Abe Akira

was a contemporary Japanese author. He was born in Hiroshima, where his father, a naval officer, was stationed, but spend the majority of his childhood in the seaside town of Kugenuma. He graduated from the University of Tokyo with a degree in French literature and worked for a broadcasting company until 1971, when he became a full time writer. His literary career began in 1962 with the publication of "The Children's Room", "(Kodomobeya)", an emotional account of growing up with a mentally retarded older brother. Almost all of his stories are autobiographical and based on events from his own life and the lives of his family. His short story, "Peaches", published in 1972, has appeared in several anthologies of short stories. "Peaches" is a beautiful, mystical tale that finds the author questioning the most fundamental source of his art——his memory.