Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Akao Toko

あかお とうし

Akao Tōshi

Pen Names: Akao Toko（Pen name used for haiku）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1925-02-28 （Shinzaike, Aboshi, Hyogo Prefecture (now Aboshi Ward, Himeji), Japan）
Died
1981-03-17 （Higashinada-ku, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture (near Mikage Station), Japan） age 56
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Aboshi (birthplace), Hyogo Prefecture → Kyoto (studied at Kyoto University) → Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture (worked for Mainichi Shimbun; later life) → Osaka (worked at Mainichi Osaka headquarters; taught at local institutions)

Career

Occupations
haiku poet, journalist, editor, lecturer
Active Years
1942-1981
Affiliations
Haiku magazine 'Masebi', Haiku magazine 'Kasei', Haiku magazine 'Saka', Haiku magazine 'Uzu', Modern Haiku Association
Memberships
Modern Haiku Association
Influenced
Kishimoto Naoki, Kakimoto Tae, Oi Tsuneyuki, Fujiwara Ryuichiro, Kuwabara Saburo, Hata Yumi

Education

Osaka Foreign Language School (Chinese studies)
Chinese studies
Period: 1942-1944
Year of Graduation: 1944
Country: Japan
Early graduation due to wartime conditions
Kyoto University, Faculty of Letters (Chinese Literature)
Faculty of Letters / Department of Chinese Literature
Period: 1946-1949
Year of Graduation: 1949
Country: Japan
Recommended as a member of a haiku magazine during studies

Awards

Modern Haiku Association Award
1961
Organization: Modern Haiku Association
Result: 受賞
Kobe City Cultural Award
1978
Organization: Kobe City
Result: 受賞
Hyogo Prefecture Cultural Award
1980
Organization: Hyogo Prefecture
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Haiku Collection 'Ja' (Snake)

1959 Haiku

An early collection showing avant-garde tendencies, characterized by provocative imagery and fragments of daily life.

avant-gardenatureurban

Haiku Collection 'Kyozō' (Apparition)

1965 Haiku

A collection attempting the deconstruction and reconstruction of imagery.

imagerydestruction and renewal

Akao Toko Anthology

1970 Haiku

A collection compiling representative haiku to date.

representative haikuevolution of style

Haiku Collection 'Saikasū'

1975 Haiku

A compilation of mature poems, developing a unique world of imagery.

maturitysymbolism

Bibliography

  • Haiku collection 'Ja' (Snake), 1959 (Haiku Kenkyusha)
  • Haiku collection 'Kyozō' (Apparition), 1965 (Sogensha)
  • Akao Toko Anthology, 1970 (Kaite Postwar Haiku Association)
  • Haiku collection 'Descendants of the Dragon', 1975 (Yukawa Shobo)
  • Haiku collection 'Saikasū', 1975 (Kadokawa)
  • Early haiku collection 'Chinenki', 1977 (Yukawa Shobo)
  • Complete haiku collection of Akao Toko, 1982 (Rippu Shobo)
  • Haiku collection 'Hayate', 1983 (Uzu Haiku Society)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
avant-garde haikusymbolic, image-focused stylelater shift in style
Recurring Motifs
snakedragonmusicsaltfragments of the city

Legacy

One of the notable avant-garde haiku poets. He is valued for his unique imagery and mentoring of disciples, while controversies around selections marked his influence on the haiku world.

Museums

  • Hyogo-affiliated Authors (Net Museum Hyogo Literature Hall) Hyogo Prefecture, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Modern Haiku Association

Archives

  • National Diet Library (holdings / authority data)

Quotes

  • Music drifting, the shore encroached — the snake's hunger
    Source: Representative haiku (from his collections) (1959)
  • On iron stairs a spider — wisdom gleams
    Source: Representative haiku (from his collections) (1965)

Trivia

  • Real name: Akao Toshiro.
  • Worked for the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper.
  • Received the Modern Haiku Association Award in 1961 (9th edition).
  • Died suddenly in a railway accident near Hankyu Mikage Station on March 17, 1981 (aged 56).
  • Served as editor-in-chief of the haiku magazine 'Uzu'; his wife Akao Kei succeeded him (the group later dissolved).