Background
Matsuura was born in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture in Japan.
(The Apprenticeship of Big Toe P is a highly acclaimed wor...)
The Apprenticeship of Big Toe P is a highly acclaimed work of fiction that won Japans most prestigious literary prize for women writers. A provocative, picaresque spin on a coming-of-age story, the novel tells of a young Japanese woman who wakes up one afternoon to discover that her big toe has turned into a penis. In learning to adjust to her new sexual organ, the heroine is forced to reconsider her body, her sexuality and her life. After fleeing from her homophobic fiancé, she falls in love with a bisexual blind pianist who accepts her for whom she is, and together they join a troupe of performers--all sexually deformed and emotionally twisted men and women. Thus begins her apprenticeship. There are few novels that are equally praised by literary critics and scholars alike, and fewer yet that actually go on to become bestsellers, but The Apprenticeship of Big Toe P is both. It is a highly imaginative, intelligent work--first-rate as literature, as entertainment, and as a love story.
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松浦 理英子
Matsuura was born in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture in Japan.
Matsuura attended Aoyama Gakuin University where she majored in French literature.
Her middle school years were passed in Marugame, Kagawa Prefecture. She went from Marugame West Middle School to Kagawa Prefecture Otemae Middle School, a private school in the area. In her teens, she had read Marquis de Sade and Jean Genet, and she wished to be in the French literature department so she could read their works in the original language.
In 1987, her book Natural Woman was given a rave review by Kenji Nakagami, bringing attention to her.
The book also went on to be a bestseller. Also in 1994, she co-wrote a film adaptation of Natural Woman, which was released in 1994.
Seven years passed between Apprenticeship of Big Toe P and Opposite Version, and another seven until Kenshin was published.
(The Apprenticeship of Big Toe P is a highly acclaimed wor...)