Reiko Mori (森禮子) (July 7, 1928 March 28, 2014) was a Japanese novelist and playwright. She was awarded the Akutagawa Award for her book ''Mokkingubado no iru machi'' (モッキングバードのいる町) in 1979.

Early life and education

Mori was born Reiko Kawada on July 7, 1928 in

Fukuoka, Japan is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

. Her father died in 1933, and her one of her sisters died in 1945. Mori was a sickly child, and while ill in bed, would often read. However, the family did not have much money, so she could not afford to go to university. She but was able to audit classes while working at the Seinan University library, and began writing after meeting a group of poets while working at the library. She became a Baptist Christian in 1947.

Career

In 1952, moved into the house next door to Mori's. He published her poems, stories, and essays in his literary magazine, the Kyushu Bungaku. She wrote under the penname "Reiko Mori". Mori moved to Tokyo in 1956, and was encouraged to continue publishing by

Ashihei Hino (born 玉井勝則, ''Tamai Katsunori''; 25 January 1907 – 24 January 1960) was a Japanese writer, whose works included depictions of military life during World War II. He was born in Wakamatsu (now Wakamatsu ward, Kitakyūshū) and in 1937 h ...

. After meeting Rinzo Shiina in 1960, she began to write about similar themes to his works. Many of her early works were nominated or shortlisted for awards. She visited Europe in 1972 and the United States in 1975. After the latter trip she wrote a book called ''Mokkingubado no iru machi'' (モッキングバードのいる町), which won the Akutagawa Award in 1979. She then visited

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

and wrote a book called ''Sansai no onna'' (三彩の女) in 1983. Mori died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

on March 28, 2014.

Style

Mori began her career by writing short stories and plays. After meeting Shiina, she began to write more plays that had themes of emancipation. She frequently wrote about

hidden Christians ''Kakure kirishitan'' () is a modern term for a member of the Catholic Church in Japan that went underground at the start of the Edo period in the early 17th century due to Christianity's repression by the Tokugawa shogunate. History Origin ...

during the

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 ...

. After Shiina died in 1973, she began to write children's plays and essays about her faith. She also began writing literary criticism. Toward the end of her career Mori wrote about women's issues and published two biographies, one of

Sumako Matsui was a Japanese actress and singer. Born as Masako Kobayashi in Matsushiro, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture as the fifth daughter and last of nine children of Tohta Kobayashi, she was adopted by the Hasegawa family in Ueda at the age of six and in 1900 g ...

and another of

Yaeko Batchelor was an Ainu waka poet and evangelist. Life Yaeko Batchelor was born on June 13, 1884, in Usu, Date City, Hokkaido. Her name was entered into the family register as , and her childhood name was Fuchi. Her father was , a member of a powerful ...

Selected bibliography

* ''Chinkon kyoku'' (鎮魂曲), 1957 * ''Mokkingubado no iru machi'' (モッキングバードのいる町), 1979 * ''Goto kuzure'' (五島崩れ), 1980 * ''Jinsei no mawari michi'' (人生のまわり道), 1981 * ''Sansai no onna'' (三彩の女), 1983 * ''Kamin chu'' (神女), 1989

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mori, Reiko 1928 births 2014 deaths Japanese women novelists People from Fukuoka Japanese Baptists 20th-century Baptists