Miyoko Matsutani was a Japanese picture book author and folktale researcher. She is best known for writing the book '' Taro the Dragon Boy.''

Early life and education

Matsutani was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan on February 14, 1926. She was the youngest child of , a lawyer and politician. She was an avid reader. She graduated from high school in 1943. However, because her father died when she was 11 years old, her family could not afford to send her to college. Instead, she worked at a bank called Nihon Kangyō Ginkō and the Japan Travel Bureau. In 1945, during the

Bombing of Tokyo The was a series of air raids on Japan by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), primarily launched during the closing campaigns of the Pacific War, Pacific Theatre of World War II in 1944–1945, prior to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima ...

that occurred during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, her family evacuated to the city of Nakano in

Nagano prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

. While there she met , who mentored her as a writer.

Career

Matsutani's first book was a collection of short stories called , which won an award. She married in 1955. Together they collected traditional legends of the Nagano area. This research eventually inspired her 1960 book ''Taro the Dragon Boy.'' It won the

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

and was later adapted into a film. She was also well-known for her book , which was published in 1964. It won the

Noma Prize The Noma Prizes were established by Shoichi Noma, or in his honor. More than one award is conventionally identified as the ''Noma Prize''. Noma was the former head of Kodansha, the Japanese publishing and bookselling company. Kodansha is Japan's ...

for children's literature. She also edited the ''

Kaidan Restaurant is a Japanese children's storybook series. The books take the form of horror anthologies, edited by Miyoko Matsutani and illustrated by Yoshikazu Takai and Kumiko Katō. As of 2007, there were 50 volumes published by Doshinsha. Over 8 million ...

'' series. Her books for young readers often focused on the relationship between mothers and children, while her books for older readers had a broader focus, touching upon social issues. The stories she wrote based on folktales were especially focused on the relationship between humans and nature. Matsutani died of old age on February 28, 2015 in Tokyo.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsutani, Miyoko 1928 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Japanese novelists 20th-century Japanese women writers Writers from Tokyo