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Kaoru Funayama

ふなやま かおる

Funayama Kaoru

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1914-03-31 （Ōdōri Nishi 8-chome, Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan）
Died
1981-08-05 （Nakai, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan） age 67
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan → Nakai, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

Career

Occupations
Novelist
Active Years
1939-1981
Affiliations
Hokkai Times (later merged into Hokkaido Shimbun), Four Newspaper Alliance (news agency), Sōsaku / Shin Sōsaku (literary magazine collective)
Memberships
Sōsaku (later Shin Sōsaku) literary group member, Youth Art Faction, Seikyoku (literary magazine) contributor
Influenced By
Leo Tolstoy, Kōtarō Samukawa, Rinzo Shiina, Fujio Noguchi
Nominations
1940: Recommended by literary magazine (Watashi no Ehon), 1941: Akutagawa Prize nominee ('Tales of the Northern Country'), 1942: Akutagawa Prize nominee ('Sangatsudō')

Education

Hokkaido Sapporo Nishi High School (formerly Sapporo Second Middle School)
Period: 〜1932（詳細不明）
Country: Japan
Attended a union church while in school.
Waseda University Senior High School (Middle Division)
Period: 1932（1学期で退学）
Country: Japan
Left after one term.
Meiji University (Preparatory Course / Faculty of Commerce, left before completion)
Faculty of Commerce / Commerce
Period: 1934-1937（1年時に退学）
Country: Japan
Left during first year of commerce faculty.

Awards

Noma Literary Encouragement Award
1946
Work: 'Fue' and 'To'
Organization: Noma Literary Prize Committee
Result: Winner
Shosetsu Shinchō Prize
1967
Work: Ishikari Plain
Organization: Shinchōsha
Result: Winner
Hokkaido Shimbun Cultural Award
1979
Organization: Hokkaido Shimbun
Result: Winner
Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize
1980
Work: Akane-iro no Saka (The Crimson Slope)
Organization: Yoshikawa Eiji Prize Committee
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Ishikari Plain

1967 Historical novel / historical romance

A historical romance set against the development of Hokkaido. Serialized in regional newspapers, it became a bestseller and marked Funayama's literary comeback.

Hokkaido developmentFamilyModernizationMan and nature
Adaptations
  • [Television drama] Ishikari Plain (TV drama) (1968)

Otose

1969 Historical novel / human drama

A novel set in Tokushima shortly after the Meiji Restoration, drawing on historical events such as the Kōgo Incident and the Hiraunmaru disaster. Adapted repeatedly for television and stage.

Meiji RestorationHistorical memoryFamilyRevenge and redemption
Adaptations
  • [Television drama] Otose (TV drama) (1968)

Akane-iro no Saka (The Crimson Slope)

1980 Period novel / human drama

One of his late major works, portraying individual fate in depth; it received the Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize.

FateFamilyRedemption
Adaptations
  • [Television drama] Akaneiro no Saka (TV drama) / 恩地日出夫 (1981)

The Wandering Family

1970 Family novel / social novel

A story of a family's wandering and eventual renewal. Serialized in newspapers and adapted for television.

FamilyWanderingRenewal
Adaptations
  • [Television drama] The Wandering Family (TV drama) (1975)

The Unknown Bridge

1971 Contemporary novel

An ensemble drama about human relationships and hidden pasts; adapted for television.

Interpersonal relationshipsSecretsPast and present
Adaptations
  • [Television drama] The Unknown Bridge (TV drama) (1973)

Tales of the Northern Country

1941 Short story / collection

A collection of short stories published before the war, depicting provincial landscapes and people.

Provincial lifeCharacter studyNostalgia

Bibliography

  • Clothing
  • Tales of the Northern Country
  • Loneliness of Love
  • The Flute
  • Tales of Wind and Rainbow
  • The Swan Is Not Sad
  • Season of Loss
  • The Magician
  • Rainy Season
  • In the Blizzards
  • Human Resurrection
  • Maidens of a Happy World
  • Glacier of Flame
  • Corruption (Akutoku)
  • Ambition
  • Night's Slope
  • Ishikari Plain
  • The Wandering Family
  • The Unknown Bridge
  • Spiral Staircase
  • Otose II
  • Daughter of an Assassin
  • Collected Novels of Kaoru Funayama (12 vols)
  • Owl Walks (autobiographical essays)
  • Akane-iro no Saka

Adaptations

  • Akutoku (film, 1958)
  • Town Without a Map (short film adaptation, 1960)
  • Otose (TV dramas/stage adaptations, from 1968)
  • Ishikari Plain (TV drama, 1968)
  • The Unknown Bridge (TV drama, 1973)
  • The Wandering Family (TV drama, 1975)
  • Akaneiro no Saka (TV drama, 1981)
  • Kita no Reinen (2005 film; credited Funayama's works as references)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Existentialist tendencies (early)Middlebrow novel styleNational-romantic expressionHistorical-romance narration
Recurring Motifs
Hokkaido settlementFamily and kinshipLoss and redemptionFate and destinyConfrontation with nature

Health

  • Methamphetamine (Hiropon) addiction
    1948-1955（依存後、1955年に回復）
    Impaired his writing activity and caused him to be sidelined in literary circles.
  • Diabetes
    晩年
    Worsening condition led to declining health and vision, affecting his creative work.
  • Eye disease
    晩年
    Vision loss made writing and reading difficult.

Legacy

He began as a representative of the First Postwar School and later became widely read for his newspaper serials, middlebrow and historical novels. His struggle with addiction and subsequent comeback, along with numerous adaptations, earned him popular acclaim and the label 'master of national romance'.

Museums

  • Hokkaido Museum of Literature Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan

Archives

  • Hokkaido Shimbun Archives
  • National Diet Library (author materials)

In Popular Culture

  • His works were cited as references in the 2005 film 'Kita no Reinen' and have influenced film and television adaptations.
  • Works such as 'Otose' and 'Ishikari Plain' were repeatedly adapted for television and became popular with the public.

Trivia

  • His wife Haruko Funayama was known as his close companion; reports say she died suddenly on the same night as his death.
  • His second son is reported to be the sculptor Shigeo Funayama, though details are scarce.
  • His 1948 methamphetamine addiction affected his career for years, but he recovered around 1955.
  • In 2014, on the centenary of his birth, memorial events related to 'Otose' were held in Sumoto City.