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Chimako Tada

ただ ちまこ

Tada Chimako

Pen Names: Chimako Kato（Birth name (maiden name)）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1930-04-01 （Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan）
Died
2003-01-23 （Nada-ku, Kobe, Japan） age 72
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese, French
Residence History
Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan → Kyoto, Japan → Tokyo, Japan → Aichigawa area, Shiga Prefecture, Japan → Rokko, Kobe, Japan

Career

Occupations
Poet, Essayist, Translator, Scholar of French literature, University professor
Active Years
1956-2003
Affiliations
Eichi University (later St. Thomas University), Professor of French Literature; later Honorary Professor, Member of the literary magazine 'Mitei' collective, Member of the literary magazine 'Tauros' collective, Co-founder and contributor of the literary magazine 'Kyōen'
Memberships
Literary magazine 'Mitei', Literary magazine 'Tauros', Literary magazine 'Kyōen'
Influenced By
Marguerite Yourcenar, Saint-John Perse, Jorge Luis Borges, Taruho Inagaki, Taeko Kuzuhara

Education

Tokyo Woman's Christian University
Faculty of Foreign Languages / Department of Foreign Languages
Country: Japan
Was friends with Sumiko Yagawa during studies
Keio University
Faculty of Letters, Department of English / Department of English
Period: 編入学後、結核で半年休学
Country: Japan
Took a leave for tuberculosis treatment; the period of illness became a starting point for her literary work

Awards

Contemporary Women's Poetry Award
1981
Work: Hasu Kui Bito (Lotus Eater)
Result: 受賞
Contemporary Poetry 'Hanatsubaki' Prize
1998
Work: By the River
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Literature Prize
2001
Work: The Country of the Long River
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Mediterranean Studies Society Prize
2001
Work: The Country of the Long River
Result: 受賞
Ueue Cultural Prize (Culture & Arts Division)
1981
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Hanabi (Fireworks)

1956 Poetry collection

Debut poetry collection featuring concise poems marked by freshness, melancholy, and wit.

melancholyironylyricism

The Arena

1960 Poetry collection

A collection from her early period showing linguistic rigor and playfulness.

wordplayformal experimentation

Rose Universe

1964 Poetry collection

A signature collection containing metaphysical and phantasmagoric poems, inspired in part by hallucinatory experiences.

metaphysicshallucinationcosmology

The Town of Mirrors or the Forest of Eyes

1968 Poetry collection

A collection centered on motifs of mirrors and vision, reflecting her interest in theoria (contemplation).

mirrorsseeingtheoria (contemplation)

Four-faced Way

1975 Prose-poetry collection

A dream-themed, phantasmagoric prose-poetry collection where narration and imagery intersect.

dreamsfantasylayered imagery

Lotus Eater

1980 Poetry collection

A collection interweaving dreams and mythic imagination; awarded the Contemporary Women's Poetry Award in 1981.

dreammythspirituality

Sacred Fire

1986 Poetry collection

A mature collection blending metaphysical thought with understated humor.

metaphysicshumorwordplay

By the River

1998 Poetry collection

A collection published after a long interval; recipient of the 1998 Hanatsubaki poetry prize.

timememorynature

The Country of the Long River

2000 Poetry collection

One of her major late collections; awarded the Yomiuri Literature Prize (2001) among others.

flowdeath and rebirthmyth

Bibliography

  • Hanabi (poems, 1956)
  • The Arena (poems, 1960)
  • Rose Universe (poems, 1964)
  • The Town of Mirrors or the Forest of Eyes (poems, 1968)
  • The Chronicle of the Fake (poems, 1972)
  • Four-faced Way (prose-poems, 1975)
  • Song Collection: Suinin (1975)
  • Lotus Eater (poems, 1980)
  • Theoria of the Mirror (essays, 1977)
  • On the Shape of the Soul (essays, 1981)
  • The Old Man of the Forest (essays, 1997)
  • By the River (poems, 1998)
  • The Country of the Long River (poems, 2000)
  • When the Seal is Broken (posthumous, 2004)

Translations by Author

  • Translation: Marguerite Yourcenar, Memoirs of Hadrian (Hakusuisha, 1964)
  • Translation: Saint-John Perse, Selected Poems (Shichosha, 1967)
  • Translation: Antonin Artaud, Heliogabalus (Hakusuisha, 1977)
  • Translation: Marcel Schwob, The Children's Crusade (Mori Hiraku, 1978)
  • Co-translation: Robert Graves, I, Claudius (Misuzu Shobo, 2001)

Translations of Works

  • Selected poems have been translated into English and Spanish

Style & Themes

Literary Style
A metaphysical, contemplative styleFantastical and symbolic imageryPrecise, elegant translations and lucid essaysTechnical virtuosity including wordplay
Recurring Motifs
mirrorsgaze and visionanimals, plants, and mythrivers and flowroses

Health

  • Tuberculosis
    1950年代（学生時代）
    Took a six-month leave; the period of illness and reflection became the starting point for her literary career.
  • Cancer (diagnosed 2001)
    2001–2003
    Hospitalized after diagnosis; prepared posthumous publications and died in 2003 from liver failure.
  • Liver failure (cause of death)
    2003年1月
    Passed away in January 2003 due to liver failure.

Legacy

A poet whose metaphysical and phantasmagoric voice, combined with achievements as a translator and French literature scholar, produced a distinct body of work rooted in contemplation and wordplay; her reputation has continued posthumously.

Quotes

  • My bones will be adorned with roses.
    Source: Poem 'Rose Universe' (1964)

Trivia

  • Birth name was Chimako Kato.
  • Spent childhood in Kyoto and Tokyo due to her father's job transfers.
  • Wrote the poem 'Rose Universe' partly based on hallucinatory (LSD) experiences.
  • At her funeral attendees laid white roses, echoing imagery from her poem.
  • Her memorial day is sometimes called 'Fusaki' (Wind-Grass Memorial).