Setsuko Tsumura

Setsuko Tsumura (津村節子, Tsumura Setsuko; born 5 June 1928) is a Japanese novelist. She is a 1965 recipient of the Akutagawa Prize.

Early life

Tsumura was born in the capital city of Fukui, Japan. Her mother died when she was nine years old. Two years later, she moved to Tokyo. Her father, a silk weaver, died when she was sixteen. Between 1947 and 1948, at the age of nineteen, Tsumura ran her own dressmaking shop, employing three other dressmakers. Despite the success of her business, she closed the shop to attend Gakushuuin Women's Junior College, where she studied literature and edited the student literary magazine. She met her husband, Akira Yoshimura (1927–2006), while contributing to the literary magazine at his college. Tsumura graduated in 1953 and married soon after.

Career

Tsumura was nominated for the Naoki Prize in 1959 for her short story, "Kagi" (Key), which she wrote for Bungakukai magazine. She was awarded the Akutagawa Prize in 1965 for her short story "Gangu" (Playthings), a story about an expectant mother who is disappointed by her husband's indifference to their pregnancy. In 1972, Tsumura's short story, "Saihate" (The Farthest Limit) won the Shincho Prize. It was based on Tsumura's personal experience after the collapse of her husband's business.

Tsumura's 1983 biographical novel, Shirayuri no kishi (Precipice of a White Lily) is about Tomiko Yamakawa (1879–1909), a poet from Tsumura's native Fukui.

Tsumura's novel, Ryuuseiu (A Meteoric Shower) won the Women's Literature Prize in 1990. It depicted the Boshin War from the perspective of a 15-year-old girl.

She is a member of the Japan Art Academy and was recognized as a person of cultural merit in 2016.