is the professional name of , a Japanese author, and fashion designer.

Biography

Takemoto was born in

Uji is a city on the southern outskirts of the city of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Founded on March 1, 1951, Uji is between the two ancient capitals of Nara and Kyoto. The city sits on the Uji River, which has its source in Lake Biwa ...

, south of

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

. As a child, he was shy and preferred

drawing Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...

and

reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

(two of his favorite authors were

Osamu Dazai , known by his pen name , was a Japanese novelist and author. A number of his most popular works, such as ''The Setting Sun'' (斜陽, ''Shayō'') and '' No Longer Human'' (人間失格, ''Ningen Shikkaku''), are considered modern classics. Hi ...

and

Yasunari Kawabata was a Japanese novelist and short story writer whose spare, lyrical, subtly-shaded prose works won him the 1968 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Japanese author to receive the award. His works have enjoyed broad international appeal and ...

) to spending time with others, and was a big fan of the

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

series ''

Candy Candy is a Japanese series created by Japanese writer Keiko Nagita under the pen name Kyoko Mizuki. The main character, Candice "Candy" White Ardley, is a blonde girl with freckles, large emerald green eyes and long hair, worn in pigtails wi ...

'', in the discovery of which he was "happy to finally find what eliked".Kondo, Miyuki. "Do your own thing: 'Lolita' novelist touches lonely hearts."
''

Asahi Shimbun is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...

''. July 24, 2004. He was also sometimes beaten by his father, which he says persuaded him to follow his own path in life. After dropping out of

Osaka University of Arts is a private arts university located in Kanan, Minamikawachi District, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The university was founded in 1945 as , changing its name to in 1957, and then to in 1964. The university adopted the current name in 1966. Not ...

in 1987, he participated in a variety of artistic, musical and theatrical activities. From 1992 to 1997, he made his literary debut contributing serial essays to ''Hanagata Bunka Tsūshin'' (花形文化通信), a

Kansai The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropoli ...

free arts newspaper. These essays were collected and published in book format in 1998 as ''Soleilnuit: For Becoming a Proper Young Lady'', and received wide recognition. These essays also increased the popularity of the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

term ''otome'', referring to a young lady or young

maiden Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

published his debut novel ''Missin in 2000. He was nominated for the Yukio Mishima Literary Award twice, for his novels ''Emily'' (in 2003) and ''Lolita'' (in 2004). Takemoto is best known for ''Shimotsuma Monogatari'', titled ''

Kamikaze Girls , is a 2002 Japanese novel written by Novala Takemoto. The story centers on the unlikely friendship between Momoko Ryugasaki, a "Rococophile" and lolita, and Ichigo "Ichiko" Shirayuri, a (juvenile delinquent). A live-action film adaptation ...

'' in English. The series was adapted to a

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

and a

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

which was directed by

Tetsuya Nakashima Tetsuya Nakashima (中島哲也) (born 1959) is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He was born in Fukuoka, attending high school in Chikushino. His 2010 film '' Confessions'' was awarded Best Picture at the Japanese Academy Awards, whe ...

. Another of his novels, ''Twins: A Variety Store Named "The End of the World"'', was also adapted for film in 2001 by Kiseki Hamada. Takemoto was arrested in September 2007 for violating the Cannabis Control Law and was later convicted of the crime. He was arrested again in 2015 after he was found to have two grams of contraband that are banned under the Narcotics Control Law in his possession.

Works in English translation

* ''

'' (original title: ''Shimotsuma Monogatari''), trans. Akemi Wegmüller (

Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

, 2006) * ''Missin and '' Missin' 2: Kasako'' (original title: ''Mishin'' and ''Mishin 2: Kasako''), trans. Anne Ishii (Viz Media, 2009) ** ''Missin ** ''Little store called End of the World'' ** ''Missin' 2: Kasako'' * ''Emily'' (original title: ''Emirī''), trans. Misa Dikengil Lindberg (

Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

English Edition, 2013)Emily - A Novel by Novala Takemoto (Shueisha English Edition)
** ''Emily'' ** ''Corset'' ** ''Readymade''

Works

Novels and short stories

* 2000 ''Missin (ミシン) * 2001 ''Twins: A Variety Store Named "The End of the World"'' (''Twins: Zoku-Sekai no Owari to Iu Na no Zakkaten'' / ツインズ——続・世界の終わりという名の雑貨店) * 2001 ''Café: A Collection of Literary Sketches'' (''Café Shōhinshū'' / カフェー小品集) * 2002 ''Emily'' (エミリー) * 2002 ''Shimotsuma Story'' (''Shimotsuma Monogatari'' / 下妻物語) *: (English title for the movie adaptation: ''

'') * 2003 ''Princess Scale'' (''Uroko-hime'' / 鱗姫) * 2003 ''Calps Alpis'' (カルプス・アルピス) * 2003 ''A Child Abandoned by Deus'' (''Deusu no Sutego'' / デウスの棄て児) * 2004 ''Lolita.'' (ロリヰタ。) * 2004 ''Missin' 2: Kasako'' (ミシン2/カサコ) * 2005 ''SHIMOTSUMA STORY FINAL'' (''Shimotsuma Monogatari Kan---Yankī-chan to Rorīta-chan to Satsujin Jiken'' / 下妻物語・完ヤンキーちゃんとロリータちゃんと殺人事件) * 2005 ''Sicilienne'' (シシリエンヌ) * 2006 ''Happiness'' (ハピネス) * 2007 ''ALL WORKS Fetish'' * 2007 ''Metamorphosis'' (''Henshin'' / 変身) * 2007 ''Hallucinative Anthology'' (''Gensō Shōhinshū'' / 幻想小品集) * 2007 ''Arabian Nights'' (''Sen'yaichiya Kishi--Arajin to Mahō no Okaimono'' / 千夜一夜騎士——アラジンと魔法のお買物) * 2008 ''Cannabis'' (''Taima'' / タイマ) * 2008 ''Olochi, super remix ver.'' (''Orochi, super remix ver.'' / おろち) * 2008 ''ROCK'N'ROLL SWINDLE——How to Form a Proper Punk Band'' (''ROCK'N'ROLL SWINDLE——Tadashii panku bando no tsukurikata'' / 正しいパンク・バンドの作り方) * 2009 ''Unhallowed Kingdom'' (''Shukufuku sarenai ōkoku'' / 祝福されない王国) * 2009 ''Long-Distance Love at 14 Years Old'' (''Jūyonsai no enkyori ren'ai'' / 十四歳の遠距離恋愛)

Essay collections

* 1998 ''Soleilnuit: For Becoming a Proper Young Lady'' (''Soreinu---Tadashii Otome ni Naru Tame ni'' / それいぬ——正しい乙女になるために) * 2002 ''Patchwork'' (パッチワーク) * 2004 ''Alice's Adventures in Fantasy Land'' (''Ren'ai no Kuni no Arisu'' / 恋愛の国のアリス) * 2024 ''Lolita Fashion'' (ロリータ・ファッション)

Picture books

* 2004 ''Uloco-hime: Princess Scale'' (うろこひめ)

Photo books

* 2007 ''short hope'' (photography by Maki Miyashita)

Other

* I Love You * 2009 ''Maidens' Trivia'' (''Otome no toribia'' / 乙女のトリビア)

Sources and Notes

External links

NOVALA BOX
(official website)
J!-ENT 2006 Interview
(Interview with Novala Takemoto at Pacific Media Expo 2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Takemoto, Novala 1968 births Living people 21st-century Japanese novelists Japanese fashion designers People from Kyoto Prefecture People from Uji, Kyoto Osaka University of Arts alumni Lolita fashion