A major work by prize-winning author Minako Oba, first published in Japan in 1977 and now presented for the first time in English translation, Urashimaso is the story of people woven together in a delicate web of kinship and love, desire and hatred, endeavouring to survive their experiences of the Pacific War and Hiroshima. Based on the traditional Japanese folk tale of Urashima Taro, who returns to his native village after having spent many years away from home, Yukie, a twenty-three year old Japanese woman who fled Japan and its smothering constraints as a young girl, returns to her homeland form America and embarks on a voyage of re-discovery.

Urashimaso (320 pp., U.S. $30.00+$5.00handling & postage), please allow up to 21 days for delivery. Send check or money order payable to:
The Center for Inter-Cultural Studies and Education, Josai University, 1-1 Keyakidai, Sakado-shi, Saitama-ken 350-02 Japan.
Fax: 81-492-71-7981
E-mail: review@alphones.josai.ac.jp

Born in Tokyo in 1930, Minako Oba grew in an increasingly militarized Japan, coming to maturity in the post-war years under the profound influence of American culture. After completing her studies in English literature, she accompanied her husband to Alaska, where they spent more than a decade. In 1968, her brilliant literary debut "The Three Crabs" received the prestigious Akutagawa Prize. Oba went on to publish many novels, poems and essays, some of which have been translated into French and German, as well as English. Today, Minako Oba enjoys a leading reputation as one of Japan's most original and imaginative women writers. She currently lives and works in Tokyo.