Japanese Literary Awards

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Aki Sagawa

さがわ あき

Sagawa Aki

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1954-10-10 （Tokyo, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese, Korean
Residence History
Tokyo → Yokohama (studied at Yokohama National University)

Career

Occupations
Poet, Korean literature researcher, Translator
Active Years
1982-

Education

Yokohama National University
Faculty of Education
Country: Japan
Graduated from Faculty of Education (exact year not specified)

Awards

Oguma Hideo Prize
1991
Work: The Dream That Once Again Gestates the Dead
Result: winner
Yokohama Poets' Association Prize
1991
Work: The Dream That Once Again Gestates the Dead
Organization: Yokohama Poets' Association
Result: winner
Shi to Sozo (Poetry and Creation) Prize
2004
Work: Reply
Organization: Shi to Sozo
Result: winner
Chikyu (Earth) Prize
2005
Work: Anthology of Zainichi Korean Poetry 1916–2004 (co-editor)
Result: winner
Japan Poets' Club Prize
2013
Work: Pressed Flowers
Organization: Japan Poets' Club
Result: winner
Changwon KC International Poetry & Literature Prize
2014
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Dream That Once Again Gestates the Dead

1992 Poetry collection

A poetry collection exploring death, memory, and the intersection of personal and collective histories.

deathmemoryindividual and history

Soul Diver

1993 Poetry collection

A collection of poems that imagines a dive into the inner world.

interiorityspiritsearch

Essays on Contemporary Korean Poetry: A Sense of a New Era

2000 Research / Essays

A collection of essays on trends in contemporary Korean poetry, reflecting her perspective as a Korean literature researcher.

Korean poetrycomparative literaturecultural exchange

Reply

2004 Poetry collection

A poetry collection themed around responses to life and memory.

responsememoryeveryday life

Pressed Flowers

2012 Poetry collection

A collection characterized by delicate depictions of fragments of everyday life, as if preserving them like pressed flowers.

everyday lifepreservationtime

Bibliography

  • The Dream That Once Again Gestates the Dead (Poetry), Shigakusha, 1992
  • Soul Diver (Poetry), Choryu Publishing, 1993
  • Essays on Contemporary Korean Poetry: A Sense of a New Era, Doyobi Art Publishing, 2000
  • Reply (Poetry), Doyobi Art Publishing, 2004
  • Anthology of Zainichi Korean Poetry 1916–2004 (co-edited), Doyobi Art Publishing, 2005
  • Pressed Flowers (Poetry), Doyobi Art Publishing, 2012

Translations by Author

  • Selected Poems of Ko Un: Has the Poem Come to You Now? (co-translator), Fujiwara Shoten, 2007
  • The Earth Is Beautiful: A Japan–Korea Environmental Poetry Anthology (co-editor/translator), Doyobi Art Publishing, 2010

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical yet calmly observant styledepictions of the intersection between history and the individual
Recurring Motifs
death and memorysea / diving imageryheritage and Zainichi Korean historypressed flowers (preservation, time)

Legacy

Aki Sagawa is an important contemporary Japanese female poet and a Korean literature researcher who has contributed to Japan–Korea literary exchange. Through awards, translations, and editorial work she has helped introduce Zainichi Korean poetry and foster cultural exchange.

Trivia

  • She was one of the signatories of the appeal "Is Korea an 'enemy'?" opposing Japan's removal of export preferential treatment for Korea.
  • Maintains a personal website (https://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~sagawa/).