Sawako Ariyoshi
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese
writer and novelist.
and a graduate of Tokyo Women's Christian College
, Sawako Ariyoshi spent part of her childhood in Java. A prolific novelist, she dramatises significant issues in her fiction such as the suffering of the elderly, the effects of pollution on the environment, and the effects of social and political change on Japanese domestic life and values, especially on the lives of women. Her novel The Twilight Years depicts the life of a working woman who is caring for her elderly, dying father-in-law. Among Ariyoshi's other novels is The River Ki, an insightful portrait of the lives of three rural women: a mother, daughter, and granddaughter. Her novel The Doctor's Wife, a historical novel dramatising the roles of nineteenth-century Japanese women as it chronicles the experience of a pioneer doctor with breast cancer surgery, has identified her as one of the finest postwar Japanese women writers. The Doctor's Wife
(1966) is considered as her best novel. Starting in 1949, Ariyoshi studied literature
and theatre
at the Tokyo Women's Christian College until she graduated in 1952. In 1959 she spent a year at the Sarah Lawrence College
in New York. She then worked with a publishing company and also wrote for journals, joined a dance troupe, and wrote short stories and scripts for various media. She travelled extensively, getting material for her serialized novels of domestic life, mostly dealing with social issues. Recipient of a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship in 1959, Ariyoshi had received some Japanese literary awards and was at the height of her career when she died quietly in her sleep.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
writer and novelist.
Biography
Born in Wakayama CityWakayama, Wakayama
is the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan.-Background:Wakayama occupies 4% of the land area and has 40% of Wakayama prefecture's population. The city was founded on April 1, 1889....
and a graduate of Tokyo Women's Christian College
Tokyo Woman's Christian University
, often abbreviated to or TWCU, is a university in Tokyo Japan.-Founding:TWCU was established by Nitobe Inazō , a Japanese agricultural economist and educator, who was appointed as the first president in 1918. The first classes were held in Tsunohazu...
, Sawako Ariyoshi spent part of her childhood in Java. A prolific novelist, she dramatises significant issues in her fiction such as the suffering of the elderly, the effects of pollution on the environment, and the effects of social and political change on Japanese domestic life and values, especially on the lives of women. Her novel The Twilight Years depicts the life of a working woman who is caring for her elderly, dying father-in-law. Among Ariyoshi's other novels is The River Ki, an insightful portrait of the lives of three rural women: a mother, daughter, and granddaughter. Her novel The Doctor's Wife, a historical novel dramatising the roles of nineteenth-century Japanese women as it chronicles the experience of a pioneer doctor with breast cancer surgery, has identified her as one of the finest postwar Japanese women writers. The Doctor's Wife
The Doctor's Wife
The Doctor's Wife, known in Japanese as , is a noted novel by Sawako Ariyoshi written in 1966.The partly historical novel is based on the life of noted male physician Hanaoka Seishū. Though much is based on fact, many events were added for dramatic purposes. The novel follows the protagonist, here...
(1966) is considered as her best novel. Starting in 1949, Ariyoshi studied literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
at the Tokyo Women's Christian College until she graduated in 1952. In 1959 she spent a year at the Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
in New York. She then worked with a publishing company and also wrote for journals, joined a dance troupe, and wrote short stories and scripts for various media. She travelled extensively, getting material for her serialized novels of domestic life, mostly dealing with social issues. Recipient of a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship in 1959, Ariyoshi had received some Japanese literary awards and was at the height of her career when she died quietly in her sleep.
Works
- Kinokawa "The River KiThe River Kiis a novel by Japanese writer Sawako Ariyoshi. Published by Chuokoronsha in 1959 it has been translated into English. Set in Wakayama prefecture, the novel's focus is on three generations of women representing modern Japanese history.-Bibliography:-References:...
" (1964) - deals with aristocratic women. - Hishoku "Not Because of Color" (1964) - deals with racism
- Hanaoka Seishū no tsuma The Doctor's Wife (1966) - best known work
- JiutaJiutaJiuta（地歌, 地唄, ぢうた） is a style of Japanese traditional music. In Edo period, pieces which has this style was played by the shamisen in Kamigata region mainly. The name 'Jiuta' means "song of local ", and suggests "not a song from Edo"...
(1967)- Jiuta "Ballad" 1956
- Shiroi ōgi "The White Folding Fan" 1957
- Kiyu no shi "The Death of Kiyu" 1962
- Izumo no Okuni (the book) "Kabuki Dancer" (1969) -fictionalized account of the life of the inventor of kabuki.
- Kōkotsu no hito "The Twilight Years" (1972) -deals with ageism
- Fukugō osen "The Complex Contamination" (1975) -deals with pollution
- Kazu no miyasama otome "Her Highness Princess Kazu" 1978
- Chūgoku repōto "China Report" 1978
External links
- Ariyoshi Sawako's biographic sketch at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
- Sawako Ariyoshi's grave
- Sawako Ariyoshi: One of the Postwar Japan’s Finest Female Writers