abさんご (ab Sango)

Natsuko Kuroda (born 1937) is a Japanese writer renowned for her experimental fiction, particularly her 2012 story a b sango, which won the Akutagawa Prize in 2013, making her the oldest recipient at age 75; she had previously won the Yomiuri Shimbun Short Story Newcomer Prize in 1963 for \"Mari\" (\"Ball\"). After graduating from Waseda University where she founded the literary journal Sajo, she published sporadically while working various jobs, achieving late recognition for her innovative style using mostly hiragana, horizontal writing, and avoiding names or pronouns.