Banana Yoshimoto (吉本 ばなな, Yoshimoto Banana, born 24 July 1964[1]) is the pen name of Japanese writer Mahoko Yoshimoto (吉本 真秀子, Yoshimoto Mahoko). From 2002 to 2015, she wrote her name in hiragana (よしもと ばなな).
Banana Yoshimoto
Native name
吉本 ばなな
Born
Mahoko Yoshimoto (1964-07-24) July 24, 1964 (age 58) Tokyo, Japan
Yoshimoto was born in Tokyo on July 24, 1964, and grew up in a liberal family. Her father was the poet and critic Takaaki Yoshimoto, and her sister, Haruno Yoiko, is a well-known cartoonist in Japan.
Yoshimoto graduated from Nihon University's College of Art with a major in literature. While there, she adopted the pseudonym "Banana", after her love of banana flowers, a name she recognizes as both "cute" and "purposefully androgynous."[2]
Yoshimoto keeps her personal life guarded and reveals little about her certified rolfing practitioner husband, Hiroyoshi Tahata, or son (born in 2003). Each day she takes half an hour to write at her computer, and she says, "I tend to feel guilty because I write these stories almost for fun."[citation needed] Between 2008 and 2010, she maintained an online journal for English-speaking fans.[3]
Writing career
Yoshimoto began her writing career while working as a waitress at a golf club restaurant, in 1987.
Her debut work, Kitchen (1988), had over 60 printings in Japan alone. There have been two film adaptations: a Japanese TV movie[4] and a more widely released version titled Wo ai chu fang, produced in Hong Kong by Ho Yim in 1997.[5]
In November 1987, Yoshimoto won the 6th Kaien Newcomer Writers Prize for Kitchen; in 1988, the novel was nominated for the Mishima Yukio Prize, and in 1989, it received the 39th Minister of Education's Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists.[6] In 1988 (January), she also won the 16th Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature, for the novella Moonlight Shadow, which is included in most editions of Kitchen.
Her works include twelve novels and seven collections of essays (including Pineapple Pudding and Song From Banana) which have together sold over six million copies worldwide.[8] Her themes include love and friendship, the power of home and family, and the effect of loss on the human spirit.
In 2013, Yoshimoto wrote the serialized novel, Shall We Love? (僕たち、恋愛しようか?), for the women's magazine Anan, with singer-actor Lee Seung-gi as the central character. The romance novel was the first of her works to feature a Korean singer as the central character.[9][10]
Writing style
Yoshimoto says that her two main themes are "the exhaustion of young Japanese in contemporary Japan" and "the way in which terrible experiences shape a person's life".[11]
Her works describe the problems faced by youth, urban existentialism, and teenagers trapped between imagination and reality. Her works are targeted not only to the young and rebellious, but also to grown-ups who are still young at heart. Yoshimoto's characters, settings, and titles have a modern and American approach, but the core is Japanese. She addresses readers in a personal and friendly way, with warmth and outright innocence, writing about the simple things such as the squeaking of wooden floors or the pleasant smell of food. Food and dreams are recurring themes in her work which are often associated with memories and emotions. Yoshimoto admits that most of her artistic inspiration derives from her own dreams and that she'd like to always be sleeping and living a life full of dreams.[12]
In 1987, Yoshimoto won the Kaien Newcomer Writers Prize, for Kitchen. In 1988, she was awarded the 16th Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature, for Moonlight Shadow. The following year, she earned two more accolades: the 39th Minister of Education's Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists (for the fiscal year of 1988), for Kitchen and Utakata/Sanctuary, and the 2nd Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize, for Goodbye Tsugumi. In 1995, she won the 5th Murasaki Shikibu Prize for Amrita, her first full-length novel. And in 2000, she received the 10th Bunkamura Deux Magots Literary Prize, for Furin to Nambei, a collection of stories set in South America.
