She majored in arts and literature at Nihon University in Tokyo, graduating in 1987. While there, she won the Izuini Kyoka prize for the novella "Moonlight Shadow," which was later published in
Kitchin. "Her literary journey began after university, when she worked as a waitress and wrote, sometimes during slow work shifts," Nicole Gaouette recounted in the
Christian Science Monitor. "Yoshimoto wanted to be a writer from childhood," Gaouette explained, "and is passionate about writing. 'I felt like it was my destiny,' she says." Yoshimoto explained in an interview posted on her Web site that her sister also played a role in her decision: "My elder sister was so good in drawing. Her creativity inspired me to find something of my own to do. So I started to write when I was about 5 years old."
Publishes Kitchin
Yoshimoto took Japan by storm in 1988 with her premier work, Kitchin, two short works of fiction about life and death in contemporary Japan. Kitchin sold over two million copies in Japan and won several literary awards. Four years later Yoshimoto's audience expanded to the United States when an English translation, Kitchen, made its way onto best-seller lists.
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