''The Waiting Years'' (originally published under the title 女坂 ''Onnazaka'') is a novel by

Fumiko Enchi was the pen-name of Fumiko Ueda, one of the most prominent Japanese women writers in the Shōwa period of Japan. As a writer, Enchi is best known for her explorations into the ideas of sexuality, gender, human identity, and spirituality. Early ...

, set within the milieu of an upper-class Japanese family in the last years of the 19th century. It was first published in 1957 and won the

Noma Prize The Noma Prizes were established by Shoichi Noma, or in his honor. More than one award is conventionally identified as the ''Noma Prize''. Noma was the former head of Kodansha, the Japanese publishing and bookselling company. Kodansha is Japan's ...

. An English translation, by John Bester, has been published by Kodansha. The novel is primarily set in the district of

Asakusa is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the . History The ...

and Fukushima Prefecture.

References

Novel articles needing attention Works by Japanese writers Novels set in Japan 1957 novels Asakusa 20th-century Japanese novels {{1950s-hist-novel-stub