Agata Hikari (干刈あがた, January 25, 1943–September 6, 1992) was a Japanese novelist and translator. She won many awards throughout her career, but was best known for her Noma Literary Prize-winning novel Shizuka ni watasu kogane no yubiwa (しずかにわたすこがねのゆびわ).
Biography
editHikari was born Kazue Asai in Tokyo, Japan on January 25, 1943.[1] Her father was a police officer.[2] She attended Waseda University, but dropped out and became a copywriter.[2] After fifteen years of marriage, she divorced and began writing fiction in 1982.[1] Hikari also worked as a translator.[2]
Hikari's first publication was Juka no Kazoku (樹下の家族), a novel which won the Kaien New Writers Prize in 1982. Her next few works, Uhoho Tankentai (ウホッホ探険隊), Yukkuri Tōkyō Joshi Marason (ゆっくり東京女子マラソン), and Home Party (ホーム・パーティー) were all runners-up for the Akutagawa Prize.[3] Uhoho Tankentai was adapted into the film House of Wedlock. Her 1986 Shizuka ni watasu kogane no yubiwa (しずかにわたすこがねのゆびわ) won the Noma Literary Prize. Her 1988 Kiiroi Kami (黄色い髪) was nominated for the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize.[3] Many of her works were also nominated for other awards.[3] Her works frequently included themes of divorce, family relationships, and life as a woman.[4]
Hikari died on September 6, 1992, of stomach cancer.[2]
Selected works
edit- Juka no Kazoku (樹下の家族), 1982
- Uhoho Tankentai (ウホッホ探険隊), 1983
- Yukkuri Tōkyō Joshi Marason (ゆっくり東京女子マラソン), 1984
- Home Party (ホーム・パーティー), 1986
- Shizuka ni watasu kogane no yubiwa (しずかにわたすこがねのゆびわ), 1986
- Kiiroi Kami (黄色い髪), 1988
References
edit- ^ a b 20世紀日本人名事典,367日誕生日大事典. "干刈 あがたとは". コトバンク (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-11-08.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d Schierbeck, Sachiko Shibata (1994). Japanese women novelists in the 20th century : 104 biographies, 1900-1993. Marlene R. Edelstein. [Copenhagen]: Museum Tusculanum Press. ISBN 87-7289-268-4. OCLC 32348453.
- ^ a b c "干刈あがた（ひかり あがた）-芥川賞候補作家｜芥川賞のすべて・のようなもの". prizesworld.com. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
- ^ 水田, 恵 (June 30, 1988). "干刈あがたの作品に見る家族像 : 男と女,そして子供と老人をめぐる関係". 日本文學誌要. 39: 16–35.