Miri Yu's novel in the translation literature section of the "National Book Award" November 19, 10:56

Miri Yu's novel "JR Ueno Station Park Exit" was selected for the translation literature category of the most prestigious literary award in the United States, the "National Book Award".

The winners of this year's National Book Award were announced at an online event on the morning of the 19th of Japan time, and Miri Yu's novel "JR Ueno Station Park Exit" was selected for the "Translation Literature Category".



This work is a novel by a man from Fukushima prefecture who lives as a homeless person in Ueno Park in Tokyo, and was published in Japan in 2014.



The life of a man who has continued to work to support his family and the life of the homeless people around him are described in detail, highlighting the distortions of Japan that have been overlooked alongside economic growth.



Mr. Yanagi won the Akutagawa Prize for "Family Cinema" in 1997, and has moved to Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture since 2015 in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake to write.



Yasunari Kawabata's "The Sound of the Mountain" has been selected for the National Book Award for Translation Literature, and Yoko Tawada's "The Last Children of Tokyo" has been awarded.

Career of Miri Yu

Miri Yu is 52 years old born in Ibaraki prefecture.



After dropping out of high school, he joined a theater company and studied theater as an actor and assistant director. After that, he set up a theater unit and worked as a playwright, and received the Kishida Prize for Drama in 1993.



The following year, he made his debut as a novelist and won the Akutagawa Prize for "Family Cinema" in 1997. Since then, he has released works based on his own roots and experiences.



In addition, he served as a personality at a temporary radio station established in Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, and in 2015 he moved to Minamisoma City and opened a bookstore, and is continuing activities rooted in the community. I will.