Yôko Ogawa

Japan

Guest of the ilb 2003

Yôko Ogawa was born in the prefect of Okayama, Japan, in 1962. Shintoism, which understands all parts and aspects of reality as divine, had a strong spiritual influence on her youth. In the early 80s she studied Literature and Art at Waseda University in Tokyo. After completing her studies, she returned to Okayama where she worked at a medical university for a while. Shortly thereafter she married. At the same time she began to write. In 1988 she received the Kaien Prize for young authors for her story 'Agehachô ga kowareru toki'. Her ensuing works were also well received: with 'Kampekina Byôshitsu', 'Daibingu Puru', and 'Samenai Kôcha', she was nominated in three consecutive years for Japan’s most prestigious literature prize, the Akutagawa Prize. She then received this important award in 1991 for 'Ninshin Karenda'. Today with her numerous novellas, short stories, essays, and novels, she is considered one of Japan’s most important contemporary authors. In Europe, Yôko Ogawa was first only read in France, where, since 1995, ten of her books have appeared in translation. To date the novels 'Hoteru Airisu', 'Kusuriyubi', as well as a book of stories are available in German.

Yôko Ogawa surprises her readers with a cool, minimal narrative style, which offers them all the more room to use their imaginations and make associations. Her simple sentences, the detailed descriptions, and the linear narrative style intensify into an unusual, diffuse atmosphere. The characters in Ogawa’s unsettling, mysterious worlds are reduced to just a few characteristics. The author primarily narrates from the viewpoint of a young, rather passive woman, who freely subordinates her actions and existence to the dominance of a man. This is also the case in 'Hotel Iris', where it is simply the dominating voice of a significantly older man that fascinates the 17-year-old Mari to such a degree that she enters into a sadomasochistic relationship with him. Ogawa’s approach is neither voyeuristic nor does she pass moral judgment; she instead focuses on a subtle account of mutual dependency.

Yôko Ogawa lives with her family in the Japanese prefect of Hyôgo.

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First of all, I was most impressed to learn that the Berlin Festival was started by one person who loves literature and that it has grown into such a large Festival despite being held only three times. It has made me realize how deeply the German people revere literature.
I have had two opportunities to read from my works at the Festival: once for the main program and once for a side program at the Mori Ogai Memorial Hall in Berlin. I was delighted that the audiences on both occasions were avid listeners. As the audiences seemed to accept me as an individual author, Yoko Ogawa, rather than as a stereotypical "Japanese writer," their questions were quite serious and interesting. These experiences reassured me that my works were truly reaching and affecting German readers. It was wonderful to know that there are many young people who support these events as volunteers, and their attitude was cheerful and lively. Mr. Gernot Wolfram, who took care of me at these events, had read all my works in German, and scheduled me in places that I would find interesting and with people I would enjoy meeting. This made my stay in Germany a significant experience for me, and I was most grateful that I could establish one-to-one relationships with other people who love literature. I sincerely hope that the Festival will continue to develop and grow in the future.