Vietnamese researchers honoured for essays on Japanese literature

The Japan Foundation and the Inoue Yasushi Memorial Foundation on April 5 presented the Inoue Yasushi Award to five Vietnamese people for their outstanding research on Japanese literature.

The organisers received 31 essays from Vietnamese researchers both at home and abroad from November to the end of December last year.

The first prize went to Nguyen Anh Tuan who wrote about women’s poetry in Manyoshu, the oldest collection of Japanese poetry compiled during the Nara period.

The second prize was awarded to Tran Thi Hai Yen for her writings about the essence of the novel while Ngo Tra Mi’s essay on Sei Shonagon’s The Pillow Book earned her the third prize.

Phan Thu Van and Nguyen Bich Nha Truc won the fourth prize for their writings about Inoue Yasushi’s The Warrior and the Wolf and narrative techniques in Murakami’s novels.

Researcher Phan Nhat Chieu, a member of the jury, said that the contest was held to promote research on Japanese literature in Vietnam, thereby contributing to strengthening co-operation between the two countries.

The Inoue Yasushi Memorial Foundation was established in 1992 in memory of the Japanese novelist, who is noted for his historical fiction novels, notably The Roof Tile of Tempyo, according to Britannica.

(Source: NDO)