Today, Yoshimoto lives in seclusion in a luxurious home in Tokyo with her musician husband.

CNN: Fruits of Her Labor

Undeterred, Yoshimoto, 32, says her dream is to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

CNN: Fruits of Her Labor

With a change of name to Banana Yoshimoto -- because it was "cute" -- a literary star was born.

CNN: Fruits of Her Labor

There is also a poem by Banana Yoshimoto entitled Tiny Friend.

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Yoshimoto is the daughter of Yoshimoto Ryumei, a poet and influential commentator whose works became a bible for Japan's radical youth movement in the 1960s.

CNN: Fruits of Her Labor