Tomie Ōhara

Tomie Ōhara  was a Japanese novelist. She is best known for her novel "A Woman called En".

 Early life and education 
Ōhara was born on 28 September 1912 in Kochi, Japan. Her father was the principal of an elementary school. Her father had an extensive library where she used to read in. Her mother died when she was 10 years old. She studied at Kochi Joshi Shihan Gakko from 1927 to 1930. She quitted school when she contracted tuberculosis. She did not leave the sanatorium until 1938.

 Career 
Ōhara's writing career began when she was recovering from tuberculosis. She finished writing her first story in 1935. She began gaining attention as a writer with her 1938 story . Her story was shortlisted for the Akutagawa Prize. She then move to Tokyo. She became a member of the Bungei Shuto magazine in 1941.

Her tuberculosis recurred in 1955 and lasted until 1957. She published a short story collection in 1957 titled . Her short story won the Women's Literature Award. The stories in the collection are about patients living in a sanatorium.

She then wrote  in 1960. It won the Mainichi Publishing Culture Award and the Noma Literary Prize. Her novel  was published in 1970. It won the Women's Literature Award.

In 1976 Ōhara converted to Catholicism. Her new religion had a clear influence on some of her later books.

In 1990 she was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd class. The Ōhara Tomie Museum of Literature opened in 1991. She was named a member of the Japan Art Academy in 1998. Ōhara died on January 27, 2000.

 References 

 Other websites 

 Ōhara Tomie Museum of Literature official website

Category:1912 births
Category:2000 deaths
Category:Japanese novelists