was the
pen-name
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen na ...
of Fumiko Ueda, one of the most prominent
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
women writers Women have made significant contributions to literature since the earliest written texts. Women have been at the forefront of textual communication since early civilizations.
History
Among the first known female writers is Enheduanna; she is also ...
in the
Shōwa period
Shōwa may refer to:
* Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa
* Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu
Japanese eras
* Jōwa (Heian ...
of Japan.
As a writer, Enchi is best known for her explorations into the ideas of sexuality, gender, human identity, and spirituality.
Early life
![Mr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Mr._Kazutoshi_Ueda%2C_chief_of_the_Bureau_of_Special_School_Affairs_of_the_Department_of_Education.jpg)
Fumiko Ueda was born in
Asakusa
is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the .
History
The ...
,
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, the second daughter of
Tokyo Imperial University
, abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...
linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
and professor and his wife Tsuruko.
Her father served as president of
Kokugakuin University
Kokugakuin University (國學院大學; ''Kokugakuin Daigaku'', abbreviated as 國學大 ''Kokugakudai'' or 國大 ''Kokudai'') is a private university, whose main office is in Tokyo's Shibuya district. The academic programs and research include ...
, president of
Kogakkan University
is a private university at Ise, Mie, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1882, and it was chartered as a university in 1940.
Kogakkan University is one of only two universities in Japan to offer a Shinto studies program, whose gra ...
, was a member of the
House of Peers, and was later credited with establishing the foundations of modern Japanese linguistics.
Her family also included her paternal grandmother Ine, elder brother Hisashi, elder sister Chiyo, as well as maids, houseboys, a
wet nurse
A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, or if she is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cu ...
, and a
rickshaw
A rickshaw originally denoted a two- or three-wheeled passenger cart, now known as a pulled rickshaw, which is generally pulled by one person carrying one passenger. The first known use of the term was in 1879. Over time, cycle rickshaws (also ...
driver and his wife.
Of poor health as a child, she was unable to attend classes in school on a regular basis, so her father decided to keep her at home. She was taught English,
French and
Chinese literature through private tutors. She was also strongly influenced by her paternal grandmother, who introduced her to the Japanese classics such as ''
The Tale of Genji'', as well as to
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
''
gesaku
is an alternative style, genre, or school of Japanese literature. In the simplest contemporary sense, any literary work of a playful, mocking, joking, silly or frivolous nature may be called gesaku. Unlike predecessors in the literary field, gesak ...
'' novels and to the ''
kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Kabuki is thought to ...
'' and ''
bunraku
(also known as ) is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or ( puppeteers ...
'' theater. A precocious child, at age 13, her reading list included the works of
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
,
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
,
Kyōka Izumi
, real name , was a Japanese people, Japanese author of novels, short stories, and kabuki plays who was active during the Empire of Japan, prewar period.
Kyōka's writing differed greatly from that of the naturalist writers who dominated the li ...
,
Kafū Nagai
was a Japanese writer, editor and translator. His works like '' Geisha in Rivalry'' and ''A Strange Tale from East of the River'' are noted for their depictions of life of the demimonde in early 20th-century Tokyo.
Biography
Nagai was born Sōki ...
,
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
, art name , was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "father of the Japanese short story", and Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him. He committed suicide at the age of ...
, and especially
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work ranges from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle por ...
, whose sado-masochistic aestheticism particularly fascinated her. As a child she also gained access to many rare texts when Basil Hall Chamberlain, a mentor in linguistics to her father, donated his entire library of over eleven thousand books to the family before leaving the country in 1910.
From 1918 to 1922, she attended the girl's middle school of
Japan Women's University
is the oldest and largest of private Japanese women's universities. The university was established on 20 April 1901 by education reformist .
The university has around 6000 students and 200 faculty. It has two campuses, named after the neighb ...
, but was forced to abandon her studies due to health. However, her interest in the theatre was encouraged by her father, and as a young woman, she attended the lectures of
Kaoru Osanai
was a Japanese theater director, playwright, and actor central in the development of modern Japanese theater.
Biography
Kaoru Osanai was born on July 26, 1881, in Hiroshima, the second son of Director of Hiroshima Army Garrison Hospital, Take ...
, the founder of modern
Japanese drama. Her plays took inspiration from Kaoru Osanai, and many of her later plays focused on revolutionary movements and intellectual conflicts.
Literary career
Her literary career began in 1926, with a one-act stage play published in the literary journal ''Kabuki'', which was well received by critics, who noted her sympathies with the
proletarian literature movement
Proletarian literature refers here to the literature created by left-wing writers mainly for the class-conscious proletariat. Though the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' states that because it "is essentially an intended device of revolution", it is ...
