Abe, Kobo (1924-1993), a Japanese author, wrote short stories and plays, but was best known for his strange, futuristic, and allegorical novels, such as The Woman in the Dunes (1962).
Kobo Abe, whose real name was Kimifusa Abe, was born on March 7, 1924, in Tokyo. The son of a doctor, he was educated at Mukden, in Manchuria, China, where his parents lived at the time. He later studied medicine at the University of Tokyo and graduated in 1948. Abe began writing poetry, but he soon turned to novels and short stories. His first novel, The Road Sign at the End of the Street (1948), established his reputation. His works won several awards in Japan and achieved international fame. They were translated into many languages. He founded the Abe Studio theater company in Tokyo, where, in the late 1960’s and 1970’s, he directed many of his experimental plays. Some of his stage works, such as Friends (1967), were translated into English. He died on Jan. 22, 1993.
Abe’s novels were strongly influenced by the works of the Czech writer Franz Kafka. Abe used the novel to portray people’s loneliness and detachment from society in a postindustrial world. His stories seek to show that people cannot escape from situations in which they find themselves but must learn to make the best of their lives. The Woman in the Dunes, which was made into a motion picture in 1964, is a good example of this philosophy. It is the story of an insect collector who finds himself alone on a deserted beach. He meets an attractive woman in a sandpit and spends the night with her. The next morning, he finds that he cannot escape from the pit. Eventually, he realizes that he does not want to escape. His other novels include Inter Ice Age 4 (1959), The Face of Another (1964), The Ruined Map (1967), The Box Man (1973), and Secret Rendezvous (1977). Among Abe’s best-known plays are Here Is a Ghost (1959), The Man Who Turned into a Stick (1969), The Glasses of Love Are Rose-colored (1973), and Ue (1975).