Outside Japan, she has been awarded prizes in Italy: the Scanno Literary Prize in 1993, the Fendissime Literary Prize in 1996, the Literary Prize Maschera d'Argento in 1999, and the Capri Award in 2011.[14]
^"Banana Yoshimoto". Counterpoint Press. 3 May 2016. from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
^Ichikawa, Jun (Director) (1990). Tsugumi. IMDb. from the original on 2019-12-13. Retrieved 2018-07-01.
^Copeland, Rebecca L. (2006). Woman Critiqued: Translated Essays on Japanese Women's Writing. University of Hawaii Press. p. 167. ISBN0-8248-2958-1. from the original on 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
^Lee, KyungNam (April 1, 2013). "Lee Seung Gi to Appear as Lead in New Yoshimoto Banana Novel". mwave. from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
^Lent, Jesse (April 2, 2013). "Lee Seung Gi To Appear As Hero In Upcoming Banana Yoshimoto Romance Novel 'Shall We Love' For Women's Magazine Anan". kpopstarz.com. from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
^"Banana Yoshimoto and the young". March 26, 2012. from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
^Treat, John Whittier (Summer 1993). "Yoshimoto Banana Writes Home: Shojo Culture and the Nostalgic Subject". Journal of Japanese Studies. 19 (2): 353–387. doi:10.2307/132644. JSTOR 132644.
^Schodt, Frederik L. (2011). Dreamland Japan : writings on modern manga. Berkeley, California. p. 292. ISBN978-1-933330-95-2. OCLC 731210677.
^"Banana Yoshimoto wins Italian literary prize". Melville House. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to Banana Yoshimoto.
Official website
Article from Metropolis
Bananamania
Romantic Love in the Early Fiction of Banana Yoshimoto
banana, yoshimoto, 吉本, ばなな, yoshimoto, banana, born, july, 1964, name, japanese, writer, mahoko, yoshimoto, 吉本, 真秀子, yoshimoto, mahoko, from, 2002, 2015, wrote, name, hiragana, よしもと, ばなな, native, name吉本, ばななbornmahoko, yoshimoto, 1964, july, 1964, tokyo, japan. Banana Yoshimoto 吉本 ばなな Yoshimoto Banana born 24 July 1964 1 is the pen name of Japanese writer Mahoko Yoshimoto 吉本 真秀子 Yoshimoto Mahoko From 2002 to 2015 she wrote her name in hiragana よしもと ばなな Banana YoshimotoNative name吉本 ばななBornMahoko Yoshimoto 1964 07 24 July 24 1964 age 58 Tokyo JapanOccupationNovelistNationalityJapanesePeriod1987 presentGenreFictionWebsiteOfficial website Contents 1 Biography 2 Writing career 3 Publications 4 Writing style 5 Awards 6 Bibliography 7 References 8 External linksBiography EditYoshimoto was born in Tokyo on July 24 1964 and grew up in a liberal family Her father was the poet and critic Takaaki Yoshimoto and her sister Haruno Yoiko is a well known cartoonist in Japan Yoshimoto graduated from Nihon University s College of Art with a major in literature While there she adopted the pseudonym Banana after her love of banana flowers a name she recognizes as both cute and purposefully androgynous 2 Yoshimoto keeps her personal life guarded and reveals little about her certified rolfing practitioner husband Hiroyoshi Tahata or son born in 2003 Each day she takes half an hour to write at her computer and she says I tend to feel guilty because I write these stories almost for fun citation needed Between 2008 and 2010 she maintained an online journal for English speaking fans 3 Writing career EditYoshimoto began her writing career while working as a waitress at a golf club restaurant in 1987 Her debut work Kitchen 1988 had over 60 printings in Japan alone There have been two film adaptations a Japanese TV movie 4 and a more widely released version titled Wo ai chu fang produced in Hong Kong by Ho Yim in 1997 5 In November 1987 Yoshimoto won the 6th Kaien Newcomer Writers Prize for Kitchen in 1988 the novel was nominated for the Mishima Yukio Prize and in 1989 it received the 