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Grave of the Fireflies Novelist Akiyuki Nosaka Passes Away

posted on by Egan Loo
Ghibli based anime film on Naoki Prize-winning author's semi-autobiographical novel

Akiyuki Nosaka, the Naoki Prize-winning author of Grave of the Fireflies, passed away on Wednesday, December 9. He was 85.

Nosaka's wife discovered him unconscious in his home in Chiyoda, Tokyo after 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, and an ambulance rushed him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead around 10:30 p.m. Nosaka was receiving home nursing care at the time.

Nosaka was born in Kamakura City in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1930. He based the Grave of the Fireflies novel on his post-war experiences, during which his real-life little sister died, among other members of his family. He received the Naoki Prize, Japan's most well-known literary award, in 1967 for this novel, America Hijiki, and other writings. In addition to his novels, he also penned the lyrics for the children's song "Omocha no Chachacha" (Toys' Cha-cha-cha).

Director Isao Takahata and Studio Ghibli adapted Nosaka's Grave of the Fireflies novel into a critically acclaimed anime movie in 1988. The novel also inspired a live-action television special in 2005.

Sources: News24, Sankei News via Hachima Kikō


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