Aya Kōda

was a Japanese writer of novels, short stories and essays. She was the daughter of writer Rohan Kōda. Among her most noted works is the 1955 novel Nagareru.

Biography Kōda was born in Terajima, Minami Katsushika-gun, Tokyo, as the second child of Rohan Kōda and his wife Kimiko. She married the son of a sake wholesaler at age 24, but divorced after 10 years and returned with her daughter, Tama, to live with her father.

Selected works The year refers to the earliest publication date. 1947: Shūen (終焉) 1947: Sōsō no ki (葬送の記) 1947: Zakki (雑記) 1948: Fragments (欠片, Kakera) 1949: Chichi: sono shi (父 その死) 1949: The Medal (勲章, Kunshō) 1949: Misokkasu (みそっかす) 1950: Konna koto (こんなこと) 1951: Kusa no hana (草の花) 1951: Hair (髪, Kami) 1954: The Black Kimono The Black Hems (黒い裾, Kuroi Suso) 1955: Nagareru (流れる) 1955: Dolls a.k.a. Dolls for a Special Day (雛, Hina) 1956: Otōto (おとうと) 1965: Tō (闘) 1966: A Friend for Life (Mono iwanu issho no tomo)

Awards 1956: Yomiuri Prize for The Black Kimono 1956: Shinchō Literary Prize for Nagareru 1957: Japan Art Academy Prize for Nagareru 1973: Joryū Bungaku Shū Literary Prize for Tō

Legacy Kōda's novels Nagareru and Otōto have repeatedly been adapted for film, stage including the films Flowing by Mikio Naruse in 1956 and Her Brother by Kon Ichikawa in 1960.

Kōda has a young girl character named after her in the manga Bungo Stray Dogs, whose life partially resembles Kōda's own.

In Wim Wenders’ 2023 film Perfect Days, the main character Hiroyama buys a work of hers at a second-hand bookshop. The bookseller says “Kōda Aya deserves more recognition. She uses the same words as we do, yet there is something so special”.

Translated works