Fumiko Kometani
Fumiko Kometani (米谷ふみ子, Kometani Fumiko, born 1930 in Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese author and artist (painter)[1][2] and a longtime resident of the United States. Kometani moved to the US in 1960 when she was working as an abstract painter, spending time at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire where she met her husband, Josh Greenfeld (now living in California). She changed her focus to writing when her developmentally disabled son Noah became too hard to handle when he was around the art supplies in her studio. Her older son, Karl Taro Greenfeld, is also a writer.
Kometani is also noted for her expressed displeasure of what she terms the fascist mentality of the World War II Japanese Army. She regularly participates in anti-war and anti-nuclear protests.
Her first book, Passover, received the distinguished Akutagawa Prize. It was subsequently described in The New York Times as "anti-Semitic" and an example of Japan's "widespread anti-Semitism", although Kometani's husband is Jewish, and the novel was an adaption of a visit to his parents' house. A judge for the Akutagawa Prize claimed that the Times had misinterpreted the sardonic and self-ridiculing tone of the novel.[3]
Awards
- Bungakkai shinjinshoo (1985)
- Shinchoo shinjinshoo (1985)
- Akutagawashoo (1985) (One of the most prestigious literary awards in Japan)
- Murasaki Shikibu Prize (1998)
References
- ^ "Foumiko Kometani: Un-handicapped Art". Asia Pacific Arts, UCLA. June 25, 2004. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
- ^ Mulhern, Chieko Irie (1994). Japanese women writers: a bio-critical sourcebook. Greenwood Press. pp. 190–199. ISBN 0-313-25486-9. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
- ^ Her Story : L.A. Writer Foumiko Kometani's Novella 'Passover' Created a Sensation in Japan, Winning an Unprecedented String of Literary Prizes. In This Country, It Created a Sensation of a Different Kind. 'Passover,' Critics Charged, Was a Work of Anti-Semitism.
External links
- Fumiko Kometani at J'Lit Books from Japan (in English)
- Synopsis of Wasabi for Breakfast (Famiri bijinesu) at JLPP (Japanese Literature Publishing Project) (in English)
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- 1935: Tatsuzō Ishikawa / None
- 1936: Oda Takeo and Tsuruta Tomoya / Jun Ishikawa and Tomisawa Uio
- 1937: Ozaki Kazuo / Ashihei Hino
- 1938: Nakayama Gishū / Nakazato Tsuneko
- 1939: Handa Yoshiyuki and Hase Ken / Samukawa Kotaro
- 1940: None / Sakurada Tsunehisa
- 1941: Tada Yukei / Shibaki Yoshiko
- 1942: None / Kuramitsu Toshio
- 1943: Ishizuka Kikuzo / Tonobe Kaoru
- 1944: Yagi Yoshinori and Ono Juzo / Shimizu Motoyoshi
- 1949: Kotani Tsuyoshi and Yuki Shigeko / Yasushi Inoue
- 1950: Tsuji Ryoichi / None
- 1951: Abe Kōbō and Ishikawa Toshimitsu / Hotta Yoshie
- 1952: None / Gomi Kosuke and Matsumoto Seichō
- 1953: Shōtarō Yasuoka / None
- 1954: Yoshiyuki Junnosuke / Kojima Nobuo and Shono Junzo
