Banana Yoshimoto

Japanese writer · Japan · Writers · Born 1964 · age 62

Banana Yoshimoto is read about 607 times a day, in 42 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 7 October 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 382 days, one point a day.

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Banana Yoshimoto is the pen name of Japanese writer Mahoko Yoshimoto . From 2002 to 2015, she wrote her name in hiragana.

A life in dates

2022Tanizaki PrizeAward2000Bunkamura Les Deux Magots Literature AwardAward1995Murasaki Shikibu PrizeAward1989“Each one of us continues to carry the heart of each self we've ever been, at every stage along the way, and a chaos of everything good and rotten.”In their wordsTrans. Michael Emmerich. Grove Press, 2002.Read the whole statement

“No matter where you are, you're always a bit on your own, always an outsider.”In their wordsTrans. Michael Emmerich. Grove Press, 2002.Read the whole statement

“Love is the kind of thing that's already happening by the time you notice it, that's how it works, and no matter how old you get, that doesn't change.”In their wordsTrans. Michael Emmerich. Grove Press, 2002.Read the whole statement

Yamamoto Shūgorō PrizeAward1988“As I grow older, much older, I will experience many things, and I will hit rock bottom again and again. Again and again I will suffer; again and again I will get back on my feet.”In their wordsTrans. Megan Backus. Grove Press, 1993.Read the whole statement

“People aren't overcome by situations or outside forces; defeat invades from within.”In their wordsTrans. Megan Backus. Grove Press, 1993.Read the whole statement

“Truly happy memories always live on, shining. Over time, one by one, they come back to life.”In their wordsTrans. Megan Backus. Grove Press, 1993.Read the whole statement

Izumi Kyōka Prize for LiteratureAward1987Kaien Shinjin BungakushoAward1964Born24 July 1964

Also in Deutsch

Photos 1

In their own words 6

Banana Yoshimoto

6 statements, newest first

Each one of us continues to carry the heart of each self we've ever been, at every stage along the way, and a chaos of everything good and rotten.
1989, Trans. Michael Emmerich. Grove Press, 2002., Own words
No matter where you are, you're always a bit on your own, always an outsider.
1989, Trans. Michael Emmerich. Grove Press, 2002., Own words
Love is the kind of thing that's already happening by the time you notice it, that's how it works, and no matter how old you get, that doesn't change.
1989, Trans. Michael Emmerich. Grove Press, 2002., Own words