---
name: "Kōbō Abe"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/kobo-abe"
fi1m_id: "kobo-abe"
imdb_id: "nm0008356"
tmdb_id: 96807
wikidata_id: "Q186273"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "7 March 1924"
died: "22 January 1993"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-26T15:29:04.714243+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Kōbō Abe

## Identity

Kōbō Abe

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/kobo-abe
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** kobo-abe
- **IMDb ID:** nm0008356
- **TMDB ID:** 96807
- **Wikidata ID:** Q186273
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Db%C5%8D_Abe, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q186273, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0008356/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/96807

Writer. Born 7 March 1924 in Kita, Tokyo, Japan. Died 22 January 1993.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 7 March 1924, Kita, Tokyo, Japan
- **Died:** 22 January 1993
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Db%C5%8D_Abe, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q186273, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0008356/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/96807

## Biography

Kōbō Abe (7 March 1924 – 22 January 1993) was a Japanese writer, playwright and screenwriter. Born in Kita, Tokyo, he grew up in Manchuria and later studied medicine at Tokyo Imperial University, graduating in 1948. He is best known for his 1962 novel *The Woman in the Dunes*, which he adapted into the screenplay for the 1964 film directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara.

Abe also wrote the novels and screenplays for *Pitfall* (1962) and *The Face of Another* (1966), both directed by Teshigahara. His other works include the play *Friends*, for which he received the Tanizaki Prize in 1967. He won the Akutagawa Prize in 1951 and the Yomiuri Prize in 1962.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Woman in the Dunes* (1964), Fi1m 88, Novel, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/woman-in-the-dunes.md)

## Complete filmography (16)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Box Man* (2024), Novel
- *Shinrei Shokudō 2* (2021), Original Story
- *The Box Man* (2002), Original Story
- *Friends* (1987), Original Story
- *The Little Elephant is Dead / An Elephant Calf Is Dead* (1980), Director, Music, Screenplay, Story
- *A Poet's Life* (1974), Original Story
- *The Cliff of Time* (1971), Director, Writer, Original Story
- *240 Hours in One Day* (1970), Screenplay
- *The Man Without a Map* (1968), Screenplay, Novel
- *The Face of Another* (1966), Novel, Screenplay
- *Ako* (1964), Original Story
- *Woman in the Dunes* (1964), Novel, Screenplay — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/woman-in-the-dunes.md)
- *Intruders* (1963), Original Story, Screenplay
- *Pitfall* (1962), Screenplay, Story
- *The Thick-Walled Room* (1956), Screenplay
- *A Billionaire* (1954), Writer

## Gallery

- ![Kōbō Abe](https://film.one/media/person/3910035/gallery-b22013515924.jpg) Kōbō Abe — キネマ旬報社, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Kinema-Junpo-1967-January-Special-3.jpg/1280px-Kinema-Junpo-1967-January-Special-3.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Kōbō Abe](https://film.one/media/person/3910035/gallery-787c257e35b1.jpg) Kōbō Abe — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Kobo_Abe_01.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Abe Kobo - yapon yozuvchisi, dramaturg va ssenariynavis (2022)](https://film.one/media/person/3910035/gallery-fa9b241a3c86.jpg) Abe Kobo - yapon yozuvchisi, dramaturg va ssenariynavis (2022) — Khabibullaeva Mumtozakhon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/Abe_Kobo.jpg/1280px-Abe_Kobo.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Other awards — 6 won

- Yomiuri Prize 1975: Yomiuri Prize (won)
- Art Encouragement Prizes 1972: Art Encouragement Prizes (won)
- Tanizaki Prize 1967: Tanizaki Prize (won)
- Yomiuri Prize 1963: Yomiuri Prize (won)
- Kishida Theatre Award 1958: Kishida Theatre Award (won)
- Akutagawa Prize 1951: Akutagawa Prize (won), for *Kabe*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/kobo-abe