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Fujio Akimoto

あきもと ふじお

Akimoto Fujio

Aliases: 東京三 / 秋元地平線
Pen Names: Tokyo San（Early pen name used for works such as the haiku collection 'Machi'.）, Akimoto Chihyosen（An alternate pen name used in literary activities.）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1901-11-03 （Motomachi, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan）
Died
1977-07-25 （Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan (hospital)） age 75
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Motomachi, Yokohama

Career

Occupations
haiku poet, editor, magazine founder/editor
Active Years
1920-1977
Affiliations
Dojo (literary circle/magazine), Tenkou (literary circle/magazine), Hyokai (founded and presided), New Haiku Poets' Federation (founding involvement), Modern Haiku Association (founding promoter & secretary-general), Haiku Poets' Association (founding participant), Yokohama Haikai-kai (founding)
Memberships
New Haiku Poets' Federation, Modern Haiku Association, Haiku Poets' Association
Influenced By
Shimoda Seihou (Shimada Seihō), Saito Sanki (Saito Sanki / Seito Miki)
Influenced

Education

Yokohama Municipal Daini Hieda Elementary School (higher division)
Period: 〜1916
Year of Graduation: 1916
Country: Japan
Graduated higher division; entered employment at an insurance company. Attended night school for a time but did not complete further higher education.

Awards

Jakutoku Prize
1968
Work: Manza
Organization: Jakutoku Prize Committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Machi

1940 Haiku collection

An early haiku collection containing works published under the pen name 'Tokyo San'.

everyday lifecommon people

Kobu (Tumo?)

1950 Haiku collection

A postwar haiku collection emphasizing domestic and humane themes.

postwarpopulist humanity

Manza

1968 Haiku collection

A representative collection of haiku which won the 2nd Jakutoku Prize.

daily lifehuman sympathyreflections on life

Selected Haiku with Commentary by Fujio Akimoto

1972 Haiku collection

A selected haiku collection with the author's own commentaries.

selectionauthor commentary

Kanro-shu (Kanro Collection)

1977 Haiku collection

A collection of late-period haiku; partly published posthumously.

late workslife reflections

Bibliography

  • Machi (as Tokyo San). Sanseido, 1940.
  • Kobu. Sakuhinsha, 1950.
  • Manza. Kadokawa Shoten, 1968.
  • Selected Haiku with Commentary by Fujio Akimoto. Hakuhosha, 1972.
  • Kanro-shu. Kadokawa Shoten, 1977.
  • Collected Works of Fujio Akimoto (Complete haiku collections & essays). Kadokawa Shoten, 1980.

Style & Themes

Literary Style
populist humanismobject-focused haiku ('mono' theory)plain and direct expression
Recurring Motifs
familypovertywartime imprisonment (prison poems)everyday objects

Health

  • rectal cancer
    1971〜1976/1977
    Underwent resection surgery in 1971; was re-hospitalized in 1976 and died in hospital in 1977.

Legacy

Left a mark on 20th-century Japanese haiku with warm, populist verses. Noted for his prison poems from wartime and his 'mono' theory in haiku criticism.

Museums

  • Monument of Fujio Akimoto (haiku stone) Motomachi, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Modern Haiku Association
  • Haiku Poets' Association

Archives

  • National Diet Library (holds materials)
  • Modern Haiku Database (collections and haiku entries)

In Popular Culture

  • His son, Chikashi Akimoto, became a noted TV director and producer, drawing attention to the family's media involvement.

Quotes

  • Striking the child — for a moment the cicada of heaven
    Source: Representative haiku (collected works)
  • On the day the war ended, I wash the bath to bring my wife and children in
    Source: Representative haiku (including prison poems)

Trivia

  • His younger sister was the playwright Matsuyo Akimoto.
  • He was imprisoned in connection with the wartime suppression of the New Haiku movement.
  • His death day is called 'Kanro-ki' (Kanro memorial day).
  • There is a haiku monument to him in Motomachi, Yokohama.