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Hiromi Kawakami

Born

in Tokyo, Japan

April 01, 1958

Genre

Fiction, Literary Fiction

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Kawakami Hiromi (川上弘美 Kawakami Hiromi) born April 1, 1958, is a Japanese writer known for her off-beat fiction.

Born in Tokyo, Kawakami graduated from Ochanomizu Women's College in 1980. She made her debut as "Yamada Hiromi" in NW-SF No. 16, edited by Yamano Koichi and Yamada Kazuko, in 1980 with the story So-shimoku ("Diptera"), and also helped edit some early issues of NW-SF in the 1970s. She reinvented herself as a writer and wrote her first book, a collection of short stories entitled God (Kamisama) published in 1994. Her novel The Teacher's Briefcase (Sensei no kaban) is a love story between a woman in her thirties and a man in his sixties. She is also known as a literary critic and a provocative essayist.

(from Wikipedia) ...more

Combine Editions
Hiromi Kawakami’s books

Average rating: 3.56 · 130,023 ratings · 19,572 reviews · 116 distinct works • Similar authors

	Strange Weather in Tokyo 3.67 avg rating — 56,946 ratings — published 2001 — 109 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami, Allison Markin Powell (Translator) 3.36 avg rating — 16,233 ratings — published 2005 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	People From My Neighbourhood by Hiromi Kawakami, Ted Goossen (Translator) 3.47 avg rating — 13,916 ratings — published 2020 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami, Asa Yoneda (Translator) 3.71 avg rating — 8,780 ratings — published 2016 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Ten Loves of Mr. Nishino by Hiromi Kawakami, Allison Markin Powell (Translator) 3.42 avg rating — 7,793 ratings — published 2003 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Parade by Hiromi Kawakami, Allison Markin Powell (Translator) 3.76 avg rating — 3,619 ratings — published 2004 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Third Love by Hiromi Kawakami, Ted Goossen (Translator) 3.46 avg rating — 3,525 ratings — published 2020 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Record of a Night Too Brief by Hiromi Kawakami, Lucy North (Translator) 3.18 avg rating — 3,597 ratings — published 1996 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Manazuru by Hiromi Kawakami, Elisabeth Suetsugu (Translator) 3.45 avg rating — 2,280 ratings — published 2006 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Niedźwiedzi bóg by Hiromi Kawakami, Beata Kubiak Ho-Chi (Translator), Karolina Bednarz (Goodreads Author) (Introduction) 3.69 avg rating — 2,040 ratings — published 1998 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Hiromi Kawakami…

Quotes by Hiromi Kawakami (?)

“I, on the other hand, still might not be considered a proper adult. I had been very grown-up in primary school. But as I continued through secondary school, I in fact became less grown-up. And then as the years passed, I turned into quite a childlike person. I suppose I just wasn't able to ally myself with time.”
― hiromi kawakami, The Briefcase

tags: growing-up, immaturity, maturity

104 likes

“If the love is true, then treat it the same way you would plant - feed it, protect it from the elements - you must do absolutely everything you can. But if it isn't true, then it's best to just let it wither on the vine.”
― Hiromi Kawakami, The Briefcase

tags: strange-weather-in-tokyo

89 likes

“even a cracked pot has a lid that fits.”
― Hiromi Kawakami, The Briefcase

tags: strange-weather-in-tokyo

64 likes

See all Hiromi Kawakami's quotes »

Polls

Based upon the nominations here is the poll for Aug/Sept 2026
Please add your second choice in the poll comments.
Note that "Rabbits, Crabs, Etc. is out of print but it is widely available as a used book for 10$ USD or less. It might be in reprint in Europe.

We read "The Waiting Years" 2016/01 so more than 5 years ago so it is good for this poll.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami by Haruki Murakami

24 votes, 22.2%

The Waiting Years by Fumiko Enchi

14 votes, 13.0%

Rabbits, Crabs, Etc.: Stories by Japanese Women, anthology translated by Phyllis Birnbaum

10 votes, 9.3%

Suspicion by Seichō Matsumoto

9 votes, 8.3%

Guilt by Keigo Higashino

8 votes, 7.4%

Spring Garden by Tomoka Shibasaki

8 votes, 7.4%

Run with the Wind by Shion Miura

7 votes, 6.5%

Tezcatlipoca byKiwamu Sato

7 votes, 6.5%

A daughter of the Samurai: A Memoir of Honor and Adventure in Feudal Japan. The Original Classic by Etsuko Sugimoto

6 votes, 5.6%

Japanese Tales of Mystery & Imagination by Edogawa Rampo

6 votes, 5.6%

Manazuru by Hiromi Kawakami

5 votes, 4.6%

The Master Key by Masako Togawa

4 votes, 3.7%

108 total votes

27 comments

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