Okinawa Bookstore Grand Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 7 (2021) grand prize
Yoko Uema
うえま ようこ
Uema Yoko
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1972 （Kōza (now Okinawa City), Okinawa, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Tokyo, Japan → Okinawa, Japan
Career
- Occupations
- educational researcher, researcher, author, child welfare activist
- Active Years
- 1990-
- Affiliations
- Professor, Graduate School of Education, University of the Ryukyus
- Influenced
- Gen Hoshino
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Metropolitan University (former) | — | Education | 修士 | — | Japan |
Tokyo Metropolitan University (former)
Education
Degree:
修士
Country:
Japan
Left doctoral program
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Kinokuniya Jinbun Award | Running Barefoot: Girls of Okinawa's Night Districts | — | Kinokuniya Bookstore | 第4位 |
| 2021 | Watakushi, Tsumari Nobody Prize | — | — | Watakushi, Tsumari Nobody Prize Committee | 受賞 |
| 2021 | Okinawa Bookstore Awards | Giving the Sea | 沖縄部門 | Okinawa Bookstore Awards Committee | 大賞（沖縄部門） |
| 2021 | Honya Taisho (Booksellers' Award) | Giving the Sea | ノンフィクション部門 | Booksellers' Award Committee | ノンフィクション部門受賞 |
Kinokuniya Jinbun Award
2018
Work:
Running Barefoot: Girls of Okinawa's Night Districts
Organization:
Kinokuniya Bookstore
Result:
第4位
Watakushi, Tsumari Nobody Prize
2021
Organization:
Watakushi, Tsumari Nobody Prize Committee
Result:
受賞
Okinawa Bookstore Awards
2021
Work:
Giving the Sea
Category:
沖縄部門
Organization:
Okinawa Bookstore Awards Committee
Result:
大賞（沖縄部門）
Honya Taisho (Booksellers' Award)
2021
Work:
Giving the Sea
Category:
ノンフィクション部門
Organization:
Booksellers' Award Committee
Result:
ノンフィクション部門受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Running Barefoot: Girls of Okinawa's Night Districts
2017 Non-fiction / ReportageA reportage that accompanies young women living in Okinawa's night districts, documenting their living conditions, experiences of violence and poverty. Combining field-based knowledge and interviews, the book aims to make the voices of those involved visible.
female povertyviolenceyoung motherhoodOkinawa
Giving the Sea
2020 EssayAn essay collection that gathers voices encountered in Okinawa and in field work. The book attends to the bodies and lives of those often considered to have small social voices, reflecting on memory and solidarity across short pieces.
memorysolidarityOkinawan communitysocial exclusion
Bibliography
- Running Barefoot: Girls of Okinawa's Night Districts (Ohta Publishing, 2017)
- Giving the Sea (Chikuma Shobo, 2020)
- Okinawa Children's Poverty White Paper (co-editor, Kamogawa Publishing, 2017)
- Towards a Society That Leaves No One Behind: On the Frontlines of Poverty and Inequality (co-author, Shinnihon Publishing, 2018)
- Living Locally: Sociology of Okinawan Communality (co-author, Nakanishiya Publishing, 2020)
- After Losing Words (co-author, Chikuma Shobo, 2021)
- NHK 100-Minute Classics Supplement: Feminism (co-author, NHK Publishing, 2023)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- reportage-style narrationfieldwork-based interview writingmeasured, empathetic voice
- Recurring Motifs
- Okinawan localityvoices of young womenviolence and poverty in everyday life
Legacy
Through field-based research and reportage, she has made the voices of young Okinawan women visible and influenced both academic and civic practice. Her works have had impact across media and music.
Academic Societies
- Japanese Society for Educational Studies
In Popular Culture
- Influenced singer Gen Hoshino's songwriting (referenced Uema's books when creating 'Fushigi')
Trivia
- Left the doctoral program at Tokyo Metropolitan University.
- Published her first solo book, 'Running Barefoot', in 2017.
- Opened a shelter 'Oniwa' in 2021 to support pregnant and parenting young women.