is a Japanese author and novelist known for her works on the history of Italy, especially those dealing with

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

and the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

period.

Biography

Shiono was born in

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 ...

, on 7 July 1937. In high school she read

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

's ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

'' and was fascinated by it. She graduated from

Gakushuin University is a private university in Mejiro, Toshima Ward, Tokyo. It was re-established after World War II as an affiliate of the Gakushūin School Corporation. The privatized successor to the original Gakushūin University (or "Peers School") was estab ...

with a degree in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. During her school years, she was deeply involved with student activism, but eventually became disillusioned with the movement. Shiono wanted to attend

Waseda University , mottoeng = Independence of scholarship , established = 21 October 1882 , type = Private , endowment = , president = Aiji Tanaka , city = Shinjuku , state = Tokyo , country = Japan , students = 47,959 , undergrad = 39,382 , postgrad ...

, but she was denied by her father. From 1963 to 1968, she lived in Italy, studying the language and history of the country on her own. During this time, she also travelled extensively in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Upon returning to Japan in 1968, she began to write and published her first book, ''Runesansu no Onna-tachi'' (Women of the Renaissance), in the literary magazine Chūo Kōron. In 1970, she published her second work ''Chēzare Borujia Aruiwa Yūganaru Reikoku'' (Cesare Borgia the Elegant Tyrant). In the same year, she married an Italian doctor of Sicilian descent and moved to

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. They had a son, but later divorced. She moved to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1993 and currently lives there.

Works

Her early work from the 1970s contain many historical novels set in Renaissance Italy, such as those listed above and ''Kami no Dairinin'' (Deputies of God). Later her interests shifted to the history of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. In 1980, she published ''Umi no Miyako no Monogatari'' (Story of the City of the Sea), the work that made Shiono a nationally known figure. In 1992 Shiono started a monumental work on ancient Rome, ''Roma-jin no Monogatari'' (Stories of the Romans). Completed in 2006, it is a 15-volume series that traces the history of the city and the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

. She has also written many non-fiction works, mainly essays on historic, political and/or cultural topics.

Reputation and awards

Although her first works were well received in Japan, it was not until the publication of ''Umi no Miyako no Monogatari'' that she became a best-selling author. ''Umi no Miyako no Monogatari'' became a literary phenomenon in the 1980s, eliciting reviews that compared Venice to Japan and sought hints about the future of Japan in her book. Her books were first published in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

in 1995, and ''Roma-jin no Monogatari'' quickly became a bestseller there (''Roma-in Iyagi'' in Korean). Shiono was awarded the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award from the

Mainichi The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (prev ...

daily newspaper for ''Runesansu no Onna-tachi''. In 1982, ''Umi no Miyako no Monogatari'' won the Suntory Literary Prize. She won the

Kikuchi Kan , also known as Kan Kikuchi (which uses the same kanji as his real name), was a Japanese author. He established the publishing company Bungeishunjū, the monthly magazine of the same name, the Japan Writer's Association and both the Akutagawa ...

Prize the following year. For ''Roma-jin no Monogatari'', she was awarded the Shincho Literary Prize. She received the

Shiba Ryotaro Shiba may refer to: *Shiba Inu, a breed of dog *Shiba clan,_Japanese_clan_originating_in_the_Sengoku_period *Shiba_Inu_(cryptocurrency).html" ;"title="DF 58 of 80/nowiki>">DF 58 of 80">("Shi ..., Japanese clan originating in the Sengoku period *Shi ...

Prize in 1999, and in 2002 the Italian government conferred upon her the Grande Ufficiale Order of Merit for introducing Italian history and culture to Japan. In Japan, opinions about Shiono's work are divided. Her works have been praised for their historical sweep, but have also been called oversimplified depictions of moments in history that were in fact multi-faceted and complicated. Professional historians tend to criticize her works for their lack of references and objectivity. Her interpretations of

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

history have been challenged, and some critics object to what they see as right-leaning political tendencies.

