Li Kotomi

In this Chinese name, the family name is Li.
Li Kotomi
Native name
李琴峰
Born (1989-12-26) 26 December 1989 (age 35)
Taiwan
OccupationWriter
LanguageJapanese, Mandarin
Alma materNational Taiwan University
Waseda University
GenreFiction
Notable works
  • Hitorimai (Solo Dance) (独り舞)
  • Itsutsu kazoereba mikazuki ga (五つ数えれば三日月が)
Notable awards

Li Kotomi (李琴峰, born on 26 December 1989), is the pen name of a Taiwanese fiction writer, translator, and essayist in Mandarin and Japanese. Her native language is Mandarin Chinese, but her novels are predominantly written in Japanese. Her literary career began in 2017 with the Japanese novel titled Hitorimai (Chinese: 獨舞 English: Solo Dance), which received the 60th Gunzo Prize for New Writers that year. Her novel Higanbana ga saku shima (An Island Where Red Spider Lilies Bloom) received the 165th Akutagawa Prize,[1] which was established in 1935 in commemoration of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.[2]

Early life

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Li Kotomi was born on December 26, 1989, in Taiwan. She studied Japanese when she was 15 years old.[3] She thinks the more she knows Japanese, the more interesting it is. Her elementary school teacher was dissatisfied with her because Japan had colonized Taiwan.[4]

She also tried to create novels in Chinese concurrently with learning Japanese. She enrolled at National Taiwan University and graduated from the Department of Chinese Literature and Japanese Literature. In 2013, she came to Japan to study for a master's degree in the Department of Japanese Language and Literature at Waseda University.[5][6]

Literary career

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Following graduation, she moved to Japan to study for a master's degree in the Department of Japanese Language and Literature at Waseda University in 2013. She has been living there since,[5] receiving her permanent residency in 2018. Following graduation, she started working for a general corporation. While commuting to work on the train, she came up with the idea for her debut novel, Hitorimai (Chinese: 獨舞 English: Solo Dance),[7] which was awarded the Gunzo Prize for New Writers in 2017.

She left her company in 2018 and has become a freelance writer and translator, working mostly from Japanese to Chinese. She has translated her Japanese novels into Chinese herself and published them in Taiwan.[7] In addition to writing novels, she has translated novels, essays, contracts, tourist information, comics, smartphone games, and newspaper articles.[8]

In 2019, her novel Itsutsu kazoereba mikazuki ga (Count to Five and See the Crescent Moon) was nominated for the 161th Akutagawa Ryunosuke Prize and the 41st Noma Literary Prize.[7]Her 2021 novel Higanbana ga saku shima (Chinese: 彼岸花盛開之島 English: An Island Where Red Spider Lilies Bloom)[9] was nominated for the Mishima Yukio Prize and received the 165th Akutagawa Prize.

Porarisu ga furisosogu yoru (The Night of the Shining North Star, published in February 2020) received the Art Encouragement Newcomer Award. This series of short stories is set in Shinjuku Ni-chome and depicts the comings and goings of various people —people with diverse sexual identities, foreigners living in Japan, and others —intertwined with themes of national identity, history, and culture.[10] She won the 2021 Akutagawa Prize for Higanbana ga saku shima (The Island Where Red Spider Lilies Bloom)[1][11][12][13]Toumei na maku o hedatenagara, published in Aug 2022, is a collection of essays she had written for over four years, from her debut years, 2017 to 2022, when she received the Akutagawa Prize.[14][15]

Since her debut, she has consistently written her works in close contact with modern society, including life and death, sexual diversity (LGBT, sexual minorities, etc.), nationality, language, and history and politics that are based on it.[7][10] Also, Li Kotomi recently spoke at the International Conference on Open Access to Culture (held from June 28 to July 7, 2022) during Plenary Session 2, "A Dialogue in Diversity: Inclusion of Differences, Prospects in Cultural Collaboration".[10]

Personal life

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In November 2024, Li publicly came out as a transgender women after being outed on social media. She said that she "fled to Japan in 2013 after she experienced bullying and discrimination because she was transgender" and that she "could not live with peace of mind in Taiwan". She is also a lesbian.[16]

