TOKYO: Kenzaburo Oe, who won Japan its second Nobel Prize for literature with books about pacifism and his disabled son, has died.
His death, on March 3 at the age of 88, was due to old age, his publisher Kodansha said.
Ten years old when Japan was defeated in World War Two, Oe was scarred by his memories, which included being asked in school every day if he was willing to die for the Emperor and feeling shame when realising in bed at night that he wasn't.
He wrote about gruesome tales of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and noted how his shock at what he heard may have been his inspiration for becoming a writer.
Oe was never afraid to hold his native country to account and was scathing about former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to revise Japan's pacifist constitution.
Japan bore "some" responsibility for the war, he said in a 2014 interview.
"This war, in which so many large powers were involved, caused great suffering for people all over the world... And it is a reality that within this immense war, nuclear weapons were created and used."
His brain-damaged son Hikari also became a driving force of his literature. Hikari was for years unable to communicate with his family but as an adult became known as a composer. Oe has said that much of his writing was an attempt to give Hikari a voice.
Several of Oe's books have characters based on Hikari, with one, "A Personal Matter," talking about difficulties accepting the child. The Nobel committee singled out a number of these books when he won the prize in 1994.
"Although I myself am perhaps quite a dark novelist, I believe that also my novels show a kind of trust in human beings," he said in 2014. "And this has come from my son."
Oe was born in Shikoku, the smallest of Japan's main islands, the third son of seven children. After his father died suddenly in 1944 at home he was raised by his mother, who bought him books such as "Huckleberry Finn."
A graduate of Tokyo University, where he studied French Literature, Oe began publishing stories while still a student and won the Akutagawa Prize, a career-launching award for new writers, in 1958. A steady stream of work followed, including books on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
His Nobel Prize was followed by Japan's Order of Culture, but he refused to accept it because it was awarded by the Emperor and said: "I do not recognise any authority, any value, higher than democracy."
Always a pacifist, Oe became an even more vocal critic after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, saying that Japan had "a sacred duty" to renounce nuclear power, the same way it renounced war under its constitution. In 2013 he organised an anti-nuclear rally in Tokyo and in 2015 joined thousands to protest moves by Abe to let Japanese troops fight abroad.
In 1960 he married Yukari, the sister of late film director Juzo Itami, noted for his satires of modern life. Hikari, the first of their three children, was born four years later.
Reuters
Mon Mar 13 2023
![Nobel prize-winner Kenzaburo Oe, dead at 88, used words to preach pacifism Nobel prize-winner Kenzaburo Oe, dead at 88, used words to preach pacifism](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-03/81678695148_KenzaburoOe.jpg)
Nobel Literature Laureate Kenzaburo Oe of Japan, has died at the age of 88, due to old age, his publisher Kodansha said. - REUTERS/Filepic
![Tokan dadah ditahan bersama dua pucuk pistol di Alor Setar Tokan dadah ditahan bersama dua pucuk pistol di Alor Setar](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/51721123744_tokandadah.jpg)
Tokan dadah ditahan bersama dua pucuk pistol di Alor Setar
Polis menahan dua lelaki dan merampas dua pucuk pistol serta pelbagai jenis dadah dalam dua tangkapan di Taman Lam Foong, di Alor Setar.
![Tiada tempat selamat di Gaza, kata ketua PBB Tiada tempat selamat di Gaza, kata ketua PBB](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-06/51719354914_Destroyedbuildings.jpg)
Tiada tempat selamat di Gaza, kata ketua PBB
Beliau berkata tahap pertempuran dan kemusnahan yang melampau di Gaza tidak dapat difahami dan tidak boleh dimaafkan.
![Saya tidak fitnah Lim Guan Eng, cuma jelas tentang siasatan SPRM - Muhyiddin Saya tidak fitnah Lim Guan Eng, cuma jelas tentang siasatan SPRM - Muhyiddin](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/51721121786_MuhyiddinYassin.jpg)
Saya tidak fitnah Lim Guan Eng, cuma jelas tentang siasatan SPRM - Muhyiddin
Muhyiddin memberitahu bahawa beliau tidak memfitnah Lim Guan Eng berhubung isu pengecualian cukai terhadap Yayasan Albukhary.
![Saintis kesan gen bantu rawat kanser pankreas Saintis kesan gen bantu rawat kanser pankreas](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-04/81712376317_TujuanForensik.jpg)
Saintis kesan gen bantu rawat kanser pankreas
Gen HNF4A (Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 4 Alpha) didapati akan berhenti berfungsi pada tubuh pesakit kanser pankreas.
Pantau Agenda Reformasi: Potensi dan cabaran percambahan e-Sukan di Malaysia
Pengerusi Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS) Negeri Selangor
merangkap Timbalan Presiden Majlis Belia Negeri Selangor
E-Sukan mampu mencetak nama Malaysia di pentas dunia. Memahami potensi, kekangan dan peranan yang perlu dimainkan semua pihak dalam melahirkan lebih ramai pemain E-Sukan yang berjaya, seterusnya menyokong pembangunan industri E-Sukan negara.
SRG cipta sejarah pasukan Malaysia pertama juarai MSC MLBB 2024
merangkap Timbalan Presiden Majlis Belia Negeri Selangor
E-Sukan mampu mencetak nama Malaysia di pentas dunia. Memahami potensi, kekangan dan peranan yang perlu dimainkan semua pihak dalam melahirkan lebih ramai pemain E-Sukan yang berjaya, seterusnya menyokong pembangunan industri E-Sukan negara.
SRG cipta sejarah pasukan Malaysia pertama juarai MSC MLBB 2024
Jualan kereta di Malaysia diunjur cecah 765,000 unit
Persatuan Automotif Malaysia (MAA) melakukan semakan semula berkaitan sasaran jumlah keseluruhan industri (TIV) kepada 765,000 unit berbanding unjuran awal 740,000 unit untuk 2024. Semakan dibuat disokong oleh persekitaran ekonomi yang positif dan jumlah tempatan tertunggak yang masih berada pada tahap yang baik
Kementerian Digital cari kaedah kurangkan kos pelaksanaan sistem e-invois
Kerajaan sedang mencari kaedah mengurangkan kos pelaksanaan sistem e-invois untuk Perusahaan Kecil dan Sederhana (PKS) selepas sistem itu diwajibkan untuk semua perniagaan pada 1 Julai 2025
Perbelanjaan pengguna dijangka meningkat tahun ini
Perbelanjaan Pengguna Malaysia dijangka meningkat sepanjang tahun ini
dengan unjuran sebanyak RM904.6 bilion, ketika proses pemulihan ekonomi menunjukkan kemajuan pada ketika ini.
dengan unjuran sebanyak RM904.6 bilion, ketika proses pemulihan ekonomi menunjukkan kemajuan pada ketika ini.
![Suspek bunuh Nur Farah Kartini dibawa ke lokasi kejadian Suspek bunuh Nur Farah Kartini dibawa ke lokasi kejadian](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/71721123609_lokasi.jpg)
Suspek bunuh Nur Farah Kartini dibawa ke lokasi kejadian
Suspek kes pembunuhan Nur Farah Kartini Abdullah dibawa ke lokasi kejadian di ladang kelapa sawit di Kampung Sri Keledang, Hulu Bernam, Selangor.
Beberapa kementerian bincang perketat undang-undang - Fahmi
Penambahbaikan aspek perundangan akan diteliti kerajaan, termasuk mengadakan perbincangan dengan beberapa kementerian berkaitan dalam masa terdekat, bagi memperketatkan undang-undang berkaitan buli siber.