NIWA FUMIO

(1904–2005)

Niwa Fumio, born the son of a Buddhist priest, was a novelist and essayist from Mie Prefecture. After graduating from Waseda University, he entered the Buddhist priesthood reluctantly, but gave it up two years later in order to become a writer. His most popular novel Bodaiju (tr. The Buddha Tree, 1966) tells of a young boy growing up in a Buddhist temple whose mother runs off with an actor. He worked as a war correspondent during World War II and wrote many novels with military themes. His Hebi to hato (Snakes and Doves, 1953) won the Noma Prize, and Ichiro (One Road, 1966) won the Yomiuri Prize. In 1977, he was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit.