Factbook

A Dynamic Compendium of Interesting Japanese Literary and Publishing Facts

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Creative Writing

Banana Yoshimoto chose the pen name banana as it was gender neutral

[UPDATED: 8-20-2021]

Banana Yoshimoto, one of the most internationally recognised contemporary female Japanese writers established her career in 1988 with her debut novel Kitchen, which was nominated for various prizes, instantly putting her on Japan’s literary map. She wrote the novel while working as a waitress in a golf club.

She chose her pen name while at college before graduation choosing banana to replace her given name Mahoko as she liked banana flowers, which flourish deep within the stems of banana plants, and because she thought the name was memorable, “cute”, and “purposefully androgynous.”

She comes from a very creative family. Her father Takaaki Yoshimoto (1924-2012) was a well-known poet and literary critic, her mother Kazuko (1927-2012) a haiku poet and her sister, Yoiko Haruno, is a well-known cartoonist.

Banana Yoshimoto chose the pen name banana as it was gender neutral Posted January 3rd, 2018 by Richard Nathan

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Factbook

Banana Yoshimoto chose the pen name banana as it was gender neutral

Long before the Internet magnified content about suicide, Japanese publishers and authors, including some of the nation’s most renowned, wrote about suicide helping the narrative of death proliferate[UPDATED: 5-4-2022]

The Japanese poet Ishikawa Takuboku was Meiji Japan’s ‘Angry Young Man’[UPDATED: 4-4-2022]

When Japan was ruled by Shoguns ‘Great Learning for Women’ was required reading[UPDATED: 3-4-2022]

Kafka a popular author and name amongst Japan’s creatives[UPDATED: 1-26-2022]

Mount Fuji, which is featured in Japan’s oldest fictional prose and first collection of poetry, is still a powerful literary motif[UPDATED: 12-1-2021]

Japan’s most expensive book was published in 1984 with a retail price of US$17,000[UPDATED: 11-5-2021]

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