Mirror: The Fiction and Essays of Koda Aya

Chronology

Chronology 1904 Köda Aya is born in Terajima Village, Minami Katsushika-gun, Tokyo (present -day Higashi Muköjima, Sumida Ward, Tokyo), the second child of Köda Rohan and Kimiko, on 1 September. 1907 Brother Shigetoyo (Ichirö) is born. 1910 Mother Kimiko dies. 1911 Enters Terajima Elementary School. Rohan is awarded honorary Doctor of Literature degree. 1912 Elder sister Utako (b. 1901) dies of scarlet fever. Rohan marries Kodama Yayoko. 1917 Graduates from elementary school and enters Joshi Gakuin, a missionary school for girls in Köjimachi. During the summer she begins home lessons with her father as well as rote memorization of the Confucian classics with a tutor. 1922 Graduates from Joshi Gakuin. Attends a tailor school for several months. 1923 Flees her Muköjima home in aftermath of Great Kantö Earthquake. 1924 Moves to a new residence in Koishikawa, Tokyo. 1926 Bedridden because of typhoid fever. Brother Ichirö dies of tuberculosis. 1927 Moves to a new home in Koishikawa, which Rohan calls Kagyüan (Snail’s Hut). 1928 Enters arranged marriage to Mitsuhashi Ikunosuke, third son of a liquor wholesaler in Shingawa. 1929 Daughter Tama is born. 1934 Consults with Kobayashi Isamu about her wish to divorce. 1936 Moves back to father’s home temporarily but then returns to husband. Opens a small liquor shop in Tsukiji. Moves to several different apartments. 1937 Moves shop to Hatchöbori. Rohan is awarded First Medal for Cultural Merit. 1938 Husband Ikunosuke has surgery for lung disease. Formal divorce is finalized. Returns to father’s home with daughter Tama. 1939 Studies Bashö’s poetic sequences with Rohan. 1943 Attends birthday party for Rohan along with Saitö Mokichi, Koizumi Shinzö, Mushanoköji Saneatsu, and others. 1944 Nurses her bedridden father. 1945 Stepmother Yayoko dies. Because of Allied Forces’ incendiary bombing, evacuates with Rohan and Tama to Yayoko’s hometown in Nagano prefecture . In May their Koishikawa home Kagyüan is destroyed in the bombing. In September the Pacific War ends. In November, Shiotani San helps Ködas find a house in Sugano, Ichikawa City, Chiba prefecture. 1946 Her aunt, musician Köda Nobuko, dies. Rohan moves into the Sugano house. Rohan celebrates eightieth birthday. 1947 Asked by Noda Utarö to write about Rohan’s physical condition. On 30 July, Rohan dies. In August her first essay, “Random Notes,” appears in the journal Geirin Kanpo. Writes “His Last Hours” (Shüen) and “Father’s Funeral” (Sösö no ki). Moves back to Koishikawa. 1948 Writes “Incantations” (Atomiyosowaka) and other memoiristic essays. 1949 Publishes the essays “Good for Nothing” (Misokkasu) and “The Medal” (Kunshö). Writes essays on the occasion of reissuing Rohan’s Collected Works. Publishes first book: My Father—His Death (Chichi—sono shi). 1950 Edits Rohan’s Letters (Rohan shokan) for publication. A newspaper article announces that she may cease writing. Publishes the book of essays This Kind of Thing (Konna koto). 1951 Publishes the book Good for Nothing (Misokkasu); edits a volume of Rohan’s letters; completes the short story “A Woman’s Screams” (Kansei) and two other short pieces and a book. 202 Chronology 1952 Edits a volume of Rohan’s short essays. Her Koishikawa home is designated an Important Cultural Site by the city of Tokyo. 1953 Edits another volume of Rohan’s short essays and publishes two essays. 1954 Publishes “Black Hem” (Kuroi suso) and five other short pieces. The seventeen -volume Rohan zenshü is published. 1955 Serialization of Flowing (Nagareru) begins in the journal Shinchö (January –December). Publishes “Dolls for a Special Day” (Hina) and a volume of short stories with the title The Black Hem (Kuroi suso). Edits a volume of Rohan’s writings on poetry. 1956 Serialization of Little Brother (Otöto) begins in Fujin Köron (January–September 1957). Awarded Yomiuri Literary Prize for The Black Hem. Film version of Flowing receives a prize from the Ministry of Education. Flowing receives the Shinchö Literary Prize. Edits another volume of Rohan’s writings . Publishes fifteen essays. 1957 Receives Geijutsuin Prize for Flowing. Publishes numerous essays and short stories, including Notes on Flowing (Nagareru oboegaki). 1958 Publishes seven-volume Collected Works of Köda Aya (Köda Aya zenshü). Publishes numerous essays and books. Little Brother is produced as a play. 1959 Publishes the novel Sorrow of the North (Hokushü) and numerous essays and several volumes of essays. 1960 Film version of Little Brother, directed by Ichikawa Kon, receives Ministry of Education Prize...