Yūko Tsushima

Yūko Tsushima (津島 佑子 Tsushima Yūko, born March 30, 1947) is the pen name of Satoko Tsushima, a contemporary Japanese fiction writer, essayist and critic. She is also the daughter of famed novelist Osamu Dazai, who died when she was only one year old.

While attending Shirayuri Women's University she started publishing fiction. At the age of 24, she published her first collection of stories, Carnival (Shaniku-sai). Now a prolific writer, she is the winner of several literary prizes.

In 1972 her story "Pregnant With A Fox" ("Kitsune wo haramu") was one of the runners-up for the Akutagawa Prize. She was awarded the first annual Noma Prize for New Writers in 1979. In 1983 she was awarded the Kawabata Prize for the short story "The Silent Traders" ("Danmari ichi"). In 1998 she was awarded the 34th Tanizaki Prize and the 51st Noma Prize for her novel Mountain of Fire: Account Of A Wild Monkey (Hi no yama – yamazaruki).

Works translated into English

 * Child Of Fortune (寵児, Chōji, 1978)
 * Woman Running In The Mountains (山を走る女, Yama wo hashiru onna, 1980)
 * The Shooting Gallery & Other Stories (selected stories, 1973–1984)