Suzumi Suzuki
Native name
鈴木 涼美
Born (1983-07-13) July 13, 1983
Tokyo, Japan
OccupationWriter
Education
GenreFiction, essay, sociology
Notable works
  • A Sociology of AV Actresses
  • If You Sell Your Body, Then Goodbye!
  • Gifted
  • Graceless

Suzumi Suzuki (鈴木 涼美, Suzuki Suzumi, born July 13, 1983) is a Japanese writer and former adult video actress. Since publishing her first book, a sociological study of actresses working in pornographic films, she has produced both non-fiction and fiction works. Suzuki's autobiographical book If You Sell Your Body, Then Goodbye! was adapted into a 2017 Eiji Uchida film. Her novel Gifted was nominated for the 167th Akutagawa Prize, and her novel Graceless was nominated for the 168th Akutagawa Prize.

Early life and education

Suzuki was born on July 13, 1983, in Tokyo,[1] and raised in Kamakura.[2] From elementary school through middle school she attended the private Seisen Jogakuin schools in Kanagawa, but spent almost two years of that time at a private girls' school in England, where her father, an academic, was spending his sabbatical. She returned to Tokyo for high school, attending Meiji Gakuin Senior High School in Shirokane, and became involved in the burgeoning gyaru subcultural scene in Shibuya.[3] After completing high school, Suzuki enrolled in the Faculty of Environmental and Information Studies at Keio University, and worked as an actress in pornographic films throughout her undergraduate years.[3] She graduated from Keio in 2007 and enrolled in the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies at the University of Tokyo to study sociology.[2]

Career

Early nonfiction

Suzuki completed her master's program in 2009 and took a job at The Nikkei, where she worked until 2014.[4] While at The Nikkei, Suzuki turned her master's thesis into a book titled AV Joyū no Shakaigaku (lit. A Sociology of AV Actresses), which was published by Seidosha in 2013.[5] The book focuses on the process of identity formation as adult video actresses repeatedly describe and present themselves in meetings, pitches, and interviews within the industry.[6] In a review for the Asahi Shimbun, sociologist and poet Kiriu Minashita praised the book for its careful demonstration of how adult video actresses display agency in their identity construction rather than just becoming what consumers want, but also raised the criticism that the book might only be accounting for the few actresses who are most vocal in their self-presentation, rather than the many actresses who pass through the industry in anonymity.[7] Writing for the Shogakukan News Post Seven website, professor Shōichi Inoue observed that the book raised questions about whether a sociological approach could distinguish between agency and compliance in the behavior of adult actresses at all, given the commodification of their personal narratives for marketing purposes.[8]

Freelance writing

Suzuki quit her job in 2014 to help her mother, who was dealing with cancer.[3] Her autobiographical book Karada o Uttara, Sayōnara (lit. If You Sell Your Body, Then Goodbye!), a series of reflections on her upbringing, on her experience as a former adult video actress trying to succeed in the corporate world of newspaper publishing, and on broader social differences between people who spend most of their lives in daytime rather than nighttime, was published by Gentosha in 2014.[9] Suzuki's mother died in 2016.[3]

Within a year of her mother's death, Suzuki had published three more books. In 2017 her book Ai to Shikyū ni Hanataba o (lit. A Bouquet for Love and the Womb), which contrasts the pride she feels about her family and education against her mother's longstanding sense of shame about her daughter's decisions to work as a hostess and to perform in adult videos, was published by Gentosha.[10] In a review for Da Vinci, Yuriko Izumi found the use of colloquial spoken language in the book to be difficult to read at times, but appreciated how the emotional content of the book came through in the writing.[11]

That same year Suzuki drew on her own experience for two more books: Ojisan Memoriaru (lit. A Memorial to Old Men), a book about men who pay for women's attention,[12] and Onna no Nedan (lit. The Price of Women) about the financial circumstances and practices of women working as hostesses and prostitutes.[13] 2017 also marked her first film adaptation, with If You Sell Your Body, Then Goodbye! being adapted by director Eiji Uchida into a film starring Chihiro Shibata.[14]

