Enchi Fumiko: life and literature

Enchi Fumiko (1905-1986), the Japanese writer and playwright, has created works devoted to lives of Japanese women who resisted the oppression of the patriarchal society. She criticizes the system of matrimonial relations (ie) rooted in obsolete standards of Confucianism’s ethics. She often correlates her heroes with personages of the medieval literature discovering time relations in female psychology. Her works are full of erotic motives. The aestheticism of Tanizaki Jun’ichirō (1886-1965) with his conception of the «demonic beauty» and the idea of the fleeting nature of life (mono no aware) in the novel «The Tale of Genji» («Genji monogatari», XI) influenced her talent very much. The writer worked at the translation of this novel from old Japanese into contemporary language since 1968 and published it in 10 volumes in 1972. Enchi Fumiko started working as a playwright after the collection of plays «Farewell to Spring» («Sekishun», 1935), but soon she turned to fiction. In 1946 the writer endured the operation of uterus removal. This enhanced her desire to study «woman from inside» and sharpened her shrewdness in the understanding of the female sexuality. The story «Hungry Days» («Himojii tsukihi», 1953) about a woman unsatisfied with her marriage experiences physical and psychological tortures that had great success and got the Women’s Literature Prize (1954). The story «Enchantress» («Yō», 1956) presents an aging woman regretting her lost youth and dreaming about «the revenge» on her husband. The main novel written by Enchi Fumiko «Woman’s Slope» («Onnazaka», 1957), awared with the Noma’s Literature Prize, depicts a family of the Meiji Period (1868-1911) with a despotic husband and an absolutely docile wife; the novel analyses hidden torments of women. In «Masks» («Jomen», 1958), the main hero is associated with the image of jealous Rokujō Lady in «The Tale of Genji» and realizes her plan of «revenge». In the novel «Variation of Komachi» («Komachi hensō», 1965), there is an aging actress is full of energy and beauty, playing the medieval poetess Ono Komachi (IX) at the stage. The autobiographical trilogy of such novels as «That Which Steals Red» («Ake o ubau mono», 1956), «Injured Wings» («Kizu aru tsubasa», 1962), «Rainbow and Demon» («Niji to shura», 1968) got Tanizaki Jun’ichirō’s Prize (1969). In this work, the writer frankly narrates on her passions, disappointments and loneliness. The theme of «The Snake’s Voice» («Hebi no koe», 1970) is hostile relations between mother and daughter. The collection of three short stories «Wandering Spirit» («Yūkon», 1971) received Grand Literature Prize of Japan (1972). The writer was a member of Japanese Art Academy (1970), she was awarded with the rank of the Distinguished Culture Worker of Japan (1979), and became the Knight of Culture (1985).