- 1955: Shūsaku Endō / Shintaro Ishihara
- 1956: Kondō Keitarō / None
- 1957: Kikumura Itaru / Takeshi Kaikō
- 1958: Kenzaburō Ōe / None
- 1959: Shiba Shiro / None
- 1960: Morio Kita / Miura Tetsuo
- 1961: None / Kōichirō Uno
- 1962: Kawamura Akira / None
- 1963: Goto Kiichi and Kōno Taeko / Tanabe Seiko
- 1964: Shiba Shou / None
- 1965: Tsumura Setsuko / Takai Yuichi
- 1966: None / Maruyama Kenji
- 1967: Oshiro Tatsuhiro / Kashiwabara Hyozo
- 1968: Maruya Saiichi and Oba Minako / None
- 1969: Shoji Kaoru and Takubo Hideo / KiyookaTakayuki
- 1970: Yoshida Tomoko and Komao Furuyama / Yoshikichi Furui
- 1971: None / Kaisei Ri and Mineo Higashi
- 1972: Hiroshi Hatayama and Akio Miyahara / Michiko Yamamoto and Shizuko Go
- 1973: Taku Miki / Kuninobu Noro and Atsushi Mori
- 1974: None / Keizo Hino and Hiro Sakata
- 1975: Kyoko Hayashi / Kenji Nakagami and Kazuo Okamatsu
- 1976: Ryū Murakami / None
- 1977: Masahiro Mita and Masuo Ikeda / Teru Miyamoto and Shuzo Taki
- 1978: Kiichiro Takahashi and Michitsuna Takahashi / None
- 1979: Yoshiko Shigekane and So Aono / Reiko Mori
- 1980: None / Katsuhiko Otsuji
- 1981: Rie Yoshiyuki / None
- 1982: None / Yukiko Kato and Jūrō Kara
- 1983: None / Jun Kasahara and Nobuko Takagi
- 1984: None / Satoko Kizaki
- 1985: None / Fumiko Kometani
- 1986: None / None
- 1987: Kiyoko Murata / Natsuki Ikezawa and Kiyohiro Miura
- 1988: Man Arai / Keishi Nagi and Lee Yangji
- 1989: None / Akira Ooka and Mieko Takizawa
- 1990: Noboru Tsujihara / Yōko Ogawa
- 1991: Yo Henmi and Anna Ogino / Eiko Matsumura
- 1992: Tomomi Fujiwara / Yoko Tawada
- 1993: Haruhiko Yoshimeki / Hikaru Okuizumi
- 1994: Mitsuhiro Muroi and Yoriko Shono / None
- 1995: Kazushi Hosaka / Matayoshi Eiki
- 1996: Hiromi Kawakami / Hitonari Tsuji and Miri Yu
- 1997: Shun Medoruma / None
- 1998: Mangetsu Hanamura and Shu Fujisawa / Keiichiro Hirano
- 1999: None / Gengetsu and Chiya Fujino
- 2000: Kō Machida and Hisaki Matsuura / Yuichi Seirai and Toshiyuki Horie
- 2001: Sokyu Genyu / Yu Nagashima
- 2002: Shuichi Yoshida / Tamaki Daido
- 2003: Man'ichi Yoshimura / Risa Wataya and Hitomi Kanehara
- 2004: Norio Mobu / Kazushige Abe
- 2005: Fuminori Nakamura / Akiko Itoyama
- 2006: Takami Itō / Nanae Aoyama
- 2007: Tetsushi Suwa / Mieko Kawakami
- 2008: Yang Yi / Kikuko Tsumura
- 2009: Ken'ichirō Isozaki / None
- 2010: Akiko Akazome / Mariko Asabuki and Kenta Nishimura
- 2011: None / Toh EnJoe and Shinya Tanaka
- 2012: Maki Kashimada / Natsuko Kuroda
- 2013: Kaori Fujino / Hiroko Oyamada
- 2014: Tomoka Shibasaki / Masatsugu Ono
- 2015: Keisuke Hada and Naoki Matayoshi / Yusho Takiguchi and Yukiko Motoya
- 2016: Sayaka Murata / Sumito Yamashita
- 2017: Shinsuke Numata / Chisako Wakatake and Yuka Ishii
- 2018: Hiroki Takahashi / Takahiro Ueda and Ryōhei Machiya
- 2019: Natsuko Imamura / Makoto Furukawa
- 2020: Haruka Tono and Haneko Takayama / Rin Usami
- 2021: Li Kotomi and Mai Ishizawa / Bunji Sunakawa
- 2022: Junko Takase / Iko Idogawa and Atsushi Satō
- 2023: Saō Ichikawa / Rie Kudan