. This was followed by ''A Restless Night in Late Spring'' ( 晩春騒夜 ''Banshun s''ō''ya''), which was published in the September 1928 issue of the magazine and performed at the Tsukiji Little Theatre in December 1928. In this play, two female artists, Kayoko and Mitsuko, are caught up in a conflict on their different perspectives towards art and politics. This was Enchi's first play to be produced on stage.
In 1930, she married Yoshimatsu Enchi, a journalist with the ''
Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.4 ...
,'' with whom she had a daughter. She then began to write fiction but unlike her smooth debut as a playwright, she found it very hard to get her stories published. Although from 1939, the ''Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun'' began publishing a serialization of her translation of ''The Tale of Genji'' into modern Japanese, her early novels, such as ''The Words Like the Wind'' (''Kaze no gotoki kotoba'', 1939), ''The Treasures of Heaven and Sea'' (''Ten no sachi, umi no sachi'', 1940) and ''Spring and Autumn'' (''Shunju'', 1943) were not a commercial success. She also continued to struggle with her health, having a
mastectomy
Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operat ...
in 1938 after being diagnosed with
uterine cancer
Uterine cancer, also known as womb cancer, includes two types of cancer that develop from the tissues of the uterus. Endometrial cancer forms from the lining of the uterus, and uterine sarcoma forms from the muscles or support tissue of the uteru ...
, and suffering from post-surgical complications.
In 1945, Enchi's home and all her possessions burned during one of the
air raids on Tokyo towards the end of the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
. She had a
hysterectomy
Hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus. It may also involve removal of the cervix, ovaries (oophorectomy), Fallopian tubes (salpingectomy), and other surrounding structures.
Usually performed by a gynecologist, a hysterectomy may b ...
in 1946, and stopped writing till around 1951.
Postwar success
![Enchi Fumiko and Morita Motoko](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Enchi_Fumiko_and_Morita_Motoko.jpg)
In 1953, Enchi's novel was received favorably by critics. Her novel is a violent, harrowing tale of family misfortune and physical and emotional deprivation, based partly on wartime personal experiences, and in 1954 won the Women's Literature Prize.
Enchi's next novel was also highly praised: won the
Noma Literary Prize
The Noma Literary Prize (''Noma Bungei Shō'') was established in 1941 by the Noma Service Association (''Noma Hōkō Kai'') in accordance with the last wishes of Seiji Noma (1878–1938), founder and first president of the Kodansha publishing co ...
. The novel is set in the
Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
and analyzes the plight of women who have no alternative but to accept the demeaning role assigned to them in the patriarchal social order. The protagonist is the wife of a government official, who is humiliated when her husband not only takes
concubine
Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive.
Concubi ...
s, but has them live under the same roof as both maids and as secondary wives.
From the 1950s and 1960s, Enchi became quite successful, and wrote numerous novels and short stories exploring female
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
and
sexuality
Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
. In ''
Masks
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practi ...
'' (''Onna men'', 1958), her protagonist is based on Lady Rokujō from ''The Tale of Genji'', depicted as a shamanistic character. After losing her son in a climbing accident on
Mount Fuji
, or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest p ...
, she manipulates her widowed daughter-in-law to have a son by any means to replace the one she lost. One of the quotes from the book says, "A woman's love is quick to turn into a passion for revenge--an obsession that becomes an endless river of blood, flowing on from generation to generation".
The theme of shamanism and spiritual possession appears repeatedly in Enchi's works in the 1960s. Enchi contrasted the traditions of female subjugation in
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
with the role of the female shaman in the indigenous Japanese
Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
religion, and used this as a means to depict the female shaman as a vehicle for either retribution against men, or empowerment for women. In ''A Tale of False Fortunes'' (''Nama miko monogatari'', 1965, also translated as ''A Tale of False Oracles'', literal translation "The Tale of An Enchantress"), a retelling of the ''
Eiga Monogatari
is a Japanese ''monogatari'' which relates events in the life of courtier Fujiwara no Michinaga. It is believed to have been written by a number of authors, over the course of roughly a century, from 1028 to 1107.
It is notable for giving high c ...
'' (''A Tale of Flowering Fortunes''), she sets the story in the
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
, with the protagonist as Empress Teishi (historical figure
Fujiwara no Teishi
, also known as Sadako, was an empress consort of the Japanese Emperor Ichijō. She appears in the literary classic ''The Pillow Book'' written by her court lady Sei Shōnagon.
Life
She was the first daughter of Fujiwara no Michitaka (藤 ...
