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Hiroshi Gohara

ごうはら ひろし

Gohara Hiroshi

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1942-05-03 （Izumo (formerly Hirata), Shimane Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
poet, literary critic, translator, editor, freelance writer
Active Years
1966-
Memberships
Mystery Writers of Japan

Education

Waseda University
School of Political Science and Economics
Country: Japan

Awards

H Award
1974
Work: Kanan made
Result: 受賞
Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities
1983
Work: The Poet's Wife: Notes on Chieko Takamura
Organization: Suntory
Result: 受賞
Mystery Writers of Japan Award (Criticism)
2006
Work: Definitive Encyclopedia of Seicho Matsumoto
Category: 評論
Organization: Mystery Writers of Japan
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Suspended Sentence

1966 poetry collection

An early poetry collection compiling his youthful poems.

youthlyricism

To Canaan

1974 poetry

One of the works that raised his profile as a poet; winner of the H Award.

journeyreligious metaphor

The Poet's Wife: Notes on Chieko Takamura

1983 criticism / essay

An essayistic study of Chieko Takamura. Winner of the Suntory Prize.

biographical criticismpoet studies

The Score of My Love: The Story of Rentaro Taki

1993 biographical novel / original screenplay

A narrative centered on Rentaro Taki; served as the basis/original for a film.

musicbiography
Adaptations
  • [film] The Score of My Love: The Story of Rentaro Taki

Definitive Encyclopedia of Seicho Matsumoto

2005 reference / criticism

An encyclopedic study of Seicho Matsumoto; winner of the Mystery Writers of Japan Award (Criticism).

mystery studiesauthor analysis

A Narrative History of Japanese Detective Fiction

2010 criticism / history

A study surveying the history of Japanese detective fiction.

history of mystery fictiongenre theory

Bibliography

  • Suspended Sentence (Shicho-sha) 1966
  • Song and Asceticism: Studies of Modern Poets (Kokubun-sha) 1976
  • Michizo Tachihara: The Paradox of Lyricism (Kashinsha) 1980
  • Landscapes with Poetry (Miraisha) 1981
  • The Poet's Wife: Notes on Chieko Takamura (Miraisha) 1983
  • Winter Journey and Other Journeys (Ajisha) 1984
  • Lecture Series on 'Modern Japanese' (Yuhikaku) 1989
  • The Score of My Love: The Story of Rentaro Taki (Shinchosha Bunko) 1993
  • Encyclopedia of Great Detectives: Japan (Tokyo Shoseki) 1995
  • Encyclopedia of Great Detectives: Overseas (Tokyo Shoseki) 1997
  • Read This Mystery! Japan Edition (Mikasa Shobo) 2000
  • Read This Mystery! Overseas Edition (Mikasa Shobo) 2000
  • Official Guidebook to 'Jiro Akagawa' (Mikasa Shobo) 2001
  • Encyclopedia of Seicho Matsumoto (Kadokawa Gakugei) 2005
  • Matsumoto and His Era (Futabasha) 2009
  • A Narrative History of Japanese Detective Fiction (Kodansha) 2010
  • Hiroshi Gohara Poetry Collection (New Contemporary Japanese Poetry Library) 2013
  • History of Debates in Japanese Detective Fiction (Futabasha) 2013
  • Rampo and Matsumoto (Futabasha) 2017
  • Kodo and Takuboku (Futabasha) 2019
  • Sea Without Shores: Notes on Yoshiro Ishihara (Miraisha) 2019

Adaptations

  • The Score of My Love (film original)

Translations by Author

  • The Babysitter (co-translated with Yumiko Yamamoto) 1987
  • City of Glass (co-translated with Yumiko Yamamoto) 1989

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical and concise poetic styledetailed textual analysis in criticism
Recurring Motifs
journeymemorymusicmystery elements

Legacy

Recognized both for his work as a poet and for meticulous studies and reference works on mystery and literary criticism, he is an important figure in contemporary Japanese literature and detective fiction studies.

Academic Societies

  • Mystery Writers of Japan

Trivia

  • Worked at the Yomiuri Shimbun and served as editor in charge of Seicho Matsumoto.
  • His daughter is the French literature scholar Gohara Kai.
  • Has worked as a freelance writer and translator since 1985.