Kobo Abe

Kobo Abe was born in Tokyo on March 7, 1924. His first published work, a volume of poetry, appeared in 1947. In 1951, he saw the publication of his book of short stories. Kabe [The WallHe was awarded the Akutagawa Prize and gained public recognition. The Woman of the SandHis novel, published in 1962 and adapted for film by Hiroshi Teshigahara two years later, is considered his masterpiece. Often compared to Franz Kafka for the originality of his writing, where the surreal and claustrophobic emerge as ways to question the individual in modern society, Kobo Abe was one of the most prestigious Japanese authors of the 20th century. He died on January 22, 1993.