Nobuko Takagi

Nobuko Takagi (born Nobuko Tsuruta, April 9, 1946, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese novelist renowned for her explorations of romantic love, human emotions, and women's inner lives. She debuted in 1980 and achieved major acclaim with the Akutagawa Prize in 1984 for Hikari idaku tomo yo (To a Friend Embracing the Light), followed by the Tanizaki Prize in 1999 for Tōkō no ki (Translucent Tree), the Shimase Literary Prize for Love Stories in 1994 for Tsuta moe, and recognition as a Person of Cultural Merit in 2018, among other honors. Notable works include Hyōen (Ice Flame, Tanizaki Prize-associated), Hyakunen no yogen (adapted into the film Mai Mai Miracle), and Tomosui (Kawabata Yasunari Literature Prize, 2011) Japanese.