Fiction debut and recognition

For several years Suzuki continued to write essays and book reviews as a freelance writer.[15] In 2022 Bungeishunju published her debut novel Gifted, about a daughter working in the red-light district and her relationship with her dying mother.[16] Gifted was nominated for the 167th Akutagawa Prize.[4] Later that year Suzuki's second novel, titled Graceless, was published in the November 2022 issue of Bungakukai, and nominated for the 168th Akutagawa Prize.[17] Inspired by her childhood home in Kamakura, which was designed by Kisho Kurokawa, the novel follows a main character who lives in a similar home, drops out of college, and starts to work behind the scenes in the pornography industry.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "鈴木 涼美" [Suzumi Suzuki]. AP Entertainment (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 "鈴木涼美、小川哲らが第168回・芥川賞と直木賞の候補作に" [Suzumi Suzuki, Satoshi Ogawa among Akutagawa and Naoki Prize finalists]. Real Sound (in Japanese). December 17, 2022. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 河崎, 環 (November 12, 2022). "「売春やブルセラを本質的に否定できる大人はいなかった」芥川賞候補作家・鈴木涼美（39）が振り返る「青臭くも愛しい」反抗と実践のギャル時代" ['There weren't any adults who could realistically deny that prostitution and schoolgirl paraphilia were going on': 39-year-old Akutagawa Prize nominee Suzumi Suzuki looks back on an era of 'precious amateur' girls who were both rebellious and practical]. Bungakukai (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "第167回「芥川賞・直木賞」候補作決まる 鈴木涼美氏が芥川賞初候補に" [Finalists decided for Akutagawa and Naoki Prizes, Suzumi Suzuki is a first-time finalist]. Oricon News (in Japanese). June 17, 2022. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  5. ↑ Suzuki, Suzumi (2013). 「AV女優」の社会学: なぜ彼女たちは饒舌に自らを語るのか [A Sociology of AV Actresses: Why Do They Talk So Much About Themselves?] (in Japanese). Seidosha. ISBN 9784791767045.
  6. ↑ Suzuki, Suzumi (September 25, 2015). "Role Playing: Persona Building and Female Stars of Japanese Pornography". Nippon.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  7. ↑ Minashita, Kiriu (August 25, 2013). "『「ＡＶ女優」の社会学』書評　語ることと語り得ぬことの相剋" [Review of A Sociology of AV Actresses: The Conflict Between What Can and Can't Be Said]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  8. ↑ Inoue, Shōichi (September 14, 2013). "AV女優の壮絶な経験談を「鵜呑みにしてはいけない」との指摘" [An indication that we should not blindly accept grand tales about the experiences of AV actresses]. News Post Seven (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 26, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  9. ↑ Suzuki, Suzumi (2014). 身体を売ったらサヨウナラ: 夜のオネエサンの愛と幸福論 [If you sell your body, then goodbye! A young lady of the night's theory of love and happiness] (in Japanese). Gentosha. ISBN 9784344026803.
  10. ↑ Suzuki, Suzumi (2017). 愛と子宮に花束を ~夜のオネエサンの母娘論~ [A Bouquet for Love and the Womb: A young lady of the night's theory of mothers and daughters] (in Japanese). Gentosha. ISBN 9784344031173.
  11. ↑ 泉, ゆりこ (July 24, 2017). "愛情を注いで育てた娘がAV嬢になったら？ 真夜中に読みたい「夜のオネエサン」の母娘論" [What if the daughter I lovingly raised becomes an adult video girl? This young lady of the night's theory of mothers and daughters is something I want to read in the middle of the night]. Da Vinci (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  12. ↑ Suzuki, Suzumi (2017). おじさんメモリアル [A Memorial to Old Men] (in Japanese). Fusosha Publishing. ISBN 9784594078034.
  13. ↑ Suzuki, Suzumi (2017). オンナの値段: オンナとお金とプライドと [The Price of Women: Women and Money and Pride and...] (in Japanese). Kodansha. ISBN 9784062208871.
  14. ↑ "元ＡＶ女優の鈴木涼美さん　自身のエッセーで映画初出演「服を着てカメラの前に立ったのは初めて」" [Former AV actress Suzumi Suzuki makes her first appearance for the film based on her essay: 'It's the first time I've stood in front of the camera with my clothes on']. Sponichi Annex (in Japanese). July 1, 2017. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  15. ↑ Suzuki, Suzumi (July 28, 2022). "鈴木涼美さんにインタビュー 前編" [Interview with Suzumi Suzuki part 1]. Popeye (Interview) (in Japanese). Interviewed by Neo Iida. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  16. ↑ Suzuki, Suzumi (2022). ギフテッド [Gifted] (in Japanese). Bungeishunju. ISBN 9784163915722.
  17. 1 2 河崎, 環 (November 12, 2022). "知人は"バケツ一杯の本物の精液"を……「愚かな女の人たちの側にいたい」芥川賞候補作家・鈴木涼美（39）が「規範の不在」を描く新作小説『グレイスレス』" [An acquaintance with a bucket of semen, 'I want to be on the side of foolish women': 39-year-old Akutagawa Prize finalist Suzumi Suzuki's 'there's no model for this' new novel Graceless]. Bungakukai (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
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