Tsuneko Nakazato

, better known by her pen name , was a Japanese novelist active during the Shōwa period.

Early life Nakazato was born in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, and graduated from the Kanagawa Girls’ Higher School, subsequently getting her first job at Bungeishunjū the following year, where she was introduced to Tatsuo Nagai at age 17. She started writing, publishing multiple novellas to the Phoenix Magazine before her marriage to Nobushige Satō at age 19.

Literary career In 1938, Nakazato became the first woman to win the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, with her short story Noriai bashi.

Her novel Utamakura ("Song Pillow", 1973) was awarded the Yomiuri Prize. In 1974, she received the Japan Art Academy Prize, and became a member of that institution in 1983.

Nakazato was a resident of Zushi, Kanagawa from 1932 until her death due to colon cancer in 1987. Her grave is at the temple of Engaku-ji in Kamakura.