Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Setsuko Tsumura

つむら せつこ

Tsumura Setsuko

Aliases: 吉村 節子 / 北原 節子
Pen Names: Kitahara Setsuko（Maiden name / used early; changed pen name to Tsumura Setsuko in 1957.）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1928-06-05 （Sakae Nakacho (now Junka 1-chome), Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture, Japan → Tokyo, Japan

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Essayist
Active Years
1959-
Affiliations
Member of the Japan Art Academy, Advisor, Center for Local Literature, Jin-ai Women's Junior College
Memberships
Member of the Japan Art Academy
Nominations
Naoki Prize nominee: 'Kagi' (1959), Naoki Prize nominee: 'Hyochuka' and 'Genzuki' (1963), Akutagawa Prize nominee: 'Saihate' (1964)

Education

Gakushuin Women's Junior College
Faculty of Letters / Department of Japanese Literature
Degree: 準学士
Period: 1951-1953
Year of Graduation: 1953
Country: Japan
Founded and served as editor-in-chief of the alumni magazine 'Hamayufu'.

Awards

Akutagawa Prize
1965
Work: Toys
Result: 受賞
Shincho Magazine Award (Dojin Zasshi Prize)
1964
Work: Saihate
Organization: Shinchōsha
Result: 受賞
Women's Literature Award
1990
Work: Meteor Shower
Result: 受賞
Art Encouragement Prize (Minister of Education)
1998
Work: Chieko Flies
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs
Result: 受賞
Order of the Sacred Treasure, Fourth Class (Hōkan-shō)
2001
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
Onshi (Imperial) Prize
2003
Work: For long-term achievements as a writer
Organization: Japan Art Academy
Result: 受賞
Japan Art Academy Prize
2003
Work: For long-term achievements as a writer
Organization: Japan Art Academy
Result: 受賞
Kawabata Yasunari Literature Prize
2011
Work: A Strange Land
Result: 受賞
Kikuchi Kan Prize
2011
Work: Koubai (Red Plum Blossoms)
Organization: Kikuchi Kan Prize Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Person of Cultural Merit
2016
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 選出
Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon
2018
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Toys

1965 Short fiction

A short story that delicately depicts a woman's inner life and tensions within the family.

WomenFamilyPsychology

Saihate

1972 Novel

A novel focusing on a woman's relationship to her hometown and past.

NostalgiaWomenMemory

White Lily Cliff - Yamakawa Tomiko: Song and Love

1983 Biographical novel

A biographical novel based on the life of Tomiko Yamakawa.

BiographyArtistLove

Meteor Shower

1990 Historical novel

A work that weaves historical background into narratives about human fate.

HistoryFateHuman drama

Chieko Flies

1997 Biographical/essay

A biographical piece concerning Takamura Chieko, exploring beauty and art.

BiographyArtWomen

Bibliography

  • Kasoku (1959)
  • Ukisu (1960)
  • Toys (1965)
  • Uminari (1965)
  • Onna no Isu (1967)
  • Yako Tokei (1969)
  • Ishi no Chou (1970)
  • Saihate (1972)
  • Meteor Shower (1990)
  • Chieko Flies (1997)
  • Kuroi Ushio (1995)
  • Koubai (2011)

Adaptations

  • 'Kasoku' was adapted into the film 'Asu e no Seiso' directed by Noboru Nakamura
  • 'Onna no Isu' was adapted for television drama (as 'Ai tte Nani')

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Delicate psychological depictionLyrical, nostalgic proseClose observation of everyday detail
Recurring Motifs
Women's solitudeFamily memoriesHometown / nostalgiaPostwar life

Health

  • Fragile health (childhood)
    幼少期
    Her frail health in childhood is said to have influenced her outlook and the delicate psychological depictions in her writing.

Legacy

One of postwar Japan's prominent female writers; recipient of the Akutagawa Prize and many other honors. Her works, often portraying local settings and women's inner lives, are highly regarded.

Museums

  • Setsuko Tsumura Literary Room (Jin-ai Women's Junior College) Center for Local Literature, Department of Japanese Literature, Jin-ai Women's Junior College Opened in 1995
  • Yoshimura Akira Memorial Literature Museum (hosted Setsuko Tsumura exhibition) Arakawa Ward (exhibition)

Academic Societies

  • Japan Art Academy

Archives

  • Jin-ai Women's Junior College — Setsuko Tsumura Literary Room archives

In Popular Culture

  • Television drama adaptation ('Onna no Isu' → 'Ai tte Nani')
  • Film adaptation ('Kasoku' → 'Asu e no Seiso')

Trivia

  • The pen name 'Tsumura Setsuko' was inspired by the surname of film critic Ts umura Hideo and poet Ts umura Nobuo.
  • Legal name: Yoshimura Setsuko (maiden name Kitahara).
  • Her husband was novelist Akira Yoshimura (Yoshimura Akira).
  • In 1965 she won the Akutagawa Prize for 'Toys'.
  • In 1995 the Setsuko Tsumura Literary Room was established at Jin-ai Women's Junior College.