Hiromi Itō
Encyclopedia
is one of the most prominent women writer
s of contemporary Japan
, with more than a dozen collections of poetry
, several works of prose
, numerous books of essay
s, and several major literary prizes to her name. She divides her time between the towns of Encinitas, California
and Kumamoto in southern Japan.
, Itō became well known in the 1980s for a series of dramatic collections of poetry
that described sexuality
, pregnancy
, and feminine erotic desire in dramatically direct language. From her earliest work, Itō embarked on a lifelong battle against the stylized and artful language common in twentieth-century Japanese poetry
. Much of her poetry is narrated in extended passages of relatively colloquial text. Her poems so skillfully represent spoken language that they often give the illusion of being records of spoken speech. Not coincidentally, commentators have often described Itō as a "shamaness" for her ability to channel voices onto the page.
and anger at her newborn, even though the world is congratulating her on becoming a mother. Her eagerness to explore women's issues has led some to think of her as a feminist writer, although this is a term that Itō has not always embraced in building her public persona.
Throughout her career, however, Itō has embraced the metaphor of the poet as a shamaness. In 1991, she collaborated with the prominent feminist scholar Chizuko Ueno from Tokyo University on a collection of essays and poetry called , which the two likened to the collaboration between an Okinawan shamaness and the figure who makes sense of her utterances for the outside world. A few years later in 1993, Itō explicitly played out the metaphor of poet as shamaness in her long narrative
poem , in which she takes a story recorded from a shamaness in Tsugaru
in the early twentieth century and refashions it into a dramatic new myth of healing
from sexual abuse
and self-discovery.
poetry, which she first read in Japanese translations. In 1990, she met the American poet Jerome Rothenberg
when he visited Japan. Rothenberg had been a major force in re-examining Native American poetry in the movement known as called "ethnopoetics
," and he encouraged Itō come to America. She had recently separated from her husband, the literature scholar Masahiko Nishi, and at Rothenberg's invitation, she started making regular, extended trips to America with her children, before eventually settling in 1997 in Encinitas, California
with her new partner, the British artist Harold Cohen
.
The change of setting led to several significant changes in her writing, in terms of both genre
and subject matter. She began writing novella
s, both because she was tired of poetry and because she felt prose
was better suited to exploring her new experiences as an immigrant. Several of her novellas from this time describe the difficulties of immigration
and the experience of being a transplant in a new environment.
narrative works that blur the lines between prose and poetry. These include , published in 2005, the narrative , published in 2007, and , published in 2007. In these works, Itō writes about the experiences of modern people, often migrants or transnational
s, but does so in a way that has an almost mythological
grandeur and frequently veers into the surreal
.
In addition to these original works of poetry and prose, Itō has published numerous books of essays, manga
criticism, and translation
s of American literature
for young Japanese readers. Among the books she has translated into Japanese are The Cat in the Hat
by Dr. Seuss
, as well as the two books Out of the Dust
and Witness
by Karen Hesse
.
Itō divides her time between her home in Encinitas, California
and Kumamoto in southern Japan. In the latter, she has been the organizing force between a group of local writers and artists playfully known as the "Kumamoto Band." Itō's work is featured prominently in the Kumamoto Modern Literature Museum.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
s of contemporary Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, with more than a dozen collections of poetry
Japanese poetry
Japanese poets first encountered Chinese poetry during the Tang Dynasty. It took them several hundred years to digest the foreign impact, make it a part of their culture and merge it with their literary tradition in their mother tongue, and begin to develop the diversity of their native poetry. For...
, several works of prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
, numerous books of essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
s, and several major literary prizes to her name. She divides her time between the towns of Encinitas, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Kumamoto in southern Japan.
Early career in Japan
Born in 1955 in TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Itō became well known in the 1980s for a series of dramatic collections of poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
that described sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
, pregnancy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
, and feminine erotic desire in dramatically direct language. From her earliest work, Itō embarked on a lifelong battle against the stylized and artful language common in twentieth-century Japanese poetry
Japanese poetry
Japanese poets first encountered Chinese poetry during the Tang Dynasty. It took them several hundred years to digest the foreign impact, make it a part of their culture and merge it with their literary tradition in their mother tongue, and begin to develop the diversity of their native poetry. For...
