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Mari Ueza

うえざ まり

Ueza Mari

Pen Names: Mari Ueza（Used as a pen name for the essay collection 'Ueza Report'）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1949-10-20 （Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan）
Died
2015-11-07 （Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan） age 66
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Writer, Novelist
Active Years
1995-2015
Nominations
Naoki Prize nominee (multiple times), Jidai Shosetsu (Historical Fiction) Grand Prize nominee

Education

Hokkaido Hakodate Chubu High School
Country: Japan
Hakodate Otani Junior College
Country: Japan
Graduated from what is now Hakodate Otani Junior College

Awards

All Yomimono Newcomer's Award
1995
Work: Maboroshi no Koe
Organization: Bungei Shunju
Result: Winner
Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Newcomer Award
1999
Work: Fukagawa Love Story
Organization: Yoshikawa Eiji Award Committee
Result: Winner
Nakayama Yoshihide Literary Prize
2001
Work: Yokan no Yuki (Snow of Late Cold)
Organization: Nakayama Yoshihide Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Naoki Prize
1997
Work: Maboroshi no Koe / Kamiyui Isanji Detective Tales
Organization: Naoki Prize Committee
Result: Nominated
Yamamoto Shugoro Prize
2002
Work: People of Ayame Alley
Organization: Yamamoto Shugoro Prize Committee
Result: Nominated

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Maboroshi no Koe (Voice of Illusion)

1995 Jidaigeki / Historical fiction

'Maboroshi no Koe' is a short novel featuring Isanji, the work that debuted the author. It depicts commoners' life and human sentiments in Edo-period Japan.

Edo commoner lifeHuman empathyArtisanship

Kamiyui Isanji Detective Tales (Kamiyui Isanji)

1997 Historical fiction / Period novel

A linked short story collection centered on the hairdresser-detective Isanji. The series warmly depicts townspeople and incidents; it was adapted into a TV drama.

Linked short storiesTownship empathyMystery and detection
Adaptations
  • [Television drama] Kamiyui Isanji (1999)

Raiou (Raiou)

2000 Historical fiction

A novel portraying the relationship between a blind ronin and a woman. Adapted into a 2010 film starring Masaki Okada and Yu Aoi.

Blindness and perceptionClass and affectionFate
Adaptations
  • [Film] Raiou (2010)

Fukagawa Love Story

1999 Historical fiction

A tale of love and human sentiment set in Fukagawa, awarded the Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Newcomer Award.

RomanceTown cultureHuman empathy

Bibliography

  • Maboroshi no Koe
  • Shikon no Tsubame
  • Saraba Fukagawa
  • Sandara Bocchi
  • Kuroku Nure
  • The Boat That Carries You
  • Did You See the Rain
  • I Raise My Voice
  • The Clock That Marks Today
  • Wind That Blows in the Heart
  • I Do Not Know About Tomorrow
  • Nameless Days
  • Yesterday's Truth, Today's Lie
  • Kamado Riverside
  • Naki no Ginji
  • Banshou: Continued Naki no Ginji
  • Utsurobune: Naki no Ginji, Part Three
  • The Record of Koteya Kijuu
  • Yukimaroge
  • Silver Rain
  • Muro no Ume
  • Fukagawa Love Story
  • Ochapppii: Edo Front Ukiyo Temperament
  • Raiou
  • Yokan no Yuki
  • The Scribe Goro's Coming
  • Ounesty: Meiji Romance
  • Kanro Ume
  • Kirare Gonsa
  • Namidado Kotojo Diary
  • Kandabori Yatsushitagari
  • Fukao Kurenai
  • People of Ayame Alley
  • The Woman of Genyaten
  • I Saw Cherry Blossoms
  • Egg Fluff
  • The Melancholy Shop
  • Hyoutan
  • Tabakaze
  • Safe, This Famous Horse
  • The Woman Called Aramis
  • Until the Crescent Becomes Round
  • Listener Yohei: Edo Night Tales
  • Light One Lamp
  • Koi Ichimonme
  • Toka Ebisu
  • Yubae
  • Fukagawa Nyan Nyan Alley
  • Higanbana
  • Ohaguro Tombo
  • Tomiko Loves
  • Lonely Sharaku
  • Nadeshiko's Casebook
  • Boastful Mohei
  • Toryanse
  • Sakata Saga
  • Night Food Stall
  • Spinning Wheel
  • Takasago
  • Nihonbashi Honshichou Ragged Tenement
  • Matchmaker Ofuku: Dreams of Yesterday
  • Tamekichi: Stories of the North Town Magistrate
  • Ume Grandma's Life Records

Adaptations

  • Kamiyui Isanji (TV drama, 1999)
  • Raiou (Film, 2010)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Lyrical and evocative proseCharacter-driven narrationDetailed depictions of Edo commoners' life
Recurring Motifs
Human empathyUrban commoner lifeFamily and separationArtisans and daily life

Health

  • Breast cancer
    2014-2015
    In 2014 she disclosed a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer and publicly reported her fight; she died in 2015 after treatment. Her account of the illness drew public attention.

Legacy

Mari Ueza was widely regarded as a historical-fiction novelist who warmly depicted Edo commoner life and human sentiment. Her representative series were adapted for television and film, making her an important figure in contemporary jidaigeki literature.

Museums

  • Hakodate City Literature Museum Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan

Archives

  • Holdings at Hakodate City Literature Museum
  • Holdings at the National Diet Library of Japan

In Popular Culture

  • TV drama 'Kamiyui Isanji' (1999)
  • Film 'Raiou' (2010)

Quotes

  • I had no attachment to the pen name; I only wanted to be able to conceal my real name.
    Source: Essay / interview passage
  • My Breast Cancer Report
    Source: Essay published in Bungei Shunju (account of illness) (2015)

Trivia

  • Birth name: Kaoru Itō.
  • Pen name 'Mari Ueza' was chosen in connection with the essay title 'Ueza Report'.
  • Debuted in 1995 by winning the All Yomimono Newcomer's Award for 'Maboroshi no Koe'.
  • Her 'Kamiyui Isanji' series was adapted for TV and 'Raiou' was adapted into a film.
  • She publicly disclosed metastatic breast cancer in 2014 and died in Hakodate in 2015 at age 66.