Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 20 (1982) award
Eiji Usami
うさみ えいじ
Usami Eiji
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1918-01-13 （Osaka Prefecture）
- Died
- 2002-09-14 age 84
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese, French
Career
- Occupations
- poet, French literature scholar, art critic, university professor
- Active Years
- 1941-2002
- Affiliations
- Meiji University
- Influenced By
- Alberto Giacometti, Hermann Hesse, Isaku Yanaihara
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Imperial University (now University of Tokyo) | Faculty of Letters, Department of Ethics | Department of Ethics | — | — | Japan |
Tokyo Imperial University (now University of Tokyo)
Faculty of Letters, Department of Ethics
/ Department of Ethics
Year of Graduation:
1941
Country:
Japan
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Prize | Kumo to Tenjin (Clouds and Celestials) | — | Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Prize Committee | 受賞 |
| 1997 | Miyazawa Kenji Prize | The Mystery of Brightness | — | Miyazawa Kenji Prize Committee | 受賞 |
Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Prize
1982
Work:
Kumo to Tenjin (Clouds and Celestials)
Organization:
Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Prize Committee
Result:
受賞
Miyazawa Kenji Prize
1997
Work:
The Mystery of Brightness
Organization:
Miyazawa Kenji Prize Committee
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Where Is Pierre?
1957 novellaA novella collected in his first book; characterized by motifs of dreams, reality and death.
dreamsdeathexistence
Clouds and Celestials
1981 critical essaysAn essay collection covering art and literary criticism. Awarded the Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Prize in 1982.
visual artscriticismspirituality
The Mystery of Brightness
1996 essays and criticismA critical work including writings on Miyazawa Kenji and Hermann Hesse; recognized with the Miyazawa Kenji Prize in 1997 for his critical achievements.
literary criticismcomparative literatureviews of nature
The Book of the Dead: Stories and Essays
1998 stories and essaysCollection including the notable novella
deathmemoryvisual arts
Bibliography
- Where Is Pierre?
- The Jomon Fantasy: Prehistoric and Contemporary Art
- In the Depths of the Maze
- Listening to Stones
- Mouth of Dreams
- Clouds and Celestials
- The Mystery of Brightness
- The Book of the Dead: Stories and Essays
- The Viewer: Giacometti and Yanaihara
Translations by Author
- Elle et Lui (George Sand)
- On Love (Stendhal, co-translated)
- The Collected Letters of Vincent van Gogh (co-translation)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- lyrical and prose-like voiceessayistic with deep critical reflection
- Recurring Motifs
- dreamsdeathvisual arts and form
Legacy
Eiji Usami made substantial contributions across poetry, fiction, art criticism and French literary studies. Through his criticism and personal exchanges with artists and foreign writers he helped shape postwar Japanese literature and art discourse.
Archives
- National Diet Library
- Meiji University Library (possible holdings)
Quotes
-
Art speaks within dreams.
Source: In the Depths of the Maze (1975)
Trivia
- Participated in the founding of the literary magazine 'Dojidai' with Isaku Yanaihara and others.
- According to Shuichi Kato, Usami introduced Alberto Giacometti to Isaku Yanaihara.
- Was a classmate of haiku poet Hinao Goto at Hyogo Prefectural Daiichi Kobe Middle School.