ブログ

今日は円地文子生誕118周年

Today’s Doodle celebrates the 118th birthday of Fumiko Enchi, a Japanese feminist and writer who rose to literary fame during the post-World War II era. She wrote several plays and novels about the unfair domestic lifestyles that women were expected to lead. The characters she created were direct reflections of her own experiences, and evolved as her career and life progressed.

Enchi was born on this day in 1905 in Tokyo. From an early age, she was1 exposed to the art of storytelling − her grandmother introduced her to kabuki theater. At 21 years old, Enchi published her first play titled A Birthplace, which was well received by the public.

1　物語を書くという芸術に親しむようになる

Unfortunately, the writer grew ill and lost her home during World War II, causing her to temporarily retreat from the literary world. Enchi eventually found her way back to the pen and focused more on fiction, writing tales that explored the gender discrimination, lack of equality, and wrongful treatment of women caused by Japan’s 2patriarchal society. In 1953, she won the Women’s Literature Prize for her story Starving Days.

Throughout the rest of her career, Enchi published novels that featured strong,3 introspective female 4protagonists. She was particularly fond of works written by women during the Heian era and adopted similar topics: maternity, familial duty, lust, aging, and more. Enchi’s expressive voice gave these themes a modern twist and cemented her status as a leading Japanese writer.

2 家父長制社会
3　内省的な
4　主人公

Some of her most celebrated works include The Waiting Years (1957), Masks (1958), and A Tale of False Fortunes (1965). Enchi won several awards including the Bunka Kunsho (or Order of Culture), the highest honor a Japanese citizen can receive, in 1985. She was also elected to5 the Japan Art Academy, the nation’s premier institution for recognizing accomplished artists.

Happy birthday, Fumiko Enchi!

5　日本芸術院

説明文


NHKの記事　


今回は女流文壇の第一人者として評価されている円地文子生誕118周年のDoodleでした。