The German version of Chisako Wakatake (68), who won the Akutagawa Prize four years ago, is the first Japanese work to be selected for the German literary award, the Liberatur Prize. Mr. Wakatake spoke of his joy.
Chisako Wakatake's debut work from Iwate prefecture, "Oraora de Hitoriigumo", depicts a widowed woman in her 70s who finds a new way of life while facing loneliness and aging. I won the Akutagawa Prize four years ago for a work I drew with
This work was translated into German and published in Germany last year, but according to the publisher, on the 7th of Japan time, the German literary award "Liberatur Award”.
This is the first time that a Japanese work has been selected for this award.
According to the publisher of the German edition, the Tohoku dialect that appears in her work was translated into a regional dialect in Germany, and the themes of loneliness and aging have gained sympathy even in Germany, where the population is aging. It means that
In an online interview after receiving the award, Wakatake said, "I'm really thrilled that not only people overseas have picked up and read my book, but also that I've received the prestigious literary award. It's like a philosophy of life. It's a work that I wrote because I wanted to give form to something.I'm encouraged by the award, and I'm going to do my best thinking, 'I'm still a person from now on.'"