is the author of the internationally best-selling novel, ''

Breasts and Eggs is a short novel by Mieko Kawakami, published by Bungeishunjū in February 2008. It was awarded the 138th Akutagawa Prize. The original work has not been translated into English. In 2019, Kawakami published the novel . It features a completely ...

'', a ''New York Times'' Notable Book of the Year and one of ''TIME'' Best 10 Books of 2020. Born in Osaka on August 29, 1976, Kawakami made her literary debut as a poet in 2006, and published her first novella, ''My Ego, My Teeth, and the World'', in 2007. Her writing is known for its poetic qualities and its insights into the female body, ethical questions, and the dilemmas of modern society. Her works have been translated into many languages and are available all over the world. She has received numerous prestigious literary awards in Japan for her work, including 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 The ...

, 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� ...

, and the

Murasaki Shikibu Prize The Murasaki Shikibu Prize () is a Japanese literary award awarded annually to an outstanding piece of literature in Japanese by a female author. It was established in 1991 by the city of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture in honor of Murasaki Shikibu ...

. She lives in Tokyo, Japan.

Career

Kawakami worked as a bar hostess and bookstore clerk before embarking on a singing career. Kawakami released three albums and three singles as a singer, but quit her singing career in 2006 to focus on writing. Before winning the

in 2008 for ''

'', Kawakami was known in Japan primarily as a blogger. At its peak, her popular blog received over 200,000 hits per day. Kawakami's first full-length novel, titled ''

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

'', won the 2010

for Literature. In 2012, an English translation of her short story "March Yarn" appeared in ''March was Made of Yarn'', a collection of essays and stories about the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...

. In 2016, she was selected as Granta Best of Young Japanese Novelists 2016 for her short story "Marie's Proof of Love". From 2015 to 2017, Kawakami conducted a series of interviews with

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been bestsellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for his ...

, in which she notably asked him about women and

sexualization Sexualization (or sexualisation) is to make something sexual in character or quality or to become aware of sexuality, especially in relation to men and women. Sexualization is linked to sexual objectification. According to the American Psychologi ...

in his novels. The edited volume of these interviews, titled was published in 2017. Kawakami's novel, ''Ms Ice Sandwich'', made the shortlist of the 2018 edition of the

Grand Prix of Literary Associations The Grand Prix of Literary Associations (GPLA) were launched in 2013 in Cameroon, in partnership with Brasseries du Cameroun and sponsorship by Castel Beer. The GPLA are defined as bilingual English-and-French literary prizes, some being awar ...

. In 2019, Kawakami published ''Summer Stories'', a considerably expanded version of her novella ''Breasts and Eggs'' and received the 73rd Mainichi Publication Culture Award. In 2020, the English translation of ''Summer Stories'' was published by

Europa Editions Europa Editions is an independent trade publisher based in New York. The company was founded in 2005 by the owners of the Italian press Edizioni E/O and specializes in literary fiction, mysteries, and narrative non-fiction. Europa has published ...

and has attained high acclaim. ''The New York Times'' ran a review by

Katie Kitamura Katie Kitamura is an American novelist, journalist, and art critic. She is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at the London Consortium. Early life and education Katie Kitamura was born in Sacramento, California in 1979 to a family of Japanese ...

on the day of publication, in which she observes, "Mieko Kawakami writes with a bracing lack of sentimentality, particularly when describing the lives of women." Her 2022 book, ''All the Lovers in the Night'', was a finalist for the 2023

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".Osaka dialect The is a group of Japanese dialects in the Kansai region (Kinki region) of Japan. In Japanese, is the common name and it is called in technical terms. The dialects of Kyoto and Osaka are known as , and were particularly referred to as suc ...

, a distinctive Japanese dialect spoken in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

and surrounding cities. She also incorporates experimental and poetic language into her short stories and novels, citing

Lydia Davis Lydia Davis (born July 15, 1947) is an American short story writer, novelist, essayist, and translator from French and other languages, who often writes short (one or two pages long) short stories. Davis has produced several new translations of ...

and

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

as literary influences. Japanese author

called her his favorite young novelist and has described her writing as "ceaselessly growing and evolving".

