SETOUCHI JAKUCHO

(1922–)

Setouchi Jakucho was born Setouchi Harumi in Tokushima, attended Tokyo Women’s Christian University, and graduated in Japanese literature. After a love affair with one of her husband’s students led to divorce, she moved to Tokyo to pursue a writing career. In 1973, she took vows and became a Buddhist nun at Chusonji Temple in Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture, and received her name Jakucho. She is noted for her 1997–98 modern translation of the Tale of Genji (ca. 1008). Her accolades include the Women’s Literature Prize for Natsu no owari (End of Summer, 1962), the Tanizaki Jun’ichiro Prize for her novel Hana ni toe (Ask the Flowers, 1992), and the Noma Prize for her novel Basho (Place, 2001). She was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit in 2006.