born February 8, 1959, is a popular but controversial contemporary Japanese writer who is most famous for her stories that address issues of sexuality,

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

, and interracial love and marriage. Her debut and subsequent popular success in the 1990s was a part of Japan's hip-hop and Black culture boom. While she is most known for her stories of complicated and messy romantic love, she also writes on the daily minutiae of life (slice-of-life), child-raising, and bullying.

Biography

Yamada Amy (born Yamada Futaba 山田双葉) was born in Itabashi, Tokyo and moved frequently after the age of 2, due to the nature of her father's job. Over the course of her childhood, she lived in Sapporo City, Kaga City, Ashida City, Kanuma City. This transient lifestyle forced her to confront issues of separation and bullying, issues that many of her protagonists also deal with. According to her interview with the Japanese magazine ''Bungei,'' during middle school she was moved by African-American

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

and began to read any novels she could find written by black people, or featuring black people. She held a job in the Roppongi district of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, an area rich with foreigners. In high school, she was a member of the Arts, Mountaineering, and Literature Club. Her favorite authors were

Boris Vian Boris Vian (; 10 March 1920 – 23 June 1959) was a French polymath: writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer who is primarily remembered for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sull ...

and Francoise Sagan. After graduating from high school in 1977, she entered Meiji University's Literature Department, but dropped out before graduating. Yamada had a short stint writing and drawing manga under her real name (Yamada Futaba). Her manga debuted in ''Manga Erogenica'' and she was featured as a ''dōjin'' (fanfic) and female erotic manga artist. While working part-time, she published ''Sugar Bar'' (''Shugā Bā'' 1981), ''Miss Doll'' (''Misu Dōru'' 1986), and ''Yokosuka Freaky'' (''Yokosuka Furīkī'' 1986). She began writing novels in 1980. Though her works garnered some attention, even receiving praise from Japanese literary critic , she only achieved widespread recognition in 1985, when ''Bedtime Eyes'' won the

Bungei Prize The is a Japanese literary award given by publishing company Kawade Shobō Shinsha. It was first awarded in 1962. The award is intended to recognize new writers, and several famous Japanese writers have won the award, but many Bungei Prize winner ...

and was nominated for the

Akutagawa Prize The is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. Because of its prestige and the considerable attention the winner receives from the media, it is, along with the Naoki Prize, one of Japan's most sought after literary prizes. History Th ...

. In writing ''Bedtime Eyes'', Yamada drew upon her experiences with black people and black culture and combined them with the Japanese literary tradition. In Yamada's second collection of works, ''Jesse's Spine,'' Yamada depicts the experiences of a woman who is learning to adjust to life with her lover's child from another relationship. The writing style of this work has been compared to

William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''T ...

's novel, ''Papa You're Crazy''. Through her depiction of the child's perspective on the world, she was nominated yet again for the

(and subsequently again for ''The Piano Player's Fingers''), though she did not receive it. In 1996, ''Trash'' was published in English translation by Kodansha International (translator: Sonya L. Johnson). In May 2006, three of Yamada's novellas (''Bedtime Eyes'' 「ベッドタイム･アイズ」, ''The Piano Player's Fingers'' 「指の戯れ」 and ''Jesse''「ジェシーの背骨」) were published in English translation (translators: Yumi Gunji and Marc Jardine) as a single volume by St Martin's Press under the collective title ''Bedtime Eyes''.

Legacy

In her short novels ''Classroom for the Abandoned Dead,'' ''Afterschool Music,'' and ''I Can't Study,'' Yamada tackles the topics of childhood life, bullying, and school life. In an interview with ''

Bungei Shunjū Bungei may refer to: * ''Bungei'' (magazine), a Japanese literary magazine * The Bungei Prize, a literary prize of Japan, awarded by ''Bungei'' * Bungeishunjū, a Japanese publishing company known for its literary magazine of the same name * Wilf ...

