Japanese Literary Awards

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Yutaka Aida

あいだ ゆたか

Aida Yutaka

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1936-05-03 （Jeollabuk-do, Korea (then under Japanese rule)）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Jeollabuk-do, Korea (then under Japanese rule) → Takada, Niigata Prefecture, Japan → Sapporo (worked at NHK Sapporo) → Tokyo (NHK Tokyo, Educational Affairs)

Career

Occupations
TV director, Documentary filmmaker, University professor (former)
Active Years
1960-
Affiliations
NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), Keio University, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies (former)
Influenced By
Television Sando Articles 'Weekender' (Nippon TV)

Education

Waseda University
Faculty of Law
Degree: 学士
Period: 1957-1960
Year of Graduation: 1960
Country: Japan
Joined NHK in 1960 after graduation

Awards

Arts Festival Encouragement Award
1968
Work: Documentary: Passenger List AR-29
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs (Arts Festival)
Result: 受賞
Arts Encouragement Prize (Minister of Education Award)
1992
Work: NHK Special: Electronic Nation — Japan's Autobiography
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs
Result: 受賞
Purple Ribbon Medal
2000
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
International awards (including an Italian prize)
1984
Work: NHK Special: The Earth After Nuclear War
Organization: Various (unspecified)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Documentary: Passenger List AR-29

1968 Documentary

A documentary about Japanese-Brazilian immigrants on the vessel Aruzenchina Maru. It followed emigrants' lives and became a decades-long project with follow-up reports roughly every ten years.

migrationJapanese diasporalongitudinal reporting

NHK Special: Electronic Nation — Japan's Autobiography

1991 Documentary series

An NHK special series examining the development of Japan's electronics and computer society. Aida worked on the production and related books were published alongside the series.

history of technologyinformation societymedia and society

NHK Special: The House of Drums

2005 Documentary

A documentary produced after leaving NHK; Aida was deeply involved in the editing process and production.

familyarchival footageediting techniques

Bibliography

  • NHK Electronic Nation: Japan's Autobiography (4 vols.)
  • Voyage Record: Passenger List in the 31st Year of Migration
  • Documentary: My Field — 40 Years of Recording and Transmission
  • My Mother's Final Struggle: The Truth of 3,000 Days of Care

Adaptations

  • Program preservation and rebroadcasts in NHK Archives

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Conversational program flow combining narration and on-screen appearances by the directorMeticulous longitudinal reporting
Recurring Motifs
traces of migration and generational changethe relationship between technology and societyfamily and caregiving records

Legacy

Yutaka Aida established practical methods for long-term documentary reporting and hands-on production/editing through decades at NHK. His teaching and numerous awards have made him a respected figure in documentary filmmaking.

Archives

  • NHK Archives
  • National Diet Library (holds related materials)

Trivia

  • Worked at NHK for 39 years before retiring in 1999 and becoming freelance.
  • Started a decades-long project following immigrants approximately every ten years beginning with 'Passenger List AR-29' (1968).
  • Awarded the Purple Ribbon Medal in 2000.
  • Documented and broadcast his home care for his mother with dementia in 2013.