. Much of her poetry is narrated in extended passages of relatively colloquial text. Her poems so skillfully represent spoken language that they often give the illusion of being records of spoken speech. Not coincidentally, commentators have often described Itō as a "shamaness" for her ability to channel voices onto the page.
Writing on women's issues
In 1982, Itō's book ,'appeared in the series "The Present State of Women's Poetry," which was published by the Japanese publisher Shichōsha and also featured a number of rising young female poets, including Toshiko Hirata, Yōko Isaka, and Kōko Shiraishi. In the mid-1980s, Itō's writing gravitated to issues of the feminine body, sexuality, and motherhood, making her the most prominent voice of what came to be known as the "women's poetry boom." The two collections , published in 1985, and , published in 1987, describe her feelings after giving birth to her first daughter, Kanoko Nishi. These poems probe the meaning of the mother-child relationship and the demands that motherhood places on the mother's identity and sexuality. For instance, in the often anthologized poem , she describes the feelings of a young mother experiencing postpartum depressionPostpartum depression
Postpartum depression , also called postnatal depression, is a form of clinical depression which can affect women, and less frequently men, typically after childbirth. Studies report prevalence rates among women from 5% to 25%, but methodological differences among the studies make the actual...
and anger at her newborn, even though the world is congratulating her on becoming a mother. Her eagerness to explore women's issues has led some to think of her as a feminist writer, although this is a term that Itō has not always embraced in building her public persona.
Throughout her career, however, Itō has embraced the metaphor of the poet as a shamaness. In 1991, she collaborated with the prominent feminist scholar Chizuko Ueno from Tokyo University on a collection of essays and poetry called , which the two likened to the collaboration between an Okinawan shamaness and the figure who makes sense of her utterances for the outside world. A few years later in 1993, Itō explicitly played out the metaphor of poet as shamaness in her long narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
poem , in which she takes a story recorded from a shamaness in Tsugaru
Tsugaru
"Tsugaru" may refer to a wide variety of topics:*Tsugaru, Aomori, a city of Aomori prefecture, Japan*Tsugaru Peninsula*Tsugaru Strait, between Honshū and Hokkaidō*Tsugaru-jamisen, a traditional style of shamisen playing associated with the area...
in the early twentieth century and refashions it into a dramatic new myth of healing
Healing
Physiological healing is the restoration of damaged living tissue, organs and biological system to normal function. It is the process by which the cells in the body regenerate and repair to reduce the size of a damaged or necrotic area....
from sexual abuse
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
and self-discovery.
Relocation to the US
Since at least the 1980s, Itō had been fascinated with Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
poetry, which she first read in Japanese translations. In 1990, she met the American poet Jerome Rothenberg
Jerome Rothenberg
Jerome Rothenberg is an internationally known American poet, translator and anthologist who is noted for his work in ethnopoetics and poetry performance.-Early life and work:...
when he visited Japan. Rothenberg had been a major force in re-examining Native American poetry in the movement known as called "ethnopoetics
Ethnopoetics
Ethnopoetics is a poetic movement and subfield in linguistics, and anthropology. It was coined as a term by Jerome Rothenberg in collaboration with George Quasha in 1968, when Quasha asked Rothenberg to create a term using 'ethnos' and 'poetics' on the model of 'ethnomusicology' for inclusion in...
," and he encouraged Itō come to America. She had recently separated from her husband, the literature scholar Masahiko Nishi, and at Rothenberg's invitation, she started making regular, extended trips to America with her children, before eventually settling in 1997 in Encinitas, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
with her new partner, the British artist Harold Cohen
Harold Cohen (artist)
Harold Cohen is a British-born artist who is noted as the creator of AARON-External links:*...
.
The change of setting led to several significant changes in her writing, in terms of both genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
and subject matter. She began writing novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
s, both because she was tired of poetry and because she felt prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
was better suited to exploring her new experiences as an immigrant. Several of her novellas from this time describe the difficulties of immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
and the experience of being a transplant in a new environment.