Selected Works

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In Japanese

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Japanese title Rōmaji English Year of publication Notes
独舞 Hitorimai Solo Dance 2018 Winner of the 60th Gunzo New Writers Award for Excellence[14]
五つ数えれば三日月が Itsutsu kazoereba mikazuki ga Count to Five and See the Crescent Moon 2019 Nominated for the 61th Akutagawa Prize and Noma Bungei New Writers Award.[14]
ポラリスが降り注ぐ夜 Porarisu ga furisosogu yoru The Night Polaris Shone Down 2020 Received the 71st Education Minister's Art Encouragement New Awards.[14][10]
星月夜（ほしつきよる） Hoshi tsuki yoru Starry Moonlit Night 2020[17]
彼岸花が咲く島 Higanbana ga saku shima The Island Where Red Spider Lilies Bloom 2021 Winner of the 165th Akutagawa Prize; nominated for the Mishima Yukio Prize.[14][18]
生を祝う Sei o iwau Celebrating Life 2021[19] Received the 71st Education Minister's Art Encouragement New Awards.[14][10]
透明な膜を隔てながら Toumei na maku o hedatenagara Separated by a Transparent Membrane 2022 A collection of essays originally written from 2017 to 2021.
観音様の環 Kan'onsama no wa The Ring of Avalokiteśvara 2023
肉を脱ぐ Niku o nugu Remove the Flesh 2023
言霊の幸う国で Kotodama no kō kuni de In a Country Blessed with Words 2024
シドニーの虹に誘われて Shidonī no niji ni sasowarete Beckoned by Sidney's Rainbow 2024

In Translation

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  • Solo Dance, translated by Arthur Reiji Morris[20](2022, World Editions)
  • L'isola dei gigli rossi, translated by Anna Specchio (2023, Mondadori)

References

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  1. ^ a b "Author becomes first Taiwanese to win well-known Japanese literature award - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  2. ^ "公益財団法人日本文学振興会". 日本文学振興会 (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  3. ^ 國際化,雙語編排,文化整合,全球華人的雜誌, 台灣光華雜誌 Taiwan Panorama |. "盛開彼岸 首位榮獲日本芥川獎的台灣人──李琴峰". 台灣光華雜誌 Taiwan Panorama | 國際化,雙語編排,文化整合,全球華人的雜誌 (in Chinese). Retrieved 20 November 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "透明な膜を隔てながら｜李琴峰". note（ノート） (in Japanese). 2 August 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  5. ^ a b "小説家 | 李琴峰-中華民国(台湾)文化部". www.moc.gov.tw. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  6. ^ 台灣英文新聞 (15 July 2021). "強者！首位台灣作家勇奪芥川獎 自稱「中二病宅女」背景揭曉網驚：好神！ | 台灣英文新聞 | 2021-07-15 10:47:00". 台灣英文新聞. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d "李琴峰はどんな作家か【お仕事のご依頼について】｜李琴峰". note（ノート） (in Japanese). 10 March 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  8. ^ 何, 致和 (2021). "語言越境、形象自塑與文化交融──李琴峰非母語書寫研究". 國立臺北教育大學語文集刊. 40: 361–390.
  9. ^ Agency）, 中央通訊社（Central News (16 July 2021). "【專訪】李琴峰談芥川獎新作《彼岸花盛開之島》：一個將男性排除在宗教、政治體制之外的烏托邦". The News Lens 關鍵評論網 (in Chinese). Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Special Interview : Li Kotomi". Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  11. ^ "日本芥川賞首位台籍得主《彼岸花盛開之島》李琴峰返台！唯一公開講座及現場親簽在誠品信義店獨家舉行". Vogue Taiwan (in Chinese). 11 May 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  12. ^ "李琴峰的《彼岸花盛開之島》：一篇小說裡暗示的另一篇小說需要翻譯". 典藏ARTouch.com (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 21 June 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  13. ^ 謝, 惠貞 (1939). "台籍日語作家李琴峰的《彼岸花盛開之島》研究——性別的貴種流離及烏托邦的翻轉". 臺北教育大學語文集刊. 23 (11): 1703–1728. doi:10.3412/jsb1917.23.11_1703. ISSN 1883-6976.
  14. ^ a b c d e f "プロフィール｜李琴峰の公式サイト". likotomi.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  15. ^ 中央通訊社 (4 June 2022). "李琴峰「彼岸花盛開之島」 努力寫出自己看見的世界 | 文化". 中央社 CNA (in Chinese). Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  16. ^ "Writer Li Kotomi comes out as transgender after being outed". The Asahi Shimbun. 1 December 2024. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  17. ^ 李琴峰 (15 July 2020). 星月夜. 集英社. ISBN 978-4-08-771719-8.
  18. ^ "『彼岸花が咲く島』李琴峰 | 単行本". 文藝春秋BOOKS (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  19. ^ 生を祝う (in Japanese).
  20. ^ "World Editions - Li Kotomi". World Editions. Retrieved 5 June 2023.

Works cited

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