Japanese Literary Awards

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Genzo Murakami

むらかみ げんぞう

Murakami Genzo

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1910-03-14 （Wonsan, South Hamgyong, Korea (then under Japanese rule)）
Died
2006-04-03 （Hospital in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan） age 96
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Wonsan, South Hamgyong (now Kangwon Province, North Korea) → Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Screenwriter
Active Years
1934-2006
Memberships
Member, Naoki Prize selection committee, Judge, NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen
Influenced By
Hasegawa Shin

Education

Aoyama Gakuin Middle School
Country: Japan
Graduated from Aoyama Gakuin Middle School.

Awards

Sunday Mainichi Popular Literature Prize (Honorable Mention)
1934
Work: Mists of the Tone River
Organization: Sunday Mainichi (magazine)
Result: Honorable mention
Naoki Prize (15th)
1941
Work: Kazusa Fudoki
Organization: Naoki Prize Selection Committee
Result: Winner
NHK Broadcasting Culture Award
1965
Organization: NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)
Result: Recipient
Medal with Purple Ribbon
1974
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: Awarded
Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class
1981
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: Awarded

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Kazusa Fudoki

1941 Novel

Published in the magazine 'Taishu Bungei' organized by Hasegawa Shin; winner of the Naoki Prize. A long novel depicting regional environment and human drama.

regional historyhuman drama

Sasaki Kojirō

1950 Historical fiction (jidaigeki)

A swordsman novel serialized in the Asahi Shimbun evening edition. Broke taboos for postwar swordsmanship fiction and became a leading work in the revival of popular literature.

swordsmanshipbushidoduel
Adaptations
  • [Film] Sasaki Kojirō (1950)
  • [Film] Sasaki Kojirō Continued (1951)
  • [Film] Sasaki Kojirō: Duel at Ganryu Island (Finale) (1951)

Minamoto no Yoshitsune

1952 Historical novel

A historical novel centered on Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Adapted to film and television multiple times; for the 1966 NHK Taiga drama Murakami provided the original material and wrote scripts.

historical figuresheroic narrativefate
Adaptations
  • [Film] Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1955)
  • [Film] Continuation: Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1956)
  • [Television drama] Minamoto no Yoshitsune (NET TV serial) (1959)
  • [NHK Taiga drama (TV)] Minamoto no Yoshitsune (NHK Taiga drama) (1966)

Jirocho Sangokushi

1953 Popular literature

A popular novel incorporating biographical and wandering-hero elements. Adapted for film and published in paperback, it became one of his widely read works.

chivalrybiographical narrativejourney
Adaptations
  • [Film] Jirocho Sangokushi Part II: Jirocho's First Journey (1953)

Matsudaira Choshichiro Travel Diary

1956 Historical fiction

A work depicting human relationships and historical background through the protagonist's travels. It became the source material for the TV period drama 'Choshichiro's Edo Diary'.

travelhuman dramahistorical setting
Adaptations
  • [Film] Choshichiro Travel Diary: Demon Shadow Master (1959)
  • [Television drama] Choshichiro's Edo Diary (TV period drama) (1990)

Bibliography

  • Mists of the Tone River
  • Kazusa Fudoki
  • Sasaki Kojirō
  • Minamoto no Yoshitsune
  • Jirocho Sangokushi
  • Matsudaira Choshichiro Travel Diary
  • The Kaga Disturbance
  • Mito Komon
  • Princess Sen
  • Hiraga Gennai

Adaptations

  • Sasaki Kojirō (film, 1950)
  • Minamoto no Yoshitsune (NHK Taiga drama, 1966)
  • Choshichiro Travel Diary / Choshichiro's Edo Diary (TV period drama)

Translations by Author

  • Modern Japanese translation of 'Nanso Satomi Hakkenden'
  • Modern Japanese translation of 'Water Margin' (Chinese classic)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Accessible popular-literature narrativeDescriptive style emphasizing character depiction
Recurring Motifs
swordsmen and samuraisea and adventurechivalry and human feelingbiographical accounts of historical figures

Health

  • heart failure
    2006-04-03
    Died of heart failure in a hospital in Setagaya, Tokyo in 2006

Legacy

A leading figure in postwar popular literature, especially swordsman and historical fiction. Many of his works were adapted into films and TV dramas; he served for decades as a member of the Naoki Prize selection committee and remains an important figure in Japan's popular literary history.

Museums

  • Sasaki Kojirō Memorial Monument (Kojirō Monument) Temukuyama Park, Kokurakita Ward, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan Opened in 1951

Archives

  • National Diet Library (Japan) holdings

In Popular Culture

  • Minamoto no Yoshitsune (original work and scripts for NHK Taiga drama, 1966)
  • Sasaki Kojirō (film adaptations, 1950s)
  • Choshichiro Travel Diary → Choshichiro's Edo Diary (TV period drama adaptations)

Trivia

  • Won the Naoki Prize (15th) in 1941.
  • Served on the Naoki Prize selection committee from late 1954 to late 1989.
  • Major works include 'Sasaki Kojirō', 'Minamoto no Yoshitsune', 'Jirocho Sangokushi', and 'Matsudaira Choshichiro Travel Diary'.
  • Donated the Sasaki Kojirō monument to Temukuyama Park in Kokurakita Ward, Kitakyushu in 1951.