Toyoko Yamasaki | |
|---|---|
| Born | Toyoko Sugimoto 3 November 1924 Osaka, Japan |
| Died | 29 September 2013 (aged 88) Osaka, Japan |
| Occupation | journalist, novelist |
| Language | Japanese |
| Education | Japanese literature |
| Alma mater | Kyoto Women's University |
| Period | 1957-2013 |
| Genre | novel |
| Subject | Osaka merchants, social issues |
| Notable works | Hana Noren, Shiroi Kyotō, Shizumanu Taiyō |
| Notable awards | Naoki Prize (1958) Osaka Prefecture's Art Prize (1959) Fujin Koron Readers' Prize (1962 and 1968) Kikuchi Kan Prize (1991) Bungei Shunju Readers' Prize (1991) Mainichi Culture Prize (2009) |
Toyoko Yamasaki (山崎 豊子, Yamasaki Toyoko, real name Sugimoto Toyoko; 3 November 1924 – 29 September 2013) was a Japanese novelist.
A native of Osaka, Yamasaki worked as a journalist for the Mainichi Shimbun from 1945 to 1959 after graduating from Kyoto Women's University in Japanese literature. She published her first story, Noren (1957), a story of a kelp trader, based on the experiences of her family's business. The following year, she won the Naoki Prize for her second novel Hana Noren, the story about the founder of an entertainment group. A major influence on her writings of that period was Yasushi Inoue, who was deputy head of the Mainichi Shimbun's cultural news desk.[1]
Yamasaki wrote some stories based on actual events. For example, Futatsu no Sokoku is derived from the biography of a Japanese American David Akira Itami,[2] and Shizumanu Taiyō is based on the Japan Airlines Flight 123 accident.[3] Several works of hers were featured in films and television dramas.
