Banana Yoshimoto, née Yoshimoto Mahoko, is one of Japan’s most famous contemporary novelists, second only to Haruki Murakami. She changed her name to “Banana” because she loved banana flowers and thought the name was “cute” and “purposefully androgynous.”
Yoshimoto was born in Tokyo on July 24, 1964, to a family well-versed in the arts. Her father, Takaaki Yoshimoto, was a critic and poet, her mother, Kazuko, was a haiku poet, and her sister, Yoiko Haruno, is a manga artist. Yoshimoto also liked drawing but knew her sister was better, so she turned to writing and decided to become a novelist. She said of her time in school, “I didn't do much sports, just stayed up until late, writing...
