Bungei Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 20 (1983) award
Masayo Yamamoto
やまもと まさよ
Yamamoto Masayo
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1960-08-18 （Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan）
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Yokohama (birthplace) → United Kingdom (has lived)
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Essayist
- Active Years
- 1983-
- Influenced By
- Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
- Nominations
- 96th Akutagawa Prize nominee (Butagami Matsuri), 97th Akutagawa Prize nominee (Haru no Tayori), 115th Akutagawa Prize nominee (Uminari)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kanagawa Prefectural Kibogaoka High School | — | — | — | — | Japan |
| Tsuda University | English Department | English literature | — | — | Japan |
Kanagawa Prefectural Kibogaoka High School
Country:
Japan
Tsuda University
English Department
/ English literature
Country:
Japan
Debuted after winning the Bungei Prize while a student
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Bungei Prize | Ouita Tantanroku | — | — | Winner |
| 1995 | Mishima Yukio Prize | Midori-iro no Nigotta Ocha, or The Promenade of Happiness | — | — | Winner |
Bungei Prize
1983
Work:
Ouita Tantanroku
Result:
Winner
Mishima Yukio Prize
1995
Work:
Midori-iro no Nigotta Ocha, or The Promenade of Happiness
Result:
Winner
Awards & Nominations
Mishima Yukio Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 8 (1995) award
Works
Major Works
Ouita Tantanroku
1984 Historical fiction / short storiesA work portraying the ukiyo-e artist Oi and her father Katsushika Hokusai.
Edo cultureArt historyFemale artists
Edo Yakusha Ibun
1986 Period / Historical novelA work depicting the kabuki actor Sawamura Tanosuke (third generation).
KabukiEdoTheatre history
Izakaya Yurei
1991 Short storyA short story inspired by rakugo; adapted into a film in 1991.
RakugoGhostsEveryday life
Adaptations
- [Film] Izakaya Yurei (1991)
Kijin-den
1994 Short story collectionA collection of short pieces based on real people from around the world, readable as both biography and fiction.
Biographical elementsField interviewsShort fiction
Midori-iro no Nigotta Ocha, or The Promenade of Happiness
1994 Short storyA short work quietly depicting the bizarre everyday life of a family; winner of the Mishima Yukio Prize.
FamilyDomestic lifeQuiet unease
Letters from England (Igirisu Tsushin)
2001 EssaysAn essay collection recording observations and essays from her stay in the United Kingdom.
Cultural observationEssaysLife abroad
Whisky Bonbon
2000 NovelA work set in contemporary times.
Contemporary lifeEverydayHuman relations
Bibliography
- Ouita Tantanroku
- Bunshichi Koroshi
- Edo Yakusha Ibun
- Gennai Sensei Funade-iwai
- Utou
- Dendera-no
- Izakaya Yurei
- Kijin-den
- Midori-iro no Nigotta Ocha aruiwa Kofuku no Sanpomichi
- Asaka
- Ernst no Tsuki
- Collection
- Mizu no Men (Surface of Water)
- Kukiko
- Edo Note
- Kao (Face)
- Katsura Sankisuke (3rd generation)
- Majo (Witch)
- Whisky Bonbon
- Igirisu Tsushin (Letters from England)
- Tegami (Letter)
Adaptations
- Izakaya Yurei — film adaptation (1991)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Light, airy prose (early)Concise, restrained prose (later)
- Recurring Motifs
- Edo-period figure studiesBiographical short fictionStrange family domesticityLiterary humor
Legacy
Masayo Yamamoto has been praised for works that shifted from light, airy early prose to a more concise, restrained style; she gained recognition for historically themed pieces about Edo and quietly rendered short stories about family dynamics. Although she won the Mishima Yukio Prize in 1995, publicity at the time was muted due to contemporaneous news events.
Trivia
- Debuted after winning the Bungei Prize in 1983.
- Her 1995 Mishima Yukio Prize win received little attention because it coincided with the arrest of Shoko Asahara.
- 'Izakaya Yurei' was adapted into a film in 1991.