He died while undergoing postoperative treatment, Ajip’s daughter Nundang Rundagi said as reported by tempo.co.

She explained that her father had been admitted to the hospital about a week ago after falling at one of his children’s homes in Mungkid district, Magelang. Doctors said he had suffered a brain hemorrhage and would require surgery.

Ajip was a prominent figure in Indonesian literature. He had published hundreds of novels, essays, poems and short stories both in Indonesian and his native Sundanese.

Ajip's first collection of short stories, "Tahun-Tahun Kematian" (Years of Death), came out in 1955 when he was just 17.

From 1980 to 2003, Ajip lived in Japan where he was asked to teach Indonesian and literature, including in Tenri Daigaku, Kyoto Sangyo Daigaku and the Asahi Cultural Center in Osaka.

In 1988, he established the Rancage Awards to acknowledge the work of Sundanese writers. 

The annual event grew to include authors writing in other ethnic languages, such as Javanese and Balinese.

In 2011, Ajip, who was a high-school dropout, received an honorary doctorate from Padjadjaran University in Bandung, West Java, for his contribution to Indonesian literature.

Dozens of Ajip's work have been translated to languages such as Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, English, French, Croatian and Russian, kompas.tv reported.

Ajip is survived by his wife and six children. (nal)