Makate Asai
Early life and education. Asai was born in 1959 in Habikino, Osaka, Japan. After graduating from Konan Women's University she took a job writing copy for advertising. Career. Asai made her literary debut in 2008 with ', which won the "Shōsetsu Gendai" Novel Newcomer Encouragement Prize from Kodansha. She chose the pen name "Makate" to honor her Okinawan grandmother. More novels followed, including the 2010 novel ' and the 2012 novel "", which NHK later adapted into a television series starring Rena Tanaka, Rie Tomosaka, and Eriko Sato. In 2014 Asai won both the Naoki Prize and the Oda Sakunosuke  Prize, but for different books. Her 2013 novel ', a story based on the life of the poet Nakajima Utako, won the 150th Naoki Prize, which she shared with Kaoruko Himeno. Her book ', a story based on the life of the poet Ihara Saikaku, won the 31st Oda Sakunosuke Prize. Her novel ', about the relationship between the painter Katsushika Ōi and her father, the painter Hokusai, was published in 2016. "Kurara" won the 22nd Gishū Nakayama Literature Prize, and was adapted into the 2017 NHK television movie ' starring Aoi Miyazaki.