'' upon winning the Akutagawa Prize, Risa Wataya and

Hitomi Kanehara is a Japanese novelist. Her novel ''Hebi ni piasu'' (''Snakes and Earrings'') won the Shōsetsu Subaru Literary Prize and the Akutagawa Prize, and sold over a million copies in Japan. Her work has been translated into more than a dozen languages ...

named Yamada's ''Afterschool Music'' as one of their major influences, explaining that her works were one of the greatest depictions of modern Japan.

Prizes

* 1985

---''Bedtime Eyes (Beddotaimu Aizu, ベッドタイムアイズ)'' * 1987

Naoki Prize The Naoki Prize, officially , is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. It was created in 1935 by Kikuchi Kan, then editor of the ''Bungeishunjū'' magazine, and named in memory of novelist Naoki Sanjugo. Sponsored by the Society for t ...

---''Soul Music Lovers Only (Sōru Myūjikku Rabāzu Onrī, ソウル・ミュージック・ラバーズ・オンリー)'' * 1989 Hirabayashi Taiko Bungaku Prize---''Classroom for the Abandoned Dead (Fūsō no Kyōshitsu, 風葬の教室 )'' * 1991 Jyoryū Bungaku Prize---''Trash (Torasshu, トラッシュ)'' * 1996

Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature (, ''Izumi Kyōka Bungaku Shō'') is a prize for literature in Japan named for Kyōka Izumi. It was established and started in 1973 to commemorate the 100th year since the birth of Kyōka Izumi. Kanazawa city, wh ...

---''Animal Logic (Animaru Rojikku, アニマル・ロジック)'' * 2000

Yomiuri Prize The is a literary award in Japan. The prize was founded in 1949 by the Yomiuri Shinbun Company to help form a "strong cultural nation". The winner is awarded two million Japanese yen and an inkstone. Award categories For the first two years, ...

---''A2Z'' * 2005

Tanizaki Prize The Tanizaki Prize (谷崎潤一郎賞 ''Tanizaki Jun'ichirō Shō''), named in honor of the Japanese novelist Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, is one of Japan's most sought-after literary awards. It was established in 1965 by the publishing company Chūō K� ...

---''Wonderful Flavor (Fūmizekka, 風味絶佳)'' *2012 Noma Bungei Prize---''Gentleman (Jentoruman, ジェントルマン)'' *2016 Kawabata Yasunari Bungei Prize---''Perishable Teru Teru Bozu'' (''Seishin Teru Teru Bōzu'', 生鮮てるてる坊主)

Works in English

Major works

* ベッドタイムアイズ (''Beddotaimu Aizu'') ''

Bedtime Eyes Bedtime (also called putting to bed or tucking in) is a ritual part of parenting to help children feel more secure and become accustomed to a more rigid schedule of sleep than they might prefer. The ritual of bedtime is aimed at facilitating the ...

'' (1985) * ジェシーの背骨 (''Jeshī no Sebone'') ''Jesse's Spine'' (1986) * ソウル・ミュージック・ラバーズ・オンリー (''Sōru Myūjikku Rabāzu Onrī'') ''Soul Music Lovers Only'' (1987) * 風葬の教室 (''Fūsō no Kyōshitsu'') ''Classroom for the Abandoned Dead'' (1988) * 放課後の音符 (''Hōkago no Kii Nooto'') ''Afterschool Music'' (1989) * トラッシュ (''Torasshu'') ''Trash'' (1991) * 僕は勉強ができない (''Boku wa Benkyō ga Dekinai'') ''I Can't Study'' (1993) * 120%COOOL (''120% COOOL'') 120%COOOL (1994) * アニマル・ロジック (''Animaru Rojikku'') ''Animal Logic'' (1996) * ''4U'' (1997) * ''MAGNET'' (1999) * ''A2Z'' (2003) * ''PAY DAY!!!'' (2003)

Adapted to film and television

References

External links

Amy Yamada
at J'Lit Books from Japan * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yamada, Amy 1959 births Living people Japanese women novelists Naoki Prize winners Yomiuri Prize winners Japanese female comics artists Women manga artists Manga artists Female comics artists Hentai creators Gekiga creators