作家で天台宗の尼僧の瀬戸内寂聴さんが９日、心不全のため京都市内の病院で死去されました。９９歳。
見出し：Japan’s outspoken nun and author Jakucho Setouchi dies at 99
※outspoken=(言葉等が)率直な、無遠慮な、あからさまな、ずけずけ言う
Japanese writer and Buddhist nun Jakucho Setouchi, died of heart failure at a hospital in Kyoto on Tuesday. She was 99.
自らの恋愛を包み隠さず著書につづり、女性読者から支持されました。400冊以上の著書を持つprolific writerです。
Her love stories and autobiographical novels were particularly popular among female readers for their lively depictions of new types of women who were economically and psychologically independent.
Her wide-ranging works included autobiographical novels, biographies and historical fictions.
Ms. Setouchi wrote more than 400 novels — fictional versions of her own love affairs and stories of rebellious women from history.
※autobiographical自叙伝の、自伝的な autobiography=自叙伝 biography=伝記
※rebellious （権力や伝統を）拒む、反乱の
徳島生まれ。見合い結婚をして長女をもうけるも、学者だった夫の教え子と不倫し、家族を残し駆け落ちされます。
Setouchi was born in 1922 in Tokushima City, western Japan.
At age 25 and married to a scholar, she fell in love with her husband's student and left him and their 3-year-old daughter.
She divorced her husband in 1950, the same year she published her first novel, which was serialized in a magazine.
Her relationship with her young lover did not last long, and she fell into successive affairs with married men. （NYT）
流行作家として活躍するさなか、５１歳で得度（出家）され世間を驚かせました。
Setouchi, whose secular name is Harumi Setouchi, became a nun in 1973 at the age of 51.
※secular 世俗の、現世的な ⇔spiritual／religious
「源氏物語」の現代語訳＝modern translation/contemporary translationを6年かけて完結させ、平成の源氏物語ブームの火付け役となりました。
In 1998, she completed her translation of the 11th-century novel "The Tale of Genji."
Her version renewed interest in the literary classic about the court life of prince Hikaru Genji.
It was praised for its readability and fresh perspective of focusing on the women surrounding the prince.
2006年には文化勲章を授与。
Setouchi was awarded the Order of Culture, Japan's highest cultural honor, in 2006.
平和主義者で脱原発活動家でもあり、戦争に反対をして断食されたこともありました。
Setouchi was also pacifist and anti-nuclear activist.She fasted（断食した） at her Kyoto temple to protest the 1991 Gulf War and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
戦争の経験や道ならぬ恋など自らの経験を土台に、仏の教えをユーモラスに語る寂聴さんの法話はいつも大人気でした。
After she entered Buddhism and became a nun in 1973, she established her base in the ancient capital of Kyoto and regularly gave religious talks(法話を行う) there and around the country.
Her events were always packed with fans of all ages, including many women seeking her advise about life and relationships.
She traveled around Japan giving sermons and listening to people's problems as a nun for over 30 years. ※sermon=説教（道徳・宗教上の）
出家後にも、元気の秘訣は“牛肉を食べること”と明言。SＮＳも活用されて、晩年も好奇心旺盛でした。
As a priest Ms. Setouchi took a vow of celibacy, but she could not bring herself to give up the earthly pleasures of alcohol or meat.
※celibacy〔宗教的理由による〕禁欲［独身］（主義）
※bring oneself to ～する気になる
※earthly地球（上）の、この世の、世俗的な、世間の
She maintained her curiosity well into her 80s when she wrote a novel on her cellphone under a penname “Purple,” after the name of the author of “The Tale of Genij,” Murasaki, or “purple” in Japanese.
She also used social media to communicate with her young fans. She had almost 300,000 followers on Instagram.
