Kanako Nishi

Born in Tehran in 1977, Kanako Nishi grew up in Cairo and Osaka. She made her debut in 2004 with short story collection Aoi (Blue). Her novel Tsutenkaku (Osaka Tower) won the Sakunosuke Oda Prize in 2007, and in 2012, she received the first Hayao Kawai Prize for her novel Fukuwarai (Lucky laugh). Her masterpiece, Saraba! won the prestigious Naoki prize in 2015. She lives in Tokyo.