39th Minister of Education s Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists 6 In 1988 January she also won the 16th Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature for the novella Moonlight Shadow which is included in most editions of Kitchen Another one of her novels Goodbye Tsugumi 1989 received mixed reviews but was made into a 1990 movie directed by Jun Ichikawa 7 Publications EditHer works include twelve novels and seven collections of essays including Pineapple Pudding and Song From Banana which have together sold over six million copies worldwide 8 Her themes include love and friendship the power of home and family and the effect of loss on the human spirit In 1998 she wrote the foreword to the Italian edition of the book Ryuichi Sakamoto Conversazioni by musicologist Massimo Milano In 2013 Yoshimoto wrote the serialized novel Shall We Love 僕たち 恋愛しようか for the women s magazine Anan with singer actor Lee Seung gi as the central character The romance novel was the first of her works to feature a Korean singer as the central character 9 10 Writing style EditYoshimoto says that her two main themes are the exhaustion of young Japanese in contemporary Japan and the way in which terrible experiences shape a person s life 11 Her works describe the problems faced by youth urban existentialism and teenagers trapped between imagination and reality Her works are targeted not only to the young and rebellious but also to grown ups who are still young at heart Yoshimoto s characters settings and titles have a modern and American approach but the core is Japanese She addresses readers in a personal and friendly way with warmth and outright innocence writing about the simple things such as the squeaking of wooden floors or the pleasant smell of food Food and dreams are recurring themes in her work which are often associated with memories and emotions Yoshimoto admits that most of her artistic inspiration derives from her own dreams and that she d like to always be sleeping and living a life full of dreams 12 She named American author Stephen King as one of her first major influences and drew inspiration from his non horror stories As her writing progressed she was further influenced by Truman Capote and Isaac Bashevis Singer citation needed Also manga artist Yumiko Ōshima was an inspiration 13 Awards EditIn 1987 Yoshimoto won the Kaien Newcomer Writers Prize for Kitchen In 1988 she was awarded the 16th Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature for Moonlight Shadow The following year she earned two more accolades the 39th Minister of Education s Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists for the fiscal year of 1988 for Kitchen and Utakata Sanctuary and the 2nd Yamamoto Shugorō Prize for Goodbye Tsugumi In 1995 she won the 5th Murasaki Shikibu Prize for Amrita her first full length novel And in 2000 she received the 10th Bunkamura Deux Magots Literary Prize for Furin to Nambei a collection of stories set in South America Outside Japan she has been awarded prizes in Italy the Scanno Literary Prize in 1993 the Fendissime Literary Prize in 1996 the Literary Prize Maschera d Argento in 1999 and the Capri Award in 2011 14 The Lake was longlisted for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize Bibliography EditTitles between parentheses are rough translations if the novel has not been translated Title Publish dateEnglishtranslation Japanese Japanese EnglishtranslationMoonlight Shadow ムーンライト シャドウ 1986 1993 included in most editions of Kitchen Kitchen キッチン 1988 1993 Transient Sanctuary うたかた サンクチュアリ 1988 Sad premonition 哀しい予感 1988Goodbye Tsugumi TUGUMI 1989 2002Asleep 白河夜船 1989 2000N P N P 1990 1994Lizard とかげ 1993 1995Amrita アムリタ 1994 1997 Marika s lengthy night dreamlog in Bali マリカの永い夜 バリ夢日記 1994 Hachiko