Kenzaburo Oe was born on the island of Shikoku in Southern Japan. He studied French Literature at the University of Tokyo and took particular interest in the work of Jean-Paul sartre and Albert Camus.
Kenzaburo Oe's early works focused on the chaos of the post-war Japan of his childhood. His first novel, "Pluck the Bud and Destroy the Offspring," (1958) won the Akutagawa Prize for young writers of fiction.
Twenty of Kenzaburo Oe's books have been translated into English. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1994. His most recent novel, Somersault (1999), explores "charisma of leaders, the danger of zealotry, and the mystery of faith."
Nationality: Japanese
Recent Work: Somersault (1999)
Dates: (1935- )
