Kōno, Taeko, 1926-2015

Kōno Taeko (河野多惠子, February 24, 1926 – January 29, 2015) was a Japanese writer who was active during the latter half of the 20th century. Kōno belonged to a generation of female Japanese writers who became more well-known in the 1960s and 70s. She established a reputation for herself as an acerbic essayist, a playwright, and a literary critic. By the end of her life, she played a role in Japan's literary establishment and one of the first female writers to serve on the Akutagawa Literary Prize committee. Kenzaburō Ōe, Japan's Nobel Laureate, described her as one of the most lucidly intelligent female writers in Japan, and the US critic and academic Masao Miyoshi identified her as among the most "critically alert and historically intelligent". US critic and academic Davinder Bhowmik described her as one of the truly original voices of the twentieth century, beyond questions of gender or nationality. A writer who deals with dark themes, Kōno is known to many English speaking readers because of her collection of short stories Toddler-Hunting and Other Stories (New Directions, 1996).