Tsuboi Sakae, nee Iwai, was a poet and novelist, and the wife of poet Tsuboi Shigeji. Born in Kagawa Prefecture under poor circumstances, she worked for the postal service and town government after graduating high school. In 1925, she moved to Tokyo and married Shigeji. Her first novel, Daikon no ha (Radish Leaf, 1938), launched her literary career and she became an award-winning author in many genres. In 1954, her novel Nijushi no hitomi (1952; tr. Twenty-Four Eyes, 1957) was made into a film. In 1979, the Tsuboi Sakae Prize was established to honor exceptional children in Kagawa Prefecture.
See also FEMINISM; WOMEN IN LITERATURE.
Historical dictionary of modern Japanese literature and theater. J. Scott Miller. 2009.