OE Kenzaburo (born 1935) is an outstanding Japanese writer. He was born in a small remote village on the island of Shikoku in a poor family. His parents had seven sons, Kenzaburo was born third. By nature, he was a withdrawn and very impressionable boy and preferred reading to communicate with his peers.
At the age of nine, he suffered a severe trauma: his father, whom he idolized, died. For many years Kenzaburo locked himself in the world of his childhood fantasies, inspired by the war. Until the age of 18, this young Japanese had never seen a real locomotive. He became acquainted with the wonders of modern technology only when he went to study in the capital.
The birth of the writer Kenzaburo Oe occurred in the walls of the University of Tokyo at the Department of French Literature. At the age of 23, he received his first literary award, and with it, recognition. Ten years later, a six-volume book of his selected works was published. More than sixty works of K. Oe have been translated into many languages of the world, including Russian. The most famous of his novels are “Football of 1860”, “Water embraced me to my soul”, “Games of contemporaries”, trilogy “Flaming green tree” and others. Now Oe is the most famous and titled writer of the Land of the Rising Sun. In the autumn of 1994 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
In the preface to the Russian edition of the novel “Embrace me with water to my soul” Oe has these lines: “I learned to write from Russian literature...” In more detail about the influence of Russian literature on his work, the writer said: I consider the great Dostoevsky my first and main literary teacher. Many Japanese and even American critics have written about his strong influence on my work. It's no accident. To this day I have a firm rule: the first ten days of each year should be devoted entirely to reading Dostoevsky. I also bow before the genius of Leo Tolstoy, whose War and Peace I have read more than ten times.
According to my university degree, my specialty is French literature. In particular, I owe it to her that I was able to get acquainted with the works of Shklovsky and Bakhtin, which had a great influence on me. Oddly enough, it was through Bakhtin that I found the key to understanding Japanese culture. Among my favorite books is Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita. I really appreciate the good friendly relations that connect me with Yevtushenko, Voznesensky, Okudzhava and Akhmadulina. Recently I discovered a new interesting writer, Rasputin. As you can see, I have every reason to say that Russian, Soviet literature has penetrated deeply into my work.
His biography would be incomplete without mentioning one fact that dramatically changed his whole life.
In 1963, in the family of a young writer, the firstborn was born, who was named Hikari, which means “Light”. But, alas, from that moment the house of Oe plunged into the complete darkness of mental torment: the boy was born disabled, devoid of speech. And although over time Kenzaburo Oe had a perfectly healthy son and daughter, he could not overcome this trauma and decided to devote the rest of his life to a seriously ill son.
In his first interview since the Nobel Prize, Oe said, I have been writing prose for 38 years. Of these, for 31 years the leitmotif of my works has been one way or another the problem of a sick son. I felt like I was going into so-called self-fiction, which is very common in Japan, but I eventually came to terms with it. I live with a little man named Hikari. I think that's what allows me to write about the country, about the world, about the soul. Through Hikari, I learn all the problems that concern me.”
Perhaps it is easier for a writer to determine the origins of his creativity and inspiration. But literary critics agree that the main theme of Oe’s work is the problems of youth. In the West, he was called the Japanese Sallinger, because he became an idol of the younger generation.
In this regard, one can recall the fate of his novel “Seventeen-year-old”, written under the impression of the sensational murder of the leader of the Socialist Party of the country Asanuma during his speech at a rally. The fatal knife was in the hands of a 17-year-old boy, a member of an ultranationalist organization.
In his novel, K. Oe revealed the “anatomy” of a vain egoist who becomes a hired killer. The story was a huge success and caused rabid attacks ultra. The case ended with the fact that the largest publishing house “Bungei” was even forced to sprinkle the finished set and refuse to release the already announced continuation of the story.
Shocking was the decision of the writer to abandon the high state award – the Order of Culture. "I don't like this order," Oe said, "because it's flesh of the flesh of the current state system." As you know, the Democratic writer does not accept it.
It so happened that the celebrations on the occasion of the Nobel Prize coincided with a joyful event in the family of the laureate. In the same days, a large concert was held with the participation of the most famous Japanese musicians, at which ten works of the young composer Hikari Oe were performed. Recently, his work arouses great interest in his originality and originality. A few CDs have been released. This is serious music that goes beyond the established canons, it is distinguished by new forms of composition and unconventional sound.
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