Yangji Lee (March 15, 1955 – May 22, 1992) was a second generation

Zainichi Korean comprise ethnic Koreans who have permanent residency status in Japan or who have become Japanese citizens, and whose immigration to Japan originated before 1945, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

born in Nishikatsura, Yamanashi, Japan. When she was in grade school, her parents acquired Japanese citizenship and her nationality became Japanese at that time. Upon naturalization, she adopted the name Tanaka Yoshie (jap. 田中淑枝). In 1982, while studying at Seoul National University, Lee published her work ''Nabi Taryong'' in the literary magazine ''Gunzou'' and her career as a writer began. In 1988, her work ''Yuhi'' won the 100th

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 ...

, making her the second Zainichi Korean to receive the prize (the first being

Lee Hoesung Lee Hoesung is a Zainichi Korean novelist in Japan. He writes under the pen name Ri Kaisei, the Japanese reading of his Korean name. In 1972, he became the first ethnic Korean to win the Akutagawa Prize for his story "The Woman Who Fulled Clothe ...

). While writing the novel ''Ishi no Koe'', she contracted acute myocarditis and soon died.

Bibliography

* Woman Diver, 1983 (jap. かずきめ) * The Other Side of a Shadow Picture, 1985 (jap. 影絵の向こう) * The Auburn Afternoon, 1985 (jap. 鳶色の午後) * Time Ticking, 1985 (jap. 刻) * Yuhi (jap. 由熙, ユヒ, kor. 유희) * The Voice of Stones, 1992 (jap. 石の声) * The Collection of Lee Yangji, 1993 (jap. 李良枝全集)

References

External links

Synopsis of ''Yuhi''
at JLPP (Japanese Literature Publishing Project) 1955 births 1992 deaths Japanese expatriates in South Korea Japanese-language writers 20th-century Japanese novelists 20th-century Japanese women writers Japanese people of Korean descent Writers from Yamanashi Prefecture Seoul National University alumni Akutagawa Prize winners Zainichi Korean writers Deaths from myocarditis {{Japan-writer-stub