Fumiko Kometani
Encyclopedia
Fumiko Kometani, born in Osaka, Japan in 1930, is a Japanese author and artist (painter) and a longtime resident of the United States. Kometani moved to the U.S. in 1960 when she was working as an abstract painter, spending time at the MacDowell Colony
in New Hampshire
where she met her husband, Josh Greenfeld
(now living in California). She changed her focus to writing when her developmentally-disabled son Noah became too hard to handle when he was around the art supplies in her studio. Her older son, Karl Taro Greenfeld
, is also a writer.
Kometani is also noted for her expressed displeasure of what she terms the fascist
mentality of World War II
Japanese Army.
MacDowell Colony
The MacDowell Colony is an art colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, U.S.A., founded in 1907 by Marian MacDowell, pianist and wife of composer Edward MacDowell. She established the institution and its endowment chiefly with donated funds...
in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
where she met her husband, Josh Greenfeld
Josh Greenfeld
Josh Greenfeld is an author and screenwriter mostly known for his screenplay for the 1974 film Harry and Tonto along with Paul Mazursky, which earned them an Academy Award nomination and its star, Art Carney, the Oscar itself for Best Actor...
(now living in California). She changed her focus to writing when her developmentally-disabled son Noah became too hard to handle when he was around the art supplies in her studio. Her older son, Karl Taro Greenfeld
Karl Taro Greenfeld
Karl Taro Greenfeld is a journalist and author known primarily for his articles on life in modern Asia and both his fiction and non-fiction in The Paris Review....
, is also a writer.
Kometani is also noted for her expressed displeasure of what she terms the fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
mentality of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Japanese Army.
Awards
- Bungakkai shinjinshoo (1985)
- Shinchoo shinjinshoo (1985)
- Akutagawashoo (1985) (One of the most prestigious literary awards in Japan)
- Murasaki Shikibu Prize (1998)