The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam invites Mr. Takahashi Genichiro, one of the well-known authors in Japan, to host the travelling lectures on contemporary literature in Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City from 10 – 12March 2014.

Takahashi Genichiro was born in Onomichi, Hiroshima prefecture and attended the Economics Department of Yokohama National University without graduating. As a radical student, he was arrested and spent half a year in prison, which caused Takahashi to develop a form of aphasia. As part of his rehabilitation, his doctors encouraged him to start writing. Since April 2005, he has been a professor at the International Department of Meiji Gakuin University.

Takahashi’s debut work, “Sayonara, Gyangutachi [lit. Sayonara, Gangsters]”, was published in 1982, and won the Gunzo Literary Award for First Novels. It was also acclaimed by critics as one of the most important works of postwar Japanese literature and has been translated into English, Italian, Brazilian and Portuguese by Vertical, Inc. In 2013, with the financial support of The Japan Foundation, this novel has been published in Vietnamese by Nha Nam Publishing and Communications Company JSC.

In addition, his “Yuga de kansho-teki na Nippon-yakyuu [lit. Elegant and Sentimental]” won the Mishima Yukio Prize in 1988, and his “Nihon bungaku seisui shi [lit. The Rise and Fall of Japanese Literature]” received the Itoh Sei Literature Award. In 2012, “Sayonara Christopher Robin [lit. Goodbye, Christopher Robin]” won the Tanizaki Prize.

He is also known as a writer of incisive essays on current events, and as a commentator on horse racing.

His varied achievements on literature will assure you of the understanding of stimulating issues on the contemporary literature as well as its modern history. Included in the talk is his introduction of the novel “Sayonara, Gyangutachi”. We hope the audience will enjoy the intellectual discoveries. The talk will be delivered in Japanese with Vietnamese interpretation. Admission is free. Advanced registration is highly recommended. For more information, please call the Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam at 04-3944-7419 or visit their website at www.jpf.org.vn
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Takahashi Genichiro:
A Japanese Writer’s Talk

Time and Venues

[Hanoi]

[HCMC]

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Takahashi Genichiro

Born in 1951

Writer, Essayist
Professor, International Department of Meiji Gakuin University.
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Selected works

Novels

• Sayonara, gyangutachi (lit. Sayonara Gangsters), 1982
* Gunzo Literary Award Winner
• Yuga de kansho-teki na Nippon-yakyuu (lit. Japanese Baseball: Elegant and Sentimental), 1988
*Mishia Yukio Prize Winner
• Nihon bungaku seisui shi (lit. The Rise and Fall of Japanese Literature), 2001
* Itoh Sei Literature Award Winner
• Sayonara kurisutofaa robin (lit. Goodbye, Christopher Robin), 2012
*Tanizaki Prize Winner
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Essay and Literary Criticism Collections

• Bungaku ja nai kamoshirenai shoukougun (lit. The Maybe-It’s-Not-Literature Syndrome), 1992
• Ichioku sansenman nin no tame no shousetsu kyouiku (lit. Novel Writing Class for 130 Million People), 2002
• Nippon no shousetsu: hyakunen no kodoku (lit. The Japanese Novel: One Hundred Years of Solitude), 2007
• Ju-san nichi kan de ‘meibun’ wo kakeru you ni naru houhou (lit. How to Write a ‘Famous Novel’ in 13 Days), 2009

■ Press release:

English
Vietnamese

■ For inquiries on the event and the interview with Mr. Takahashi Genichiro:

Ms. Nha (Ext. 115) / Mr. Kawai (Ext.109) / Mr. Quan (Nhã Nam) tranquan.dang@gmail.com
The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam
27 Quang Trung, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, Vietnam ĐT 04 3944 7419