Shiono Nanami's Works

Works on the Renaissance

* ''Runesansu no Onna-tachi (Women of the

)'' (1968) * ''Chēzare Borujia Aruiwa Yūganaru Reikoku (

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (; ca-valencia, Cèsar Borja ; es, link=no, César Borja ; 13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was an Italian ex- cardinal and '' condottiero'' (mercenary leader) of Aragonese (Spanish) origin, whose fight for power was a major ...

the Elegant Tyrant)'' (1970) * ''Umi no Miyako no Monogatari (Story of the City of the Sea)'' (1980) * ''Kami no Dairinin (Deputies of God)'' (1972) * ''Waga Tomo Makiavetri (My Friend Machiavelli)'' (1987)

Res Gestae Populi Romani

* ''Roma-jin no Monogatari (Res Gestae Populi Romani: Stories of the Romans)'' (1992–2006) ** ''Roma wa Ichinichi ni shite Narazu (Roma Non Uno Die Aedificata Est: Rome was not Built in A Day)'' (1992) ** ''Hannibaru Senki (Bellum Hannibalicum: The

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

War)'' (1993) ** ''Shōsha no Konmei (Bellorum Civilium: The Turmoil of the Victor)'' (1994) ** ''Yuriusu Kaesaru, Rubikon Izen (C. Iulius Caesar Ante Rubiconem:

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

, Before Crossing the Rubicon)'' (1995) ** ''Yuriusu Kaesaru, Rubikon Igo (C. Iulius Caesar Post Rubiconem:

, After Crossing the Rubicon)'' (1996) ** ''Pakkusu Rōmana (

Pax Romana The Pax Romana (Latin for 'Roman peace') is a roughly 200-year-long timespan of Roman history which is identified as a period and as a golden age of increased as well as sustained Roman imperialism, relative peace and order, prosperous stabilit ...

)'' (1997) ** ''Akumei Takaki Kōtei-tachi (Imperatores Malæ Famæ: The Infamous Emperors)'' (1998) ** ''Kiki to Kokufuku (Crisis Et Ab Ea Exitus: Crisis and Vanquishment)'' (1999) ** ''Kentei no Seiki (Sæculum Aureum: The Century of Good Emperors)'' (2000) ** ''Subete no Michi wa Rōma ni Tsūzu (Omniæ Viæ Quæ Ad Romam Duxerunt: All Roads Lead to Rome)'' (2001) ** ''Owari no Hajimari (Finis Principium: Start of the Catastrophe)'' (2002) ** ''Meisō Suru Teikoku (Tertii Sæculi Crisis: The Empire in Chaos)'' (2003) ** ''Saigo no Doryoku (De Ultimis Laboribus: The Last Endeavour)'' (2004) ** ''Kirisuto no Shōri (De Christi Victoria: The Victory of Christ)'' (2005) ** ''Rōma Sekai no Shūen (Romani Mundi Finis: The End of the Roman World)'' (2006)

Novels (fiction)

The East Mediterranean Trilogy

* ''Konstantinōpuru no Kanraku (The

Fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city fell on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun o ...

)'' (1983) ** ''The Fall of Constantinople'' translated into English by Kerim Yasar - Vertical Inc. 2005 * ''Rōdosu-to Kōbō-ki (The Record of the Battle of

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

)'' (1985) ** ''The Siege of Rhodes'' translated into English by Carolyn L. Temporelli, Wilburn Hansen, & Steven Wills - Vertical Inc. 2006 * ''Repanto no Kaisen ( The Battle of Lepanto)'' (1987) ** ''The Battle of Lepanto'' translated into English by Carolyn L. Temporelli, Steven M. Bryan, & Wilburn Hansen - Vertical Inc. 2007

The Stories from Three Cities

* ''Hiiro no Venezia (

in Crimson)'' (1987) * ''Giniro no Firenze (

in Silver)'' (1989) * ''Oōgon no Roma (

in Gold)'' (1990)

Essays

* ''Silent Minority'' (1993) * ''Otoko-tachi E (To Men)'' (1989) * ''Futatabi Otoko-tachi E (To Men Again)'' (1994) * ''Itaria Kara no Tegami (Letters from Italy)'' (1972) * ''Itaria Ibun (Strange tales from Italy)'' (1979) * ''Otona Futari no Gogo (Afternoon Conversation between Two Adults)'', co-authored with Hiroyuki Itsuki (1998)

Awards and honors

Publishing Culture Award (1970) * Suntory Literary Prize (1981) *

Kikuchi Kan Prize The honors achievement in all aspects of Japanese literary culture. It was named in honor of Kikuchi Kan. The prize is presented annually by the literary magazine ''Bungei Shunjū'' and the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature. Histor ...

(1982) * Shincho Literary Prize (1993) *

Award (1999) * Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (2000) * JSCE(Japan Society of Civil Engineers) Publication Prize (2001) * Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon(2005) * Person of Cultural Merit (2007)

References

* Blog and wiki devoted to Shiono.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shiono, Nanami 1937 births Living people Japanese historical novelists Japanese essayists Japanese expatriates in Italy Japanese women essayists Japanese women novelists Japanese anti-communists Gakushuin University alumni Writers from Tokyo Grand Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Recipients of the Medal of Honor (Japan) Women historical novelists