Japanese Literary Awards

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Fumiko Kometani

こめたに ふみこ

Kometani Fumiko

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1930-11-15 （Osaka, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese, English
Residence History
Osaka, Japan → Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, USA → MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA → New York City, USA

Career

Occupations
Writer, Painter, Translator, Essayist
Active Years
1957-
Influenced By
Josh Greenfeld
Influenced
Carl Taro Greenfeld

Education

Osaka Prefectural Yuhigaoka High School
Country: Japan
Osaka Women's University (now Osaka Prefecture University)
Faculty of Letters / Department of Japanese Literature
Degree: 学士
Country: Japan

Awards

Bungakukai Newcomer Prize
1985
Work: Visitors from Afar
Organization: Bungakukai (magazine)
Result: winner
Shincho New Writers Award
1985
Work: Passover Festival
Organization: Shinchōsha
Result: winner
Akutagawa Prize
1986
Work: Passover Festival
Result: winner
Women's Literature Award
1998
Work: Family Business
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Passover Festival

1985 Novel

A novel that examines family relations and cross-cultural tensions; the work brought attention to the author as a writer.

familycross-cultural relationsidentity

Visitors from Afar

1985 Short story

A short story that won the Bungakukai Newcomer Prize; it portrays slices of daily life and family through the arrival of a visitor.

familydaily lifethe outsider

Tumbleweed

1986 Novel / Short stories

A collection drawing on the author's experiences in the United States, exploring loneliness and cultural friction in a foreign land.

life abroadlonelinesscultural friction

Family Business

1998 Novel

A novel that depicts family dynamics and intergenerational tensions with humor and sharp observation. Winner of the Women's Literature Award.

familygenerational conflicthumor

Listen Up, America and Japan

1993 Essays

An essay collection that humorously reflects on cultural differences and everyday life between America and Japan.

cross-cultural comparisonhumorobservation

Beloved Dance Companions of Los Angeles

2013 Essays and illustrations

A short collection of essays and illustrations about people and experiences in Los Angeles.

life abroadcommunityart

Bibliography

  • Passover Festival
  • Tumbleweed
  • Tales of Intermarriage
  • Madame Caterpillar's Complaints
  • Professor Dear
  • Listen Up, America and Japan
  • Toward the Zero Line
  • Growing Old Requires Resolve
  • Family Business
  • Quirky American
  • What's This? America and Japan
  • Sunday Drive
  • Everything's a Mess, America
  • Enough Already, America!
  • Old People Should Shut Up!?
  • See, I Told You! Continuing Atomic Events in Nuclear Nations
  • Beloved Dance Companions of Los Angeles

Translations by Author

Style & Themes

Literary Style
concise observational prosewry humor and irony
Recurring Motifs
familycross-cultural experienceloneliness of Japanese abroaddisability and caregiving

Legacy

A writer and painter known for works centered on life in the United States and family. She notably won two newcomer awards in 1985 and the Akutagawa Prize in 1986, establishing her literary reputation. She has also been involved in anti-war and anti-nuclear activism and in translating works concerning autism.

In Popular Culture

  • Influence on public discussion through participation in anti-war/anti-nuclear movements and translations/remarks on autism

Trivia

  • In 1985 she won both the Bungakukai Newcomer Prize (for 'Visitors from Afar') and the Shincho New Writers Award (for 'Passover Festival') in the same year — a unique occurrence.
  • She translated works by Josh Greenfeld into Japanese.
  • Resides in Pacific Palisades near Los Angeles; experiences in the U.S. strongly influence her work.