Japanese Literary Awards

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Norihisa Akaza

あかざ のりひさ

Akaza Norihisa

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1927-03-21 （Nakacho, Inaba District, Gifu Prefecture (now Kakamigahara)）
Died
2012-08-31 （Japan） age 85
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Nakacho (now Kakamigahara) → Ogaki (worked)

Career

Occupations
children's author, tanka poet, teacher, college professor
Active Years
1949-2012
Influenced By
Fumi Saito

Education

Gifu Normal School (now Faculty of Education, Gifu University)
Faculty of Education
Period: 1945-1950
Year of Graduation: 1950
Country: Japan
Graduated from Gifu Normal School (corresponds to present Faculty of Education, Gifu University)

Awards

Mainichi Publishing Culture Award
1962
Work: Children Who Cannot See
Organization: Mainichi Newspapers
Result: Winner
Kodansha New Writer's Award for Children's Literature
1964
Work: The Jizo of Osugi
Organization: Kodansha
Result: Winner
Niimi Nankichi Children's Literature Prize
1988
Work: The Scent of Rain, the Voice of Stars
Organization: Niimi Nankichi Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award
1988
Work: The Scent of Rain, the Voice of Stars
Organization: Sankei Shimbun
Result: Winner
Ehon Nippon Award
1988
Work: The Scent of Rain, the Voice of Stars
Organization: Ehon Nippon Committee
Result: Winner
Japan Association of Children's Literature Authors Award
1989
Work: Kakamino's Soil / Kakamino's Sky
Organization: Japan Association of Children's Literature Authors
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Children Who Cannot See

1961 children's literature / educational

Includes essays and works about braille composition and education for visually impaired children.

blindnesseducationempathy

The Jizo of Osugi

1964 children's literature

A children's story incorporating folk-tale elements, depicting local traditions and children's feelings.

folktalelocal culturegrowing up

The Scent of Rain, the Voice of Stars

1987 children's literature / lyrical tale

A lyrical work depicting connections between nature and people. Recipient of the Niimi Nankichi Prize.

naturelyrical expressionhuman relationships

Bibliography

  • Midori Mado: Norihisa Akaza Tanka Collection
  • Poetry: The Heritage of Love
  • Children Who Cannot See: Fostering Braille Composition
  • Song of the White Stick
  • The Fox's Treasure Box
  • The Bears of Shirasagi Mountain
  • The Scent of Rain, the Voice of Stars
  • Kakamino's Soil
  • Kakamino's Sky
  • Gently, the Pacific

Style & Themes

Literary Style
uses simple, lyrical language appropriate for childrenweaves in educational and social themes
Recurring Motifs
blindness / visual impairmentatomic bombing / HiroshimaOkinawaancient history / folkloredepictions of nature

Health

  • hypoxic encephalopathy
    2012
    Died on 2012-08-31 due to hypoxic encephalopathy

Legacy

An author who addressed visual impairment, war, and local culture through children's literature and poetry. He drew on educational experience and received multiple literary awards.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Association of Children's Literature Authors

Archives

  • Held in the National Diet Library and other collections

Trivia

  • Died in 2012 from hypoxic encephalopathy; his body was donated to Nagoya University School of Medicine.
  • His eldest daughter is said to be children's writer Akane Rutsu (details not widely documented).
  • Early in his career he composed tanka and was a disciple of Fumi Saito.