Hisako Matsubara

Hisako Matsubara (松原 久子 Matsubara Hisako, May 21, 1935 in Kyoto) is a Japanese novelist who has published works in German, English and Japanese.

Born the daughter of a prominent Shinto priest, Matsubara grew up in the serene setting of the Kenkun Shrine in the northern part of Kyoto. She graduated from high school in Kyoto, then attended Tokyo's International Christian University, where she studied comparative religion and literature. After receiving a BA, she moved to the United States to study theater arts at Pennsylvania State University, from which she graduated with a MA. She worked for a while as an editor in the US before moving to Germany in 1962. She lived in Marburg and Göttingen, where she attended the University and perfected her German language skills. She then settled in Cologne, and in 1970, obtained her PhD in philosophy jointly from the Ruhr University of Bochum and the University of Göttingen. Starting in 1967, Matsubara wrote a column at the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit. This work turned into a collection of short stories and essays, Blick aus Mandelaugen, 1968, through which she entered the German literary scene. In 1969, Matsubara published a German translation of the ancient Japanese tale Taketori-monogatari, illustrated with woodcuts by her sister Naoko Matsubara. She worked on documentaries of the major German TV stations ARD and ZDF. She published several novels in German (Brokatrausch 1978, Samurai 1979, Glückspforte 1980, Abendkranich 1981, Brückenbogen 1986,Karpfentanz 1994, Himmelszeichen 1998,) which were quite successful in Germany and internationally. Her novels are set in recent Japanese history addressing changes in Japanese culture during the modernization and western influences as a background theme. Matsubara also wrote non-fiction books (Weg zu Japan 1983, and Raumschiff Japan 1989) highlighting contrasts between Japanese history and European history over the past five centuries. She moved back to the US in the mid 1980s, where she was a scholar at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. In recent years, she has published mostly in Japanese, both fiction and non-fiction. Currently she lives with her family in Los Altos.

Hisako Matsubara is a member of the German PEN since 1971 and since 1985 a member of the American Art Directors Club. She received the New York Critics Award in 1985 and in 1987 she was the Writer in residence at the East West Center in Manoa, Hawaii.

Works

• The Tale of the Shining Princess, Kodansha International Ltd. 1966, ISBN 978-4770000231
• Blick aus Mandelaugen: Eine Japanerin in Deutschland, Piper Verlag 1968, ISBN 3-8135-0624-X
• Brokat-Rausch, Goldmann Verlag 1978 (German edition), ASIN B007EF203Y
• Samurai, Times Books 1980, ISBN 081290852X
• Glückspforte, Albrecht Knaus Verlag 1980, ISBN 978-3-8135-0563-4
• Abendkranich: Eine Kindheit in Japan, Knauss 1981 (German edition) ISBN 978-3813566192
• Cranes at Dusk (Abendkranich), Doubleday 1985, ISBN 978-0385278584
• Brokatrausch, Goldmann 1986, ISBN 978-3-442-08451-7
• Brückenbogen, 1986
• Wakon no jidai, Mikasa Shobo 1987, 978-4837913443
• Nihon no chie Yoroppa no chie, Mikasa Shobo 1987, ISBN 978-4-8379-1266-8
• Raumschiff Japan: Realität und Provokation, Albrecht Knaus Verlag 1989, ISBN 3-8135-0624-X
• Brückenbogen, Luebbe Verlagsgruppe 1990, ISBN 3404113764 / ISBN 9783404113767
• The Japanese: A Mystery Unfolded, Atlantic Monthly Press 1990, ISBN 978-0-87113-111-9
• Karpfentanz, Albrecht Knaus Verlag 1994 (German Ed.), ISBN 978-3813560848
• Brückenbogen, Albrecht Knaus Verlag 1998 (German Ed.), ISBN 978-3813502671
• Himmelszeichen, Goldmann 2000, ISBN 978-3-442-44700-8

References

• Review of Cranes at Dusk and a biographical note on the author (archived version)
• Sharon Dirlam: Cranes at Dusk. Los Angeles Times, 1985-2-17
• Review of the German translation of Taketori-monogatari in Die Zeit (December 12, 1969) (German)
• Hisako Matsubara at Munzinger Online (German)