Japanese Literary Awards

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Tomoko Yoshida

よしだ ともこ

Yoshida Tomoko

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1984-07-02 （Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan）
Died
,
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan → Tokyo, Japan (residence)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Short story writer
Active Years
2007-
Influenced By
Hiromi Kawakami, Banana Yoshimoto

Education

Kanazawa University
Faculty of Letters / Department of Japanese Literature
Degree: 文学士
Period: 2002-2006
Year of Graduation: 2006
Country: Japan
Began writing short stories while enrolled

Awards

Shinsei Literary Prize (fictional)
2018
Work: Indigo Seasons
Organization: Shinsei Literary Foundation (fictional)
Result: 受賞 (Winner)

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Indigo Seasons

2017 Literary fiction 312 pages

A novel about a woman who returns to her hometown and confronts her family's past, tracing forgotten memories. It delicately depicts changing seasons and the small details of everyday life.

memoryfamilynostalgiafemale independence
Adaptations
  • [TV drama] Indigo Seasons / 佐々木大輔 (2020)
Translations
  • English translation: Indigo Seasons (tr. Emma Tanaka, 2020)
  • French translation: Les saisons indigo (tr. Claire Martin, 2022)

Bibliography

  • Small Map (short stories, 2010)
  • Morning Shadows (novella, 2013)
  • Indigo Seasons (novel, 2017)
  • A Distant Garden (short stories, 2021)

Adaptations

  • Indigo Seasons (TV drama adaptation, 2020)

Translations of Works

  • Indigo Seasons — English edition (2020)
  • Indigo Seasons — French edition (2022)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical and delicate descriptionsquiet, introspective psychological exploration
Recurring Motifs
waterchanging seasonsold photographs

Legacy

Regarded in contemporary Japanese literature as a writer who depicts delicate emotions and memory from a female perspective. Film and translation adaptations broadened her audience both domestically and internationally.

Academic Societies

  • Society for Contemporary Japanese Literature

Archives

  • Tomoko Yoshida Literary Collection (Ishikawa Prefectural Library)

In Popular Culture

  • TV drama adaptation increased popularity among younger readers

Quotes

  • Words always return to the town of my memory.
    Source: Indigo Seasons (2017) (2017)

Trivia

  • Born in Kanazawa and practices pottery as a hobby
  • Worked as an editor at a publishing company before writing full-time
  • Has a habit of drinking tea made from local tea leaves while writing