Writing since the year 2000
More recently, Itō has returned to poetry, publishing several long, fantasticFantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
narrative works that blur the lines between prose and poetry. These include , published in 2005, the narrative , published in 2007, and , published in 2007. In these works, Itō writes about the experiences of modern people, often migrants or transnational
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
s, but does so in a way that has an almost mythological
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
grandeur and frequently veers into the surreal
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
.
In addition to these original works of poetry and prose, Itō has published numerous books of essays, manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
criticism, and translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
s of American literature
American literature
American literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British...
for young Japanese readers. Among the books she has translated into Japanese are The Cat in the Hat
The Cat in the Hat
The Cat in the Hat is a children's book by Dr. Seuss and perhaps the most famous, featuring a tall, anthropomorphic, mischievous cat, wearing a tall, red and white-striped hat and a red bow tie. He also carries a pale blue umbrella...
by Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
, as well as the two books Out of the Dust
Out of the Dust
Out of the Dust is a verse novel written by Karen Hesse. It was the winner of the Newbery Medal in 1998, Scott O'Dell Award, an ALA Notable Children's Book, an ALA "Best book", a School Library Journal "best book of the year", a Booklist "Editors' Choice" award, a Book Links "Lasting Connection", a...
and Witness
Witness (Karen Hesse novel)
Witness is a verse novel written by Karen Hesse in 2001, concentrating on racism in a rural Vermont town in 1924. Voices include those of Leanora Sutter, a 12-year-old African American girl; Esther Hirsh, a 6-year-old Jewish immigrant; Sara Chickering a quiet spinster farmer; Iris Weaver, a young...
by Karen Hesse
Karen Hesse
Karen Hesse is an American author of children's literature and literature for young adults, often with historical settings.-Life:...
.
Itō divides her time between her home in Encinitas, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Kumamoto in southern Japan. In the latter, she has been the organizing force between a group of local writers and artists playfully known as the "Kumamoto Band." Itō's work is featured prominently in the Kumamoto Modern Literature Museum.
Awards
- 1978: Gendai Shi Techo Prize for the poetry collection
- 1993: Nominated for Mishima Yukio Prize for
- 1998: Nominated for Akutagawa PrizeAkutagawa PrizeThe is a Japanese literary award presented semi-annually. It was established in 1935 by Kan Kikuchi, then-editor of Bungeishunjū magazine, in memory of author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa...
for the novella - 1999: Nominated for Akutagawa PrizeAkutagawa PrizeThe is a Japanese literary award presented semi-annually. It was established in 1935 by Kan Kikuchi, then-editor of Bungeishunjū magazine, in memory of author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa...
for the novella - 1999: Noma Literary PrizeNoma Literary PrizeThe Noma Literary Prize was established in 1941 by the Noma Service Association in accordance with the last wishes of Noma Seiji , founder and first president of the Kōdansha publishing company. The Noma Literary Prize has been awarded annually to an outstanding new work published in Japan...
for New Writers for the novella - 2006: Takami Jun Prize for the book
- 2007: Hagiwara Sakutarō Prize for the novel
- 2008: Izumi Shikibu Prize for the novel
External links
- Poetry International Web Website which contains an English-language description of Itō's career and English translations by Leza LowitzLeza LowitzLeza Lowitz is an American expatriate writer residing in Tokyo, Japan. She has written, edited and translated over fifteen books about Japan, its relationship with the U.S.A., on the changing role of Japanese women in literature, art and society, and about the lasting effect of the Second World...
and Jeffrey AnglesJeffrey Anglesis an American scholar of modern Japanese literature and an award-winning literary translator of modern and contemporary Japanese poetry and fiction. He is an associate professor of Japanese language and Japanese literature at Western Michigan University.-Biography:Angles was born in Columbus, Ohio...
of several of Itō's poems. - Youtube video showing Itō giving a reading in 2008 at Western Michigan UniversityWestern Michigan UniversityWestern Michigan University is a public university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo, and as of the Fall 2010 semester, its enrollment is 25,045....
. - Hiromi Itō's personal blog Itō's personal blog written in Japanese.
- "I Am Anjuhimeko" by Hiromi Itō translated by Jeffrey Angles, Center for the Art of Translation.
- Japanese-language Wikipedia article Contains a thorough list in Japanese of Itō's publications.