Two women named for Japan's Akutagawa, Naoki literary awards

Two female novelists were selected Wednesday to receive Japan's prestigious Akutagawa and Naoki literary awards for their works, depicting a woman's stalker-like behavior toward a neighbor and a tale of a traditional Japanese puppet playwright.Natsuko Imamura won the Akutagawa Prize for her novel "Murasaki no Sukato no Onna" (The woman in the purple skirt), while Masumi Oshima won the Naoki Prize for "Uzu Imoseyama Onna Teikin Tamamusubi" (Whirlpool, husband and wife mountains: a mirror of virtuous women, requiem), the selection committee said.Imamura's novel depicts protagonist "I," a fema…READ FULL ARTICLE