THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
March 5, 2025 at 15:49 JST
Famed Catholic author and award-winning essayist Ayako Sono died on Feb. 28. She was 93.
Sono, whose real name was Chizuko Miura, gained a number of accolades throughout her life.
They span the pope awarding her the Order of the Holy Cross in 1979 for her writing to honors in her field that include the Yoshikawa Eiji literary prize in in 1997 and the Kikuchi Kan prize in 2012.
Born in Tokyo, Sono's Catholic education began in kindergarten and she was baptized at the age of 17.
She joined the coterie magazine “Shin Shicho” (New thought) while in university and eventually married fellow writer Shumon Miura, who was also involved with the magazine, in 1953.
Like Sono who established herself as a major literary figure, the late Miura was also a distinguished novelist and served as commissioner for the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
A year later, her novel “Enrai no Kyakutachi” (Visitors from afar) was nominated for the Akutagawa Prize in 1954 for its depiction of Allied occupation soldiers from a young woman’s point of view.
Sono has a long list of best-sellers to her name, including “Mumeihi” (The unnamed monument), which was published in 1969, and follows the lives of engineers working at a construction site.
Another is the 1973 coming-of-age novel “Taro Monogatari” (Story of Taro) based on her eldest son.
It was through her novels that Sono pursued questions of religion and social issues.
In 1979, she serialized “Kami no Yogoreta Te” (Tainted hands of God) in The Asahi Shimbun, which looks at abortion with an obstetrician as the main character.
Though she was selected for the 1980 Joryu Bungaku (women’s literature) Prize, Sono declined the award.
She has also written popular essays on equally varied topics.
“Dare no Tame ni Aisuru ka” (For whom do you love?) sold millions of copies after its release in 1970 for her portrayal of the anguish of love and marriage.
Several of her essays describe how to live in an aging society, such as “Oi no Saikaku” (Wisdom to grow old) published in 2010, and “Ningen ni totte Seijuku towa Nanika” (What maturity means for humans?).
Sono was known as a conservative commentator along with her literary work, clashing with other prominent figures that include sociologist Chizuko Ueno and pop star-turned-advocate Agnes Chan over the issue of taking children to work in the 1980s.
Sono's additional undertakings involved being a member of the Japan Art Academy and chairing the then-Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation, now the Nippon Foundation.
She was selected as a person of cultural merit by the education minister in 2003.
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Ayako Sono (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
