Japanese Literary Awards

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Yoshikichi Furui

ふるい よしきち

Furui Yoshikichi

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1937-11-19 （Tokyo, Japan）
Died
2020-02-18 （Tokyo, Japan (home)） age 82
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Tokyo, Japan → Kanazawa, Japan

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Germanist, University lecturer
Active Years
1968-2020
Affiliations
Kanazawa University (assistant/lecturer), Rikkyo University (associate professor)
Influenced By
Robert Musil, Hermann Broch, Franz Kafka, Adalbert Stifter, Rainer Maria Rilke, Theodor Storm, Franz Grillparzer, Joseph Roth, German literature, Isota Kamura, Zenzō Kasai, I-novel (Watakushi-shōsetsu), Natsume Sōseki, Nagai Kafū

Education

University of Tokyo
Faculty of Letters / Department of German Literature
Degree: 学士
Period: 1956-1960
Year of Graduation: 1960
Country: Japan
Completed undergraduate studies; later completed a master's program at the same university.
Graduate School of Humanities, University of Tokyo
Graduate School of Humanities / Department of German Language and Literature
Degree: 文学修士
Period: 1960-?
Country: Japan
Completed master's course (specific year unspecified).

Awards

Akutagawa Prize
1971
Work: Yoko
Result: 受賞
Japan Literature Award
1980
Work: Sumika
Result: 受賞
Tanizaki Prize
1983
Work: Asagao (Hibiscus)
Result: 受賞
Kawabata Yasunari Literary Prize
1987
Work: Nakayamasaka (short story)
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Literary Prize
1990
Work: Karōjō-denshibun (approx.)
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Art Award
1997
Work: The Song of White Hair
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Yoko

1970 Short story / Novel

Depicts the encounter between a mentally ill woman, Yoko, and a man met on a mountain, blending surreal and fantastic imagery to explore subtle shifts in romantic psychology.

love between men and womendepths of the psychefantasy

On Thursday

1968 Short story

Debut short story first published in a literary coterie magazine; one of the early works that launched Furui's literary career.

early workeveryday life and consciousness

Sumika

1979 Linked novel / Long story cycle

A linked novel depicting the lives of men and women cast into the city, probing loneliness and emotion through intersections of life, death, past, and present.

urban lifelife and deathmemory

Asagao (Hibiscus)

1983 Novel

A novel about the intense sexuality and psychology arising between two people who meet by chance, delving into desire and interiority with a distinctive style.

sexualityinterior depictionchance encounters

Karōjō-denshibun (approx.)

1989 Novel

A novel that traces understandings of life and death through religious narratives; presents deep reflections on aging and near-death consciousness.

life and deathreligious talesaging

The Song of White Hair

1996 Novel

A novel reaching a style that traverses sanity and madness, life and death, present and past within aging; recipient of the Mainichi Art Award.

agingsanity and madnessmemory and reminiscence

Rakutenki

1992 Novel

A novel shaped in part by his hospitalization for a herniated disc, exploring aging, corporeality, and tensions of the mind.

body and mindagingillness

Tsuji

2006 Linked short story collection

A late-period work where fragmentary scenes and memories unfold Furui's characteristic fragmented narration and interior depiction.

fragmentationmemorysubtle aspects of everyday life

Bibliography

  • Women Forming a Circle (short stories)
  • Yoko / Tsumagomi
  • Yukigakure
  • Comb's Fire
  • Sei
  • Sumika
  • Oya (Parent)
  • Asagao
  • Karōjō-denshibun (approx.)
  • Rakutenki
  • The Song of White Hair
  • Tsuji

Translations by Author

  • Translation: Hermann Broch, 'The Seducer' (1967)
  • Translations of Robert Musil (including 'The Completion of Love')
  • Translations/versions of Rainer Maria Rilke's poems (including selections from the Duino Elegies)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
distinctive 'dislocated' style (manipulation of grammar, person, and time)introspective and lucid descriptionuse of fantastical yet clear imagery
Recurring Motifs
love between men and womenlife and deathmemory and reminiscenceaging and depths of the mindclassics, tales, tanka and renga motifs

Health

  • Herniated disc
    1991（約2か月入院）
    Hospitalization became a turning point; themes of aging and corporeality became more prominent in subsequent works.
  • Visual impairment / eye disorders
    晩年
    Affected readings and lectures; references to senses such as sight and hearing increased in his works.
  • Hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer)
    2020年（死去）
    Died at home in 2020 from hepatocellular carcinoma (cause of death).

Legacy

As a representative of the 'inward-facing generation,' Furui was highly regarded for deep psychological depiction and a distinctive style that breaks conventional Japanese linguistic contexts. He received numerous major literary awards and later declined further awards.

In Popular Culture

  • Contributed horse-racing essays to the JRA magazine 'Yushun'
  • Wrote GI race predictions for the Daily Sports newspaper

Trivia

  • Debuted with the short story 'On Thursday' (1968).
  • Won the 64th Akutagawa Prize in 1971 for 'Yoko'.
  • Declined literary prizes after receiving the Mainichi Art Award in 1997.
  • Known as an avid horse-racing fan; contributed essays to 'Yushun' (JRA magazine).
  • Resigned from the Akutagawa Prize selection committee in 2005 to concentrate on writing.
  • Suffered visual problems in later years and died of hepatocellular carcinoma in 2020.