Writer

Kôbô Abe

1924 – 1993

Active years (films on this site)

1956–1966

Genres

DramaThrillerSci-Fi

Schools and movements

Japanese New WaveJapanese Golden Age

Directors worked with

Hiroshi Teshigahara2 filmsMasaki Kobayashi1 film

Biography

Kimifusa Abe , known by his pen name Kōbō Abe , was a Japanese writer, playwright and director. His 1962 novel The Woman in the Dunes was made into an award-winning film by Hiroshi Teshigahara in 1964. Abe has often been compared to Franz Kafka for his modernist sensibilities and his surreal, often nightmarish explorations of individuals in contemporary society. He died aged 68 of heart failure in Tokyo after a brief illness.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)

Awards and honours

International

• Kishida Theatre Award 1958
• Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

National / local

• Akutagawa Prize 1951
• Yomiuri Prize 1963
• Tanizaki Prize 1967
• Art Encouragement Prizes 1972

3 films on this site

1. The Thick-Walled Room 1956 · Masaki Kobayashi · IMDb 7.0 · Writer
2. Woman in the Dunes 1964 · Hiroshi Teshigahara · IMDb 8.4 · Writer
3. The Face of Another 1966 · Hiroshi Teshigahara · IMDb 7.8 · Writer