Kenzaburo Oe, a Nobel Prize-winning Japanese author and one of the country’s most influential postwar writers, died on Thursday. He died at the age of 88. His writing explored themes of alienation, identity and the psychological trauma of war, and his works were translated into more than 20 languages.
Oe was born in 1935 in the city of Uchiko in Shikoku, western Japan. He began writing at an early age and was awarded a prestigious literary prize in 1958, when he was just 23 years old. His 1967 novel, “A Personal Matter”, which explored the struggles of a man with a deformed baby, drew international attention and was translated into more than 20 languages.
The Nobel Prize-winning Japanese author Kenzaburo Oe was strongly influenced by French and American literature. Also, he was well-known for his influential account of the atomic bombing of Japan and for managing his son, who has learning difficulties. Oe’s publisher Kodansha said that he died on the 3rd of March due to old age.
Throughout his career, Oe wrote more than 50 books, including novels, short stories, plays and essays. His best-known works include “The Silent Cry” (1967), “A Personal Matter” (1969) and “The Pinch Runner Memorandum” (1982). He is survived by his wife and three sons.