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Sei Yoshino

よしの せい

Yoshino Sei

Aliases: 若松
Pen Names: Sei Yoshino（Used as pen name for literary works）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1899-04-15 （Onahama, Ishiki District, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan (now Iwaki City, Fukushima)）
Died
1977-11-04 （Iwaki City General Iwaki Kyōritsu Hospital (Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan)） age 78
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Religion
Buddhism
Residence History
Onahama, Ishiki District, Fukushima Prefecture (now Onahama, Iwaki City) → Koima (Kita-Koima), Iwaki City — farming life at Kikuchikuyama

Career

Occupations
writer, author, poet, essayist
Active Years
1916-1977
Influenced By
Yamamura Bochō, Kusano Shimpei, Yashiro Yoshisada

Education

Higher course of ordinary elementary school
Period: 1910年代
Year of Graduation: 1915
Country: Japan
Self-studied and passed the primary school assistant teacher examination; worked at an elementary school from 1916

Awards

Ōya Soichi Nonfiction Prize
1975
Work: The Runny-Nosed God
Organization: Ōya Soichi Nonfiction Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Tamura Toshiko Award
1975
Work: The Runny-Nosed God
Organization: Tamura Toshiko Award Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Bochō and Konton

1971 Memoir / Reminiscence

A memoir recounting friendships with Yamamura Bochō and with her husband Mino Konton; contains reminiscences and character sketches.

friendshipliterary connectionsmemory

The Runny-Nosed God

1974 Short story collection

A collection of short stories depicting rural life and the vivid struggles of ordinary people.

localismrural lifecommunitycharacter depiction
Adaptations
  • [TV drama / Independent film] The Runny-Nosed God (screen adaptation) / 神山征二郎 (1978)

Michi (Collected Works of Sei Yoshino)

1977 Collected works

A 1977 collection compiling short stories and essays.

everyday lifeagricultural workfragments of daily existence

Collected Works of Sei Yoshino (Yayoi Shobo)

1994 Collected works

A comprehensive 1994 collection including posthumous materials and selected writings.

reminiscenceregional literaturewomen's life

Bibliography

  • Bochō and Konton (Rekitei-sha, 1971)
  • The Runny-Nosed God (Yayoi Shobo, 1974)
  • The Runny-Nosed God (popular edition, 1975)
  • The Runny-Nosed God (Bunshun Bunko, 1984)
  • Michi (Yayoi Shobo, 1977)
  • Collected Works of Sei Yoshino (Yayoi Shobo, 1994)
  • Yoshino Sei Exhibition Catalog — 100th Anniversary: 'I Am a Farmer Woman' (Iwaki City Kusano Shimpei Memorial Literature Museum, 1999)
  • Words Written in the Soil: Anthology of Sei Yoshino (Michitani, 2009)

Adaptations

  • The Runny-Nosed God (TV drama project — broadcast canceled; later completed and screened locally as an independent film, 1978)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
local realismlyrical narrationrealist depictionperspective of ordinary people
Recurring Motifs
rural lifedepiction of naturecommunity and familyeveryday struggles

Health

  • Unknown
    1976年11月〜1977年（入院期間）
    Hospitalized from November 1976; writing activity was limited thereafter

Legacy

A writer from Iwaki, Fukushima, known for works focused on rural and local life. She received major literary awards late in life for the short story collection 'The Runny-Nosed God.' After her death, Iwaki City established the Yoshino Sei Prize, and local recognition and scholarly interest continue.

Museums

  • Iwaki City Kusano Shimpei Memorial Literature Museum Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan

Archives

  • Iwaki General Library
  • National Diet Library (catalog holdings)

In Popular Culture

  • The TV adaptation project of 'The Runny-Nosed God' was canceled over depiction of a nuclear power plant; it was later completed and shown locally as an independent film

Trivia

  • It is reported that she burned all her manuscripts and diaries upon her marriage in 1921
  • In 1975 she won the Ōya Soichi Nonfiction Prize and the Tamura Toshiko Award for 'The Runny-Nosed God'
  • Iwaki City established the Yoshino Sei Prize in 1978
  • The screen adaptation of 'The Runny-Nosed God' was canceled for broadcast due to sponsor and local objections