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Abe Iwao

あべ いわお

Abe Iwao

Pen Names: Abe Iwao（Pen name used as a variant of his legal name (born Abe Iwao / Abe Iwao with different kanji reading)）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1934-01-20 （Tsuruoka, Yamagata, Japan）
Died
2009-06-12 age 75
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
Poet
Active Years
1975-2009
Memberships
Shin Nihon Bungakukai (New Japan Literary Association)
Influenced
Ito Hiromi

Education

Hosei University
Faculty of Letters / Japanese Literature
Country: Japan
Graduated from Hosei University, Department of Japanese Literature

Awards

Oguma Hideo Prize
1982
Work: Fukisha
Result: 受賞
Takami Jun Prize
1989
Work: Mr. Begeet (Bégèt)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Legend of the Morning

1975 Poetry collection

Early poetry collection featuring poems that weave corporeality with everyday sensibilities.

BodyEveryday life

Legend of the Eye

1979 Poetry collection

Contains poems that depict hallucinations arising from physical and mental suffering tied to imprisonment.

PrisonHallucinationSuffering

Fukisha

1981 Poetry collection

Poetry collection awarded the Oguma Hideo Prize in 1982; centers on themes of rebellion and the search for the self.

RebellionIndividuality

Mr. Begeet (Bégèt)

1988 Poetry collection

A powerful work追tracking the consciousness of a person afflicted by a serious illness; won the Takami Jun Prize in 1989.

IllnessConsciousness

Moon Mountain

1983 Poetry collection

A collection themed on the practice of sokushinbutsu (self-mummified Buddhist ascetics) and local faith in his native Shonai region.

FaithHometown

Bibliography

  • Asa no Densetsu (Kokubunsha) 1975
  • Shonen no Tori (Sakutosha) 1976
  • Me no Densetsu (Kokubunsha) 1979
  • Fukisha 1981
  • Tsuki no Yama (Shoshi Yamada) 1983
  • Seiu. Garorin (Renga Shobo Shinsha) 1985
  • Jugatsu Toka, Shoujo ga (Shichosha) 1986
  • Abe Iwao Poetry Collection (Shichosha, Gendai Shi Bunko) 1987
  • Sosoko Yuk (Shoshi Yamada) 1987
  • Begeet-shi (Shichosha) 1988
  • Tsuki no Hito (Shichosha) 1992

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Modern poetryLyrical and experimental expression involving corporeality and hallucination
Recurring Motifs
Hometown (Shonai)Faith / sokushinbutsuIllness and deathPrison / suffering

Legacy

Abe Iwao was a Japanese poet active from the 1970s, known for poems addressing imprisonment, faith, and illness. He won the Oguma Hideo Prize and the Takami Jun Prize and is regarded as an important figure in contemporary Japanese poetry.

Academic Societies

  • Shin Nihon Bungakukai (New Japan Literary Association)

Trivia

  • His legal name is Abe Iwao (different kanji reading variant).
  • Graduated from Hosei University, Department of Japanese Literature.
  • One of his students was the poet Ito Hiromi.