Name Akiko Itoyama Role Novelist | Books In Pursuit of Lavender | |
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Introducing "不愉快な本の続編 (Fuyukai na Hon no Zokuhen)" by Akiko Itoyama : Rin
Akiko Itoyama (絲山 秋子, Itoyama Akiko, born in Setagaya, Tokyo on November 22, 1966, now living in Takasaki, Gunma) is a Japanese novelist, who won the 134th Akutagawa Prize.
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Biography
After graduation from Shinjuku High School and the Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University, she worked as a saleswoman for a major household equipment company and, as is common in Japanese corporate life, was transferred several times to various localities. Treatment for cyclic psychosis led to her writing.
Her works, which focus on human relations, have been nominated for and received literary awards. She was recipient of the 96th Bungakukai New Face Award and a nominee for the 129th Akutagawa Prize by her first volume, It's only talk, in 2003. After three consecutive nominations, she finally won the Akutagawa Prize January 2006. She has been praised for her ability to describe provincial scenery and represent regional accents and dialects, reflecting the characters' image, even though she was brought up in Tokyo. She explains that she learned them through repeated company transfers all over Japan.
A translation of her Waiting in the Offing (Oki de Matsu) appears in the March 2007 (online) edition of Words Without Borders. An English translation of It's Only Talk was published by The Japan Times in March 2009.