Tomie Ōhara

Tomie Ōhara was a Japanese novelist. She is best known for her novel A Woman Called En.

Early life and education Ōhara was born in Kochi, Japan on September 28, 1912. Her father was the principal of an elementary school and had an extensive library that she was welcome to read in. Her mother died when she was 10 years old. She studied at Kochi Joshi Shihan Gakko from 1927 to 1930 but dropped out when she contracted tuberculosis. She did not leave the sanatorium until 1938.

Career Ōhara's writing career began when she was recovering from tuberculosis in the sanatorium. She finished writing her first story in 1935. However, she only began gaining attention as a writer with her 1938 story , which was shortlisted for the Akutagawa Prize.

Her tuberculosis recurred in 1955 and lasted until 1957. She published a short story collection in 1957 titled , which won the Women's Literature Award. The stories in the collection are about patients living in a sanatorium.

In 1976 Ōhara converted to Catholicism.