Kenzaburo oe biography of barack obama

The death at 88 of Japanese writer and Nobel prize winner Kenzaburō Ōe on March 3 leaves a deep wound in his readers – and in the Japanese community, which has lost one of its most powerful voices and critics.

Ōe was a literary giant.

In Japan open political discussion and participation is discouraged and the media are often influenced by the government. Ōe was the last politically engaged Japanese postwar writer.

In his sharp, often merciless commentaries on his country, he criticized factors damaging democracy and human rights, including nationalistic governmental policies, the presence of dangerous atomic power plants and the imperial system.

He even refused the award of the national order of culture, an honor bestowed by the emperor.

Due to his open democratic commitment, he faced violent threats from right-wing organizations and was even brought to trial.

On and off the page, he combined an attentive focus on Japan with a profound knowledge of Western thought and expression