|
KIDS IN ACTION Young Writers Tell Tales from the Heart | ||||||||
|
Recently in Japan, several young writers aged around 19 or 20 have been in the news for winning literary prizes. Now two even younger authors are attracting attention for the heartfelt stories they write.
Born in the United States in April 1991, the writer known as hanae* began to work as a model at the age of 10 and has also done some acting. In addition to this performing work, she has also tried her hand at writing - with great success. When she was a fifth-grade elementary school student, she won the Minister of Education's Prize in the All-Japan Elementary and Middle School Student Writing Contest, and in 2003 at the age of 12 she published Shogakusei Nikki (Diary of an Elementary School Student). This collection of essays deals with such topics as her work as an actress, her parents' divorce, bullying in school, and taking entrance examinations for middle school. The book is written in a straightforward style and has been praised by many critics for its tremendous power of expression. "When I started writing, I didn't try to 'write well' so much as to say the things I wanted to say, and that's what made me become completely absorbed in the writing," hanae* explains. She says that she first became interested in writing when she began creating a shared diary with her mother, who was so busy with work that they had little time to talk with each other. "When I re-read old diary entries, the 'me' of that time is right there on the page, and I have a strong desire to leave a similar trace of the 'me' that exists now. I've also been very moved by reading the e-mails and letters that readers have sent to me; though I've never met them, I feel a connection with them. I realized then that writing is not necessarily an inward-focused, lonely action taken by an individual. Now I feel that I can write with more of a purpose than before." In December 2004, the Japanese version of an American novel for young adults that hanae* helped to translate hit the Japanese market. She would next like to write a novel herself.
Another young writer in the news is Kawasaki Manami, a girl born in Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan in 1989 who has published her first novel at the age of 16. She began writing novels during her second year in middle school, and she won a prize for best new novelist in a contest sponsored by the local newspaper when she was in her third year in middle school. She made her debut as a published author with her fourth novel, Anata e (To You), which won the Sixth Shogakukan Bunko Novel Award. She explains what led her to take up writing: "When I decided that I wanted to express myself to someone, I realized the novel was the perfect fit for me." Her debut novel is a love story featuring a middle school girl, and it provides a clear account of what it is like to fall in love. With so many new writers emerging and producing fresh works that look at the world from the perspective of young people, it is a very exciting time for the Japanese book world. |
