Nobuko Takagi

Nobuko Takagi (高樹 のぶ子 Takagi Nobuko, born April 9, 1946) is the pen-name of Nobuko Tsuruta, a Japanese author.

Takagi was born in Yamaguchi Prefecture, graduated from the Junior College of Tokyo Woman's Christian University (now Tokyo Woman's Christian University), and first published in 1980 with Sono hosoki michi (That Narrow Road). It was nominated for the Akutagawa Prize, as were her subsequent stories Tôsugiru tomo (A Distant Friend, 1981), Oikaze (A Following Wind, 1982), and Hikari idaku tomo yo (To a Friend Embracing the Light, 1983), which won the prize. Other works include Ginga no shizuku (Drops Falling from the Milky Way, 1993) and Tsuta moe (The Burning Vine, 1994).

Takagi's main interest lies in exploring the themes of romantic love in many forms, including innocent love, married love, extramarital affairs, and love triangles. She is currently a Special Guest Professor at Kyushu University.

"Will O' Wisp" (Onibi), a short story first published in Japanese in 2002 (Bungei-bunko), appears in English translation in Skyward, the Japan Airline inflight magazine, June, 2003

Major prizes

 * 1984 Akutagawa Prize for Hikari idaku tomo yo (To a Friend Embracing the Light)
 * 1994 Shimase Literary Prize for Love Stories for Tsuta-moe
 * 1999 Tanizaki Prize for Tokō no ki (透光の樹)