s last lover ハチ公の最後の恋人 1994Sly SLY 1996 Honeymoon ハネムーン 1997Hardboiled amp Hard Luck ハードボイルド ハードラック 1999 2005 Occult Collection of essays selected by the author 1 オカルト 2000 Love Collection of essays selected by the author 2 ラブ 2000 Death Collection of essays selected by the author 3 デス 2001 Life Collection of essays selected by the author 4 ライフ 2001 The body knows everything 体は全部知っている 2000Furin to Nanbei Adultery and South America 不倫と南米 2000Daisy s Life ひな菊の人生 2000 Kingdoms first instalment Andromeda Heights 王国 その1 アンドロメダ ハイツ 2002 Rainbow 虹 2002Argentine Hag with drawings and pictures by Yoshitomo Nara アルゼンチンババア 2002 2002 Also published in English by RockinOn Cloak of feathers ハゴロモ 2003Dead End Memories デッドエンドの思い出 2003 2022 Don t worry be happy なんくるない 2004 High and dry first love High and dry はつ恋 2004 Lid of the sea 海のふた 2004 Kingdoms second instalment the shadow of lost things and ensuing magic 王国 その2 痛み 失われたものの影 そして魔法 2004 Kingdoms third instalment the secret flower garden 王国 その3 ひみつの花園 2005The Lake みずうみ 2005 2010 Dolphin or Are you there イルカ 2006 Salamander or The small shadow ひとかげ 2006 Chie and I チエちゃんと私 2007 Hawaii dreaming まぼろしハワイ 2007 South point サウスポイント 2008 About her or About my girlfriend 彼女について 2008Moshi Moshi A Novel もしもし下北沢 2010 2016 The acorn sisters どんぐり姉妹 2010 Another world Kingdoms fourth instalment アナザー ワールド 王国 その4 2010 Sizzle sizzle ジュージュー 2010 Sweet hereafter スウィート ヒアアフター 2011 A night with Saki and friends さきちゃんたちの夜 2013 Hostess bar stumble スナックちどり 2013 Shall We Love 僕たち 恋愛しようか 2013 Take an afternoon nap on a bed of flowers 花のベッドでひるねして 2013 Birds 鳥たち 2014 Circus night サーカスナイト 2015 Funafuna Funabashi ふなふな船橋 2015References Edit Banana Yoshimoto Faber amp Faber Archived from the original on 2015 12 23 Retrieved 2015 12 23 Banana Yoshimoto Encyclopaedia Britannica Archived from the original on 2009 02 11 Retrieved 2008 06 19 Yoshimoto Banana My Journal Archived from the original on 2017 03 17 Retrieved 2017 03 16 Morita Yoshimitsu 1989 10 29 Kitchen Drama Romance Wako International retrieved 2021 11 25 Yim Ho Director 1997 Kitchen IMDb Banana Yoshimoto Counterpoint Press 3 May 2016 Archived from the original on August 19 2016 Retrieved July 30 2016 Ichikawa Jun Director 1990 Tsugumi IMDb Archived from the original on 2019 12 13 Retrieved 2018 07 01 Copeland Rebecca L 2006 Woman Critiqued Translated Essays on Japanese Women s Writing University of Hawaii Press p 167 ISBN 0 8248 2958 1 Archived from the original on 2016 05 29 Retrieved 2015 10 18 Lee KyungNam April 1 2013 Lee Seung Gi to Appear as Lead in New Yoshimoto Banana Novel mwave Archived from the original on December 8 2015 Retrieved November 30 2015 Lent Jesse April 2 2013 Lee Seung Gi To Appear As Hero In Upcoming Banana Yoshimoto Romance Novel Shall We Love For Women s Magazine Anan kpopstarz com Archived from the original on December 8 2015 Retrieved November 30 2015 Banana Yoshimoto and the young March 26 2012 Archived from the original on November 4 2013 Retrieved November 3 2013 Treat John Whittier Summer 1993 Yoshimoto Banana Writes Home Shojo Culture and the Nostalgic Subject Journal of Japanese Studies 19 2 353 387 doi 10 2307 132644 JSTOR 132644 Schodt Frederik L 2011 Dreamland Japan writings on modern manga Berkeley California p 292 ISBN 978 1 933330 95 2 OCLC 731210677 Banana Yoshimoto wins Italian literary prize Melville House 26 May 2011 Retrieved 13 July 2021 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to Banana Yoshimoto Official website Article from Metropolis Bananamania Romantic Love in the Early Fiction of Banana Yoshimoto Banana Yoshimoto s brand new era J pop com overview Portals Novels Japan Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Banana Yoshimoto amp oldid 1148660348, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
