Nao-Cola Yamazaki and the Aesthetics of Everyday Life in Contemporary Japan
UPCOMING EVENT | 22 October 2026 17:00 - 22 October 2026 18:30
In a world often characterised by extremes, Nao-Cola Yamazaki's literature offers a refreshing perspective on the beauty that can be located in everyday life. Meet the prize-winning author of Beautiful Distance and Don't Laugh at Other People's Sex Lives at the University of Oxford in conversation with Professor Linda Flores.
Nao-Cola Yamazaki (山崎 ナオコーラ) takes pride in writing 'things no one else can say in words anyone can understand'. They have won the Bungei Prize and the Shimase Award for Love Stories; they have also been nominated multiple times for the Akutagawa Prize. The Japan Times praised Yamazaki's 'skill in evoking the ambiguity of contemporary life' and called the collection Friendship for Grown-ups 'a small book that says a lot about the way we live today'.
Professor Linda Flores teaches modern Japanese literature in the faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES) at the University of Oxford. She is the Vicegerent and Fellow in Japanese Studies at Pembroke College. Her areas of expertise include: Japanese women writers, gender theory, trauma fiction, and contemporary Japanese literature.
The event will be conducted in English with some Japanese/English interpretation. It will be followed by a book signing with the author.
This event is presented in collaboration with the Japan Foundation.
Harold Lee Room, Pembroke College | 22nd October 2026 | 17:00 - 18:30
Nao-Cola Yamazaki and the Aesthetics of Everyday Life in Contemporary Japan
UPCOMING EVENT | 22 October 2026 17:00 - 22 October 2026 18:30
In a world often characterised by extremes, Nao-Cola Yamazaki's literature offers a refreshing perspective on the beauty that can be located in everyday life. Meet the prize-winning author of Beautiful Distance and Don't Laugh at Other People's Sex Lives at the University of Oxford in conversation with Professor Linda Flores.
Nao-Cola Yamazaki (山崎 ナオコーラ) takes pride in writing 'things no one else can say in words anyone can understand'. They have won the Bungei Prize and the Shimase Award for Love Stories; they have also been nominated multiple times for the Akutagawa Prize. The Japan Times praised Yamazaki's 'skill in evoking the ambiguity of contemporary life' and called the collection Friendship for Grown-ups 'a small book that says a lot about the way we live today'.
Professor Linda Flores teaches modern Japanese literature in the faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES) at the University of Oxford. She is the Vicegerent and Fellow in Japanese Studies at Pembroke College. Her areas of expertise include: Japanese women writers, gender theory, trauma fiction, and contemporary Japanese literature.
The event will be conducted in English with some Japanese/English interpretation. It will be followed by a book signing with the author.
This event is presented in collaboration with the Japan Foundation.
Harold Lee Room, Pembroke College | 22nd October 2026 | 17:00 - 18:30