They've announced the winners of two of the leading Japanese literary prizes, the Akutagawa and the Naoki, and, as The Japan Times has it, Top literature awards split by oldest, youngest novelists.
Kuroda Natsuko (黒田夏子) -- at 75 almost as old as the Akutagawa itself -- won for abさんご, noteworthy also because:
Kuroda Natsuko (黒田夏子) -- at 75 almost as old as the Akutagawa itself -- won for abさんご, noteworthy also because:
Without using individual names or pronouns, ab Sango depicts the memories of a child whose life with a parent gradually crumbles. It is written horizontally instead of vertically as Japanese is conventionally written.And you have to like her reaction:
"Thank you for discovering me while I am still alive," Kuroda said after the Akutagawa award was announced.Meanwhile, Asai Ryo (朝井リョウ), just 23 years old, shares the Naoki for his novel 何者. (He shares the prize with middle-aged Abe Ryutaro (安部龍太郎), who I suspect is not going to be getting much of the attention .....)