Japanese Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Satoshi Akihama

あきはま さとし

Akihama Satoshi

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1934-03-20 （Shibutami Village, Iwate District, Iwate Prefecture (now Morioka City), Japan）
Died
2005-07-31 age 71
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Morioka (birthplace/early life) → Osaka (taught at Osaka University of Arts) → Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture (head of Hyogo Prefectural Piccolo Theatre)

Career

Occupations
playwright, lyricist, university lecturer, director
Active Years
1956-2005
Affiliations
Gekidan Sanju-nin Kai (Theatre troupe), Hyogo Prefectural Piccolo Theatre, Osaka University of Arts (faculty)
Influenced By
Ishikawa Takuboku (regarded as an important subject/figure)
Influenced
Hideaki Inoue (student; key figure in Gekidan☆Shinkansen), Many members of Gekidan☆Shinkansen (students)

Education

Waseda University
Faculty of Letters, Department of Drama (theatre) / Department of Drama
Period: 1950s
Year of Graduation: 1956
Country: Japan
Participated in the student theatre troupe 'Sodai Jiyu Butai' and published plays while a student

Awards

Kinokuniya Theatre Award (individual)
1967
Work: Horambaka
Organization: Kinokuniya Company Ltd.
Result: winner
Kishida Kunio Drama Award
1969
Work: After the Festival of the Infants and other works
Organization: Kishida Kunio Drama Award Committee
Result: winner
Kinokuniya Theatre Award (group)
1998
Work: My Dream Dances / Dr. Aizu Yaichi's Love (production)
Category: 演出/団体
Organization: Kinokuniya Company Ltd.
Result: group award
Agency for Cultural Affairs Arts Festival Award (Theatre — Excellence Award)
1998
Work: My Dream Dances / Dr. Aizu Yaichi's Love (production)
Category: 演劇部門
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs (Japan)
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Horambaka

1967 play/drama

A representative mid-career play notable for its use of Morioka dialect. Awarded in 1967.

regional identitydialecthuman relationships

After the Festival of the Infants

1969 play/drama

A play included among the works recognized when he won the Kishida Kunio Drama Award.

postwar generationlocal community

Takuboku-den (Life of Takuboku)

biographical play/drama

A biographical play depicting the poet Ishikawa Takuboku, who hailed from the same region.

biographyhome regionpoetry and life

Bibliography

  • Shirake Obake: Collected Works of Satoshi Akihama (Shobunsha), 1970
  • Satoshi Akihama One-Act Plays (Crellum), 1979
  • A Provincial High School Student's Diary 1950–1953 (Matsumoto Kobo), 2024

Style & Themes

Literary Style
dialogue-driven plays utilizing regional dialect (Morioka dialect)realist depictioncharacterization through speech
Recurring Motifs
home regiondialectmemory and nostalgiaordinary people

Legacy

A playwright known for plays using regional dialects set in Iwate. He taught many young theatre artists at Osaka University of Arts, served as the first head of the Hyogo Prefectural Piccolo Theatre, and had a significant impact as an educator and director. Winner of awards such as the Kinokuniya Theatre Award and the Kishida Kunio Drama Award, he is regarded as an important figure in contemporary Japanese theatre.

Academic Societies

  • Japan Playwrights Association (related archive exists)

Archives

  • Playtext Digital Archive (Satoshi Akihama)

In Popular Culture

  • Wrote lyrics for the NHK 'Minna no Uta' song 'Soumatou' (1977–1978)

Trivia

  • Contributed lyrics to the NHK 'Minna no Uta' song 'Soumatou' in 1977–1978.
  • Hideaki Inoue (of Gekidan☆Shinkansen) was among his students at Osaka University of Arts.