Yōko Ōta
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese author of Atomic bomb literature
.
, her parents divorced when she was eight and she moved to live with the Fukuda family. As a young girl she read Takuboku Ishikawa and Shusei Tokuda, as well as Goethe and Heine. She also read and was influenced by Tolstoi. After graduating high school she worked as a primary school teacher and took various secretarial jobs, moving frequently among Tokyo, Osaka, and Hiroshima. She married in 1926 but absconded, leaving one child. On the invitation of Kan Kikuchi
, she came to Tokyo in 1926, where she began to work as a magazine reporter. Whilst working as a waitress in Osaka she began to write serious fiction, in around 1929. Ota worked her way into the literary scene through her involvement in the activities of several literary magazines, contributing to journals such as Nyonin Geijutsu.
In 1940, Sakura no kuni (“The Cherry Land”) was awarded a prize by the Asahi newspaper, and received considerable public acclaim. In August 1945 she experienced and survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Stricken with the fear that she would become a victim of radiation sickness, she worked feverishly to complete Shikabane no machi (“City of Corpses”), an account of her experiences in Hiroshima at the time of the bombing. The novel was written in the autumn of 1945, but then was censored and finally published three years later with portions deleted. This was followed by Ningen ranru (“Human Tatters”), which was awarded the Women's Literary Prize. “City of Corpses” was first published in 1948, and Hotaru (“Fireflies”) in 1953. Han ningen (“Half human”), first published in 1954 and awarded Peace Cultural Award, portrays the struggle with mental illness of an author threatened by radiation disease and fears of an impending world war. The effects of the bomb caused her physical condition to deteriorate and she reached the limits of her literary work. She changed her style to first person narratives of internal mental states. The four-volume “Ōta Yōko shū” (“Collected works of Yōko Ōta”) edited by Ineko Sata
et al., was published posthumously in 1981.
Ōta died suddenly of a heart attack in 1963, whilst bathing in a hot spring in Inawashiro, Fukushima
.
Atomic bomb literature
is a literary genre in Japanese literature used to describe writing about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This can include diaries, testimonial or documentary accounts, poetry, drama or fictional works based around the bombings....
.
Biography
Ōta was born as Fukuda, Hatsuko in Hiroshima cityHiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
, her parents divorced when she was eight and she moved to live with the Fukuda family. As a young girl she read Takuboku Ishikawa and Shusei Tokuda, as well as Goethe and Heine. She also read and was influenced by Tolstoi. After graduating high school she worked as a primary school teacher and took various secretarial jobs, moving frequently among Tokyo, Osaka, and Hiroshima. She married in 1926 but absconded, leaving one child. On the invitation of Kan Kikuchi
Kan Kikuchi
, known by his pen name Kan Kikuchi , was a Japanese author born in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. He established the publishing company Bungeishunjū, the monthly magazine of the same name, the Japan Writer's Association and both the Akutagawa and Naoki Prize for popular literature...
, she came to Tokyo in 1926, where she began to work as a magazine reporter. Whilst working as a waitress in Osaka she began to write serious fiction, in around 1929. Ota worked her way into the literary scene through her involvement in the activities of several literary magazines, contributing to journals such as Nyonin Geijutsu.
In 1940, Sakura no kuni (“The Cherry Land”) was awarded a prize by the Asahi newspaper, and received considerable public acclaim. In August 1945 she experienced and survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Stricken with the fear that she would become a victim of radiation sickness, she worked feverishly to complete Shikabane no machi (“City of Corpses”), an account of her experiences in Hiroshima at the time of the bombing. The novel was written in the autumn of 1945, but then was censored and finally published three years later with portions deleted. This was followed by Ningen ranru (“Human Tatters”), which was awarded the Women's Literary Prize. “City of Corpses” was first published in 1948, and Hotaru (“Fireflies”) in 1953. Han ningen (“Half human”), first published in 1954 and awarded Peace Cultural Award, portrays the struggle with mental illness of an author threatened by radiation disease and fears of an impending world war. The effects of the bomb caused her physical condition to deteriorate and she reached the limits of her literary work. She changed her style to first person narratives of internal mental states. The four-volume “Ōta Yōko shū” (“Collected works of Yōko Ōta”) edited by Ineko Sata
Ineko Sata
was a Japanese communist and feminist author of proletarian literature.-Biography:Born in poverty in Nagasaki to young parents , the family moved to Tokyo when Sata was a child. Her first job was in a caramel factory, before working in restaurants where she befriended writers, including Ryūnosuke...
et al., was published posthumously in 1981.
Ōta died suddenly of a heart attack in 1963, whilst bathing in a hot spring in Inawashiro, Fukushima
Inawashiro, Fukushima
is a town located in Yama District, Fukushima, Japan. Inawashiro rests on the shores of Lake Inawashiro, one of the largest lakes in Japan. During the Edo period, it was part of the Aizu domain, and was the home of Aizu's secondary castle town...
.