, also known as Sadako), a consort of
Emperor Ichijo
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...
. The novel won the 1966 Women's Literature Prize. Alongside ''The Waiting Years'' and ''Masks'', ''A Tale of False Fortunes'' is considered to be her third work to be directly influenced by ''The Tale of Genji''.
Three of her stories were selected for the
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 ...
in 1969: ''Shu wo ubau mono'' (朱を奪うもの), ''Kizu aru tsubasa'' (傷ある翼) and ''Niji to shura'' (虹と修羅).
Another theme in Enchi's writing is eroticism in aging women, which she saw as a biological inequality between men and women. In ''Saimu'' (lit. "Coloured Mist", 1976), an aging woman becomes obsessed with a fantasy in which she can revitalize herself through sexual liaisons with young men. Enchi's works combined elements of
realism
Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to:
In the arts
*Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts
Arts movements related to realism include:
*Classical Realism
*Literary realism, a move ...
and erotic
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
, a style that was new at the time.
Later life and death
Enchi was elected to the
Japan Art Academy
is the highest-ranking official artistic organization in Japan. It is established as an extraordinary organ of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁, Bunkacho) in the thirty-first article of the law establishing the Ministry of Ed ...
in 1970. She was made a
Person of Cultural Merit
is an official Japanese recognition and honor which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...
in 1979, and was awarded the
Order of Culture
The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature, science, technology, or anything related to culture in general; recipien ...
by the Japanese government in 1985 shortly before her death on November 12, 1986, of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
, suffered while she was at a family event in 1986 at her home in the Yanaka neighborhood of Tokyo. Her grave is at the nearby
Yanaka Cemetery
is a large cemetery located north of Ueno in Yanaka 7-chome, Taito, Tokyo, Japan. The Yanaka sector of Taito is one of the few Tokyo neighborhoods in which the old Shitamachi atmosphere can still be felt. The cemetery is famous for its beautifu ...
. Few of Enchi's works have been translated out of Japanese.
Partial list of works
Novels
* ''Kaze no gotoki kotoba'' (lit. "The Words like the Wind", 1939)
* ''Ten no sachi, umi no sachi'' (lit. "The Treasures of Heaven and Sea", 1940)
* ''Shunjū'' (lit. "Spring and Autumn", 1943)
* ''
The Waiting Years'' (''Onna Zaka'', 1949–1957), English translation by
John Bester
John Bester (1927-2010), born and educated in England, was one of the foremost translators of modern Japanese fiction. He was a graduate of the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies.
Works
* ''Classic Bonsai of Japan'' (Ne ...
. Kodansha.
* ''
Masks
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practi ...
'' (''Onna Men'', 1958), English translation by
Juliet Winters Carpenter
Juliet Winters Carpenter (born 1948) is an American translator of modern Japanese literature. Born in the American Midwest, she studied Japanese literature at the University of Michigan and the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studie ...
.
* ''A Tale of False Fortunes'' (''Nama miko monogatari'', 1965), English translation by Roger Kent Thomas. University of Hawaii Press.
* ''Saimu'' (lit. "Coloured Mist", 1976)
One-act plays
* ''Furusato'' (lit. "Birthplace", 1926)
* ''Restless Night in Late Spring'' (''Banshu sōya'', 1928)
Translation
* ''Enchi Genji'', a translation of ''
The Tale of Genji'' into modern Japanese.
See also
*
Japanese literature
Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japanes ...
*
List of Japanese authors
This is an alphabetical list of writers who are Japanese, or are famous for having written in the Japanese language.
Writers are listed by the native order of Japanese names, family name followed by given name to ensure consistency although some ...
Notes
References
*Cornyetz, Nina. ''Dangerous Women, Deadly Words: Phallic Fantasy and Modernity in Three Japanese Writers'', Stanford University Press, 1999.
*
*McClain, Yoko. "Eroticism and the Writings of Enchi Fumiko." ''The Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese,'' Volume 15, Number 1, 1980 pp. 32–46.
*North, Lucy. "Enchi Fumiko." ''Modern Japanese Writers'', Ed. Jay Rubin, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001. pp. 89–105.
*
*
*Schierbeck, Sachiko. ''Japanese Women Novelists in the 20th Century''. Museum Tusculanum Press (1994).
External links
Fumiko Enchiat J'Lit Books from Japan
at JLPP (Japanese Literature Publishing Project)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enchi, Fumiko
1905 births
1982 deaths
Writers from Tokyo
Japanese women novelists
Japanese women short story writers
20th-century Japanese women writers
20th-century Japanese novelists
20th-century Japanese dramatists and playwrights
20th-century Japanese short story writers