Takako Nakamoto was a Japanese novelist and activist. She is best known for writing proletariat literature before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and after the war, she became known for writing about political protests.

Early life and education

Nakamoto was born in

Yamaguchi prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). Y ...

on November 19, 1903. Her father was a retired army officer who taught

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

at a middle school. After graduating from Yamaguchi Koto Jogakko, she worked as an elementary school teacher in Yamaguchi.

Career

In 1927, Nakamoto moved to Tokyo and wrote for the '' Nyonin Geijutsu''. While living in Tokyo she incited textile workers to strike for the right to leave their

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared b ...

at night. After that she was arrested for her involvement with the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

, but she did not officially join the party until 1960, after the changes to the Japanese government that happened after World War II. The stories she wrote during this period are often associated with the proletarian literature movement. She wrote in 1937, which was one of the first books written about female prisoners. Under pressure from the Japanese military government to produce works that support the war movement, she pivoted from writing proletarian literature to writing . These novels often focused on the experience of ironworkers. In 1941, Nakamoto married Korehito Kurahara. They had two children. After World War II, Nakamoto wrote about her experiences in prison and under police surveillance. She also began writing about protests and demonstrations, such as the

Sunagawa struggle The was a protest movement in Japan, starting in 1955 and continuing until 1957, against the expansion of the U.S. Air Force's Tachikawa Air Base into the nearby village of Sunagawa. Taking place at the peak of a growing anti-base movement, "Blo ...

. Her book was about her work protesting against the

Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan The , more commonly known as the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty in English and as the or just in Japanese, is a treaty that permits the presence of U.S. military bases on Japanese soil, and commits the two nations to defend each other if one or th ...

. Throughout her career her works were nominated for the '' Bungei Shunjun'' award, 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 ...

, and the Nakamoto died of

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

on September 28, 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakamoto, Takako 1903 births 1991 deaths 20th-century Japanese novelists 20th-century Japanese women writers Japanese activists Japanese communists