Recognition

* 2007 Tsubouchi Shoyo Prize for Young Emerging Writers for ''Watakushi ritsuin hā, mata wa sekai'' (''My Ego Ratio, My Teeth, and the World'') * 2008 Chūya Nakahara Prize for ''Sentan de, sasuwa sasareruwa sora eewa'' * 2008

for ''Breasts and Eggs'' * 2010

for ''Heaven'' * 2013

for ''Ai no Yume toka'' (''Dreams of Love, etc.'') * 2016 Watanabe Junichiro Prize for ''Akogare'' (''Yearning'') * 2019 Mainichi Publication Culture Award for ''Summer Stories''

Bibliography

Books in Japanese

* ''Watakushi ritsu in ha, mata wa sekai'' (わたくし率イン歯一、または世界, ''My Ego Ratio, My Teeth, and the World''), Kodansha, 2007, * '' Chichi to ran'' (乳と卵, ''Breasts and Eggs''), Bungeishunju, 2008, * ''Sentan de, sasuwa sasareruwa soraeewa''(先端で、さすわさされるわそらええわ), Seidosha, 2008, * ''Hevun'' (ヘヴン''

''), Kodansha, 2009, * ''Subete mayonaka no koibito tachi'' (すべて真夜中の恋人たち, ''

All the Lovers in the Night is a 2011 novel by Mieko Kawakami, published by Kodansha. It was first published in September 2011 issue of the Japanese literary monthly ''Gunzo''. In 2022, the novel was translated from Japanese into English by Sam Bett and David Boyd. The bo ...

''), Kodansha, 2011, * ''Ai no yume to ka'' (愛の夢とか, ''Dreams of Love, etc.''), Kodansha, 2013, * ''Akogare'' (あこがれ, ''Yearning''), Shinchosha, 2015 * ''Wisteria to sannin no onna tachi'' (ウィステリアと三人の女たち, "Wisteria and Three Women"), Shinchosha, 2017, * ''Natsu monogatari'' (夏物語, "Summer Stories"), Bungeishunju, 2019, * ''Haru no kowai mono'' (春のこわいもの, "The Fears of Spring"), Shinchosha, 2022,

Selected work in English

* "From ''Breasts and Eggs''," trans. Louise Heal Kawai, ''Words Without Borders'', 2012 * "March Yarn," trans. Michael Emmerich, ''March was Made of Yarn: Reflections on the Japanese Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Meltdown'', 2012 * "Where Have All the Sundays Gone?", trans. Hitomi Yoshio, ''Words Without Borders'', 2015 * "About Her and the Memories That Belong to Her", trans. Hitomi Yoshio, ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...

'' 132, 2015 * "Strawberry Fields Forever and Ever," trans. Hitomi Yoshio, ''Pleiades: Literature in Context'', 2016 * "The Flower Garden," trans. Hitomi Yoshio, ''Freeman's: The Future of New Writing'', 2017 * ''Ms. Ice Sandwich'', trans. Louise Heal Kawai,

Pushkin Press Pushkin Press is a British-based publishing house dedicated to publishing novels, essays, memoirs and children's books. The London-based company was founded in 1997 and is notable for publishing authors such as Stefan Zweig, Marcel Aymé, Anta ...

, 2018, * "How Much Heart," trans. David Boyd, ''Granta Online'', 2018 * ''

'', trans. Sam Bett and David Boyd,

, 2020, *"The Flowers Look More Beautiful Now Than Ever," trans. Hitomi Yoshio, ''Granta Online'', 2020 *"Shame", trans. Louise Heal Kawai and Hitomi Yoshio, ''Granta Online'', 2020 * ''

'', trans. Sam Bett and David Boyd,

, 2021, p. 192. * ''

'', trans. Sam Bett and David Boyd,

, 2022, p. 224.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawakami, Mieko 1976 births Living people Japanese writers Akutagawa Prize winners Writers from Osaka Singers from Osaka 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers