Kenzaburō Ōe (大江 健三郎, Ōe Kenzaburō; 31 January 1935 – 3 March 2023) was a celebrated Japanese writer and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His body of work includes novels, short stories, and essays that are deeply influenced by French and American literature and literary theory.

Ōe's writings engage with complex political, social, and philosophical issues, such as nuclear weapons, nuclear power, social non-conformism, and existentialism. He was awarded the 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature for creating "an imagined world, where life and myth condense to form a disconcerting picture of the human predicament today."

His personal life also influenced his work significantly, particularly the birth of his son, Hikari Ōe, who was born with a congenital brain hernia, leading to a mental disability. This experience is reflected in many of his works.