clear, critical prosefocus on women's literaturelinking texts to social context
Recurring Motifs
representation of womenauthor-focused studiesrelation to contemporary society

Health

  • liver cancer
    2016年
    After battling liver cancer, she died at home in September 2016.

Legacy

Known in contemporary Japanese literary criticism for her essays on women writers. Contributed to discussions of contemporary literature through magazine columns and monthly reviews.

Trivia

  • Birth name was Takaichi Yayoi (高市弥生).
  • In 2006 selected as an outstanding work in the criticism category of the 49th Gunzo New Writers' Award for the essay 'Kairi suru watashi' (on Fuminori Nakamura).
  • Graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts.
  • Died on September 24, 2016 at age 44 from liver cancer at her home in Kawasaki.