Japan and the Nobel Prize for Literature

Following on from my piece in The Japan Times two weeks ago on 'Mishima, Murakami and the Elusive Nobel Prize' (see previous post), you can read the latest articles in my series on Japan and the battle for the Nobel Prize for Literature.

In Part Two, I discussed with John Nathan - translator of the novels of Yukio Mishima and Kenzaburo Oe - both the winners and losers of the prize amongst the great Japanese writers of the last half century. To read, please click the link below:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2015/09/05/books/literature-critic-john-nathan-dissects-japans-nobel-prize-laureates/

In Part Three, I considered the case of the great novelist Shusaku Endo, whom many felt should have won in 1994. Will Martin Scorsese's new film of Endo's masterpiece Silence bring the international recognition the Nobel Prize Committee failed to do? To read more, click the link below:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2015/09/12/books/jesus-christ-nobel-prize-shusaku-endo/

My thanks to publisher Peter Owen for allowing us to use the 1981 picture of Endo in this piece - the first time this picture has ever been made public.