Kazuko Saegusa

Kazuko Saegusa (三枝和子) (March 31, 1929 April 24, 2003) was a Japanese novelist. She won the Tamura Toshiko Award and the Izumi Kyoka Prize for Literature.

Early life and education Saegusa was born Yotsumoto Kazuko on March 31, 1929 in Kobe. She was the oldest of four children. Her father's job made him transfer locations throughout Hyogo prefecture regularly, so Saegusa moved often. Her mother was a Protestant, and took her children to church with her. Saegusa was an avid reader as a child, and began writing in middle school. In 1944, Saegusa worked at a factory in Nagasaki because of the National Mobilization Law. She returned to Hyogo in April 1945 to attend school.

Saegusa studied philosophy at the Kwansei Gakuin University, graduating in 1950. She was a member of a Dostoyevsky study group. She went to graduate school at the same university, focusing her studies on Hegel. She met Koichi Saegusa (his penname was ) while studying at the university. They married in 1951 and moved to Kyoto.

Some of her books, like Sono hi no natsu, show a female perspective of war and its aftermath in contrast to typical war novels that have male protagonists.

Selected bibliography

Short stories

Getsuyoubi no yoru no koto (月曜日のよるのこと), 1965 Shokei ga okonawareteiru (処刑が行なわれている), 1969

Novels

Hachigatsu no shura (八月の修羅), 1972 (originally titled 'Sōsō no asa (葬送の朝)) Ranhansha (乱反射), 1973 Tsuki no tobu mura (月の飛ぶ村), 1979 Omoigakezu kaze no cho (思いがけず風の蝶), 1980 Onidomo no Yoru wa Fukai (鬼どもの夜は深い), 1983 Hookai kokuchi (崩壊告知), 1985 Onnatachi wa kodai e tobu (女たちは古代へ翔ぶ), 1986 Sono hi no natsu (その日の夏), 1987 Murakumo no mura no monogatari (群ら雲の村の物語), 1987