The life of Akimoto Matsuyo, the younger sister of Akimoto Fujio, famous haiku poet, was a constant struggle against poverty and disease. She was in poor health and could not go to school, so her only real friends were books. With Miyoshi Juro, author and scriptwriter, she created plays and scripts for radio broadcasts. At the age of 34, she wrote her first one-act play, “A Sprinkling of Dust”, then in 1948, “Reifuku” [Mourning Clothes], which were met with considerable success. By writing longer plays, her range of subjects expanded with, in 1954, “Mono Iwanu Onnatachi” [The Women Who Say Nothing], a play on prostitution and, in 1960, Muraoka Iheijiden [The Life of Muraoka Iheiji] about a Southeast Asian charmer. In 1965, she wrote “Umiyorifukaki” for television [Deeper Than The Sea], which opened new perspectives for her. Inspired by various myths, Akimoto Matsuyo wrote original plays in a style unique to popular theatre. In 1975, she received an award for “Shichinin Misaki” [Seven Spirits] which ranks her among the greatest playwrights. In 1979, “Chikamatsu Shinju Monogatari” [Suicide for Love] is her first true great popular success. This play, directed by Ninagawa Yukio, was performed numerous times. It features one of the distinctive traits of the author’s works, which is, in a way, a hymn to life.
