Kenzaburo Oe

Nobel Prize in Literature 1994

Kenzaburo Oe was born in Ose, Japan, on January 31, 1935, and died on March 3, 2023. In 1954 he graduated in French Literature from the University of Tokyo and, in 1957, began publishing his first texts in literary magazines, being awarded the Akutagawa Prize for best short story the following year. That same year he began writing novels. In 1964 he published what is considered his most important work, Don't Kill the BabyThemes such as nonconformity, culture shock, and individual and social isolation in modern Japan are frequent in his novels, essays, and short stories. Oe was also a strong opponent of nuclear energy. In 1994, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was considered the most important voice in contemporary Japanese literature.