Megumu Sagisawa

Megumu Sagisawa (鷺沢萠, 20 June 1968 – 11 April 2004) was the pen name of Japanese novelist and dramatist Megumi Matsuo (松尾めぐみ). Her works of fiction have been described as focusing on topics such as complex interpersonal relationships and the anxieties of the youth.

Megumu Sagisawa
Native name
鷺沢萠
BornMegumi Matsuo (松尾めぐみ, Matsuo Megumi)
(1968-06-20)20 June 1968
Setagaya City, Tokyo, Japan
Died11 April 2004(2004-04-11) (aged 35)
Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
Occupation
  • Novelist
  • dramatist
Notable works
  • Kawaberi no michi
  • Kakeru shōnen
Notable awards
Spouse
(
m. 1990⁠–⁠1991)
Website
meimei.la.coocan.jp

Sagisawa published her debut novel Kawaberi no michi (川べりの道, The Path by the River) in 1987, for which she became the youngest person to win the Bungakukai Prize for New Writers. She later won the 1992 Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature for Kakeru shōnen (駆ける少年, The Running Boy) and became a five-time nominee for the Akutagawa Prize.

Early life

Megumu Sagisawa was born in Tokyo, Japan on 20 June 1968, as the youngest of four sisters.[1][2] Sagisawa was of Korean descent. Her grandmother, born in Taechon, was a first-generation Korean immigrant to Japan who lived in Tokyo and married a Japanese man. Sagisawa discusses her ancestry in the 1994 essay volume Forsythias are flowers, cherryblossoms too (Kenari mo hana, sakura mo hana).[3][4][5] Her parents divorced when she was fifteen years old.[5]

Career

Sagisawa published her debut novel Kawaberi no michi in 1987, while she was in college, although she wrote it in high school.[2] The novel received favourable attention due to its subtle portrayal of the struggles of adolescent life. She received the Bungakukai Prize for New Writers for the novel, and, at eighteen years old, became the youngest person to be awarded the prize. She then began studying Russian at the Sophia University Department of Foreign Studies in the same year, but left the university before graduating.[6][7]

In 1989, she published the novel Kaeremu hitobito (帰れぬ人びと, The Deceased), which became a candidate for the Akutagawa Prize, but did not win the prize.[6] Since then, she was selected as a candidate for the prize four more times.[8] She was awarded the 1992 Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature for her novel Kakeru shōnen.[9] While writing the novel, she learned that her grandmother was originally from Korea. She began studying Korean language abroad at Yonsei University in 1993. In 2002, she published an autobiographical novel titled My story (私の話, Watashi no hanashi).[8]

Sagisawa also wrote dramas. In 2004, her play Barairo no jinsei (ばら色の人生, La Vie en Rose) was staged by Hidetake Kobayashi.[10] She also worked with him in the Dolphin Group, a theatre company that produces comedies, until her death.[11][12] Her book Welcome Home! (ウェルカム・ホーム！, Uerukamu hōmu) was first published in late March 2004, and was set to be staged under her own production in June.[8] Sagisawa died on 11 April 2004 at her residence in Meguro, Tokyo, Japan. The cause of her death was initially reported as heart failure, but was later found by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department to have been a suicide.[1][8][13]

Following her death in 2004, Korean newspapers The Chosun Ilbo, The Hankyoreh, and The Dong-a Ilbo described Sagisawa as one of Japan's leading female Korean writers.[14][15][16]

Personal life

Sagisawa married director Gō Rijū in 1990. They divorced a year later.[1][7]

Bibliography

Sagisawa's works of fiction have been described as focusing on topics such as complex interpersonal relationships and the "anxieties of young people."[6] Her works include:[4][6][12]

  • Kawaberi no michi, 1987
  • Kaerenu hitobito (帰れぬ人びと, Those who can never return), Bungeishunjū, 1989, ISBN 9784163113005
  • Stairisshū kittzū (Stylish kids), Kawade Shobo Shinsha, 1990, ISBN 9784309006307
  • Kakeru shōnen (駆ける少年), Bungeishunjū, 1992, ISBN 9784163130101
    • English translation: Grillo, Tyran. The Running Boy and Other Stories, Cornell University Press, 2020, ISBN 9781501749896
  • Hangu rusu (Hang loose), Kawade Shobo Shinsha, 1993, ISBN 9784309404622
  • Kenari mo hana, sakura mo hana (Forsythias are flowers, cherryblossoms too), 1994
  • Kinema junpō (キネマ旬砲), Kadokawa Shoten, 2002, ISBN 9784048837026
  • La vie en Rose (ばら色の人生), Sakuhinsha, 2004, ISBN 9784878936920 (with Hidetake Kobayashi)
  • Uerukamu hōmu (ウェルカム・ホーム！, Welcome home!), Shinchosha, 2006, ISBN 9784101325200[17]

References
  1. Sagisawa, Megumu (15 April 2020). "A Translator's Introduction". The Running Boy and Other Stories. Translated by Grillo, Tyran. Cornell University Press. pp. 1–9. ISBN 9781501749902.
  2. 四条ゆい. "早生の天才作家・鷺沢萠の小説おすすめランキングトップ5!". Honcierge (in Japanese).
  3. Lie, John (17 November 2008). Zainichi (Koreans in Japan): Diasporic Nationalism and Postcolonial Identity. University of California Press. p. 89. ISBN 9780520942561.
  4. Takemoto, Toshio (28 October 2016). "Constructing the self in Megumu Sagisawa's and Miri Yu's travelogues: a case study of two Japan-based female writers of Korean origin". Contemporary Japan. 27 (2): 169–188. doi:10.1515/cj-2015-0010. S2CID 131214916.
  5. 중앙일보 (14 April 1993). "한국유학온 일 신예작가 사기사와 메구무". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean).
  6. "Biographies of modern Japanese authors N–S". Jlit.net. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016.
  7. "クリエイターズワールド/執筆前夜". Creator's World (in Japanese). 9–30 January 2004.
  8. "作家の鷺沢萠さんが死去". Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). The Asahi Shimbun Company. 15 April 2004.
  9. "泉鏡花文学賞" [Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature] (in Japanese). City of Kanazawa. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  10. "『ウェルカム・ホーム!』&『ばら色の人生』" ["Welcome Home" and "La Vie en Rose"]. CoRich舞台芸術！ [CoRich: Performing Arts!] (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  11. "2004年に急逝した作家・鷺沢 萠が一番つたえたかった"差別"と"絆"がテーマのコメディ2作品「ウェルカム・ホーム！」「ばら色の人生」を8月30日から7日間公演" (Press release) (in Japanese). valuepress CO,LTD. 2 August 2016.
  12. "小林ヒデタケ". maroon.dti.ne.jp (in Japanese).
  13. "作家の鷺沢萠さんは自殺". Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). The Asahi Shimbun Company. 15 April 2004.
  14. "한국계 日작가 사기사와 메구무 자살". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 18 April 2004.
  15. 박중언 (18 April 2004). "한국계 일 여성작가 사기사와 메구무 자살 : 문화생활 : 인터넷한겨레". The Hankyoreh (in Korean).
  16. 박원재 (18 April 2004). "재일교포작가 사기사와 메구무 자살". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean).
  17. "家族を家族たらしめるのは血のつながりじゃない。号泣必至。電車の中で読んだら超危険". Niconico News (in Japanese). Niconico. 14 March 2020.
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