Naoki Sanjugo Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 41 (1959) award
Kieko Watanabe
わたなべ きえこ
Watanabe Kieko
Aliases:
渡邊 喜惠子 / 栗生澤 喜惠子 / 木下 喜惠子
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1913-11-06 （Hinokinai Village, Semboku District, Akita Prefecture, Japan (now Semboku City)）
- Died
- 1997-08-08 age 83
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Hinokinai Village, Semboku, Akita (now Semboku City) → Takanosu (now Kitaakita City), Akita → Tokyo (moved to Tokyo) → Hiroshima Prefecture (moved after marriage) → Ninohe area, Iwate Prefecture (evacuated during wartime) → Tokyo (returned after the war)
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist
- Active Years
- 1942-1997
- Affiliations
- Asu (literary dōjinshi), Mita Bungaku (Mita Literature) contributor
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noshiro Girls' Higher School (now Akita Prefectural Noshiro Kita High School) | — | — | — | 〜1931 | Japan |
Noshiro Girls' Higher School (now Akita Prefectural Noshiro Kita High School)
Period:
〜1931
Year of Graduation:
1931
Country:
Japan
Moved to Tokyo after graduation
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Naoki Prize (Naoki Sanjūgo Award) | Mabuchi River | — | Naoki Prize Selection Committee | 受賞 |
Naoki Prize (Naoki Sanjūgo Award)
1959
Work:
Mabuchi River
Organization:
Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Inochi no Atosaki
1942 Short story collectionAn early short story collection largely about the author's late husband; depicts the emotional life and sense of loss of a woman during wartime.
lossfamilywartime life
Mabuchi River
1959 NovelA novel depicting regional landscapes and human relationships; published in 1959 and awarded the 41st Naoki Prize.
regionalismhuman dramafamily
Genseikaen (Primeval Flower Garden) — Trilogy
1969 Three-part novel (trilogy)A three-part novel series that portrays regional history and characters; later served as the basis for a television adaptation.
regional historyfamily and inheritancenature
Adaptations
- [TV drama] Genseikaen: Anrakoro no Uta (1972)
Michinoku: Children's Fudoki (Local Chronicle)
1969 Local chronicle / MemoirA local chronicle recounting childhood in Takanosu (Michinoku), describing regional life and customs.
local culturememorychildhood
Umi no Sachi
1971 Biographical novelA work about the painter Shigeru Aoki, portraying his life and creativity.
character portraitartlife and creation
Takuboku's Wife (3 volumes)
1980 Long-form biographical novelA three-volume work centered on the wife of poet Takuboku Ishikawa, depicting inner lives and historical background.
biographyfemale perspectivemodern history
Bibliography
- Inochi no Atosaki
- Mabuchi River
- White and Purple
- Kyoto Man: The Story of Otani Takejiro
- Michinoku: Children's Fudoki
- Genseikaen (trilogy)
- Umi no Sachi
- In the Shade of the Plumeria
- Rainbow of Tantalus
- River at Dawn
- Takuboku's Wife (3 volumes)
Adaptations
- Genseikaen: Anrakoro no Uta (TV drama, based on her novel, 1972)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- rich regional descriptionlyrical yet realistic prosefocus on interior characterization
- Recurring Motifs
- Tohoku nature and local culturewomen's livesfamily and loss
Legacy
The first Naoki Prize winner from Akita Prefecture. She contributed to the promotion of regional literature and provided funds that led to the establishment of the Sakigake Literary Prize (Kieko Watanabe Fund).
Archives
- Akita Sakigake Shinpo (newspaper; entrusted with fund, may hold related materials)
Trivia
- She was the first Naoki Prize winner from Akita Prefecture.
- In 1983 she entrusted 10 million yen to Akita Sakigake Shinpo, which contributed to the establishment of the Sakigake Literary Prize.
- Her husband, Shigeru Watanabe, died when she was 25; the experience influenced her early fiction.