Art Disability Japan Writing

“I wrote this with the mind that there are not many authors like me” says Sao Ichikawa, Woman with a Disability on Winning the Akutagawa Prize

"I wrote this with the mind that there are not many authors (with severe disabilities) like me," Ichikawa, who uses a ventilator and electric wheelchair, said in a press conference.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt
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By Barrier Free Japan, Kyodo

July 21 2023

TOKYO – Sao Ichikawa, the recent winner of the Akutagawa Prize, is a 43-year-old resident of Kanagawa Prefecture.

Sao Ichikawa on being awarded the Akutagawa Prize

She was diagnosed with congenital myopathy, a muscle disease, one of the most intractable diseases, when she was 10 years old, began using a ventilator at the age of 14, uses an electric wheelchair for transportation, and writes using a tablet device.

“I wrote this with the mind that there are not many authors (with severe disabilities) like me,” Ichikawa, who uses a ventilator and electric wheelchair, said in a press conference.

“I would like everyone to think about why it is that a work like this became a first to win the Akutagawa Prize in 2023,” the 43-year-old added.

1 comment on ““I wrote this with the mind that there are not many authors like me” says Sao Ichikawa, Woman with a Disability on Winning the Akutagawa Prize”

  1. Pingback: Disability News Japan Podcast: Sao Ichikawa, A Woman with a Disability, Wins Japan’s Prestigious Literary Prize – Barrier Free Japan

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