-
Edition 6 (1970) award
Yutaka Haniya
はにや ゆたか
Haniya Yutaka
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1909-12-19 (Hsinchu City, Taiwan (then under Japanese rule))
- Died
- 1997-02-19 (Kichijoji, Musashino, Tokyo, Japan) age 87
- Nationality
- Japan
- Languages
- Japanese
- Residence History
- Hsinchu (birthplace) → Pingtung (childhood) → Tokyo, Japan (after moving) → Kichijoji, Musashino (later life)
Career
- Occupations
- critic, novelist, translator, editor
- Active Years
- 1939-1997
- Affiliations
- Japanese Communist Party (joined 1931), Founding participant of the magazine 'Kindai Bungaku' (Modern Literature)
- Influenced By
- Max Stirner, Vladimir Lenin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Immanuel Kant, Anarchism
- Influenced
- Kobo Abe, Kazumi Takahashi, Kunio Tsuji, Yumiko Kurahashi, Morio Kita, Otahiko Kaga
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nihon University | — | — | — | 1928-1930 | Japan |
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Tanizaki Jun'ichiro Prize | The Black Horse in the Darkness | — | Tanizaki Prize Committee | winner |
| 1976 | Japan Literature Grand Prize | Shiryo (Dead Spirits) — five chapters | — | Japan Literature Grand Prize Committee | winner |
| 1990 | Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Prize | — | — | Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Prize Committee | winner |
Awards & Nominations
-
Edition 8 (1976) award
-
Edition 28 (1990) award
Works
Major Works
Credo, quia absurdum
1950 Aphorisms / EssaysA collection of aphorisms and short essays presenting the author's philosophical aphorisms and reflections.
Void
1960 Novel / PlayA philosophical work exploring existence and consciousness, blending novelistic and dramatic elements.
The Black Horse in the Darkness
1970 Short Story CollectionA collection of short stories using dreams and symbolism; recipient of the Tanizaki Prize.
Shiryo (Dead Spirits)
1948 Metaphysical speculative novelAn ambitious planned 12-chapter work driven more by philosophical discourse than narrative, centered on existence, death and cosmology; it remained unfinished and was written across much of his life.
Bibliography
- Flanders: Essays on Painters
- Rodin
- Shiryo (Dead Spirits) — Vol. 1
- Credo, quia absurdum
- Void
- Dostoevsky — His Life and Works
- The World of Shadow Pictures: Russian Literature and Me
- The Black Horse in the Darkness
- The Invisible Priest: Travels in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
- Collected Works of Yutaka Haniya (15 vols.)
- European Travelogue
- Shiryo (Definitive Edition) Vols. 1–5
- Complete Essays on Dostoevsky by Yutaka Haniya
- Quasi-Poetry Collection
- Shiryo — Six/Seven/Eight/Nine Chapters
- Complete Works of Yutaka Haniya (Kodansha)
Translations by Author
- Emile Lengyel 'Danube' (trans. under the name Ito Toshio)
- Woliński 'The Great Book of Fury — A Study of Dostoevsky's Demons' (translation)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- dense philosophical prosemetaphysical and speculativeaphoristic expressionallegorical and symbolic
- Recurring Motifs
- deathexistencedreamsblack horsecosmologysolitude
Health
-
tuberculosis1933(発症・療養)Exempted him from military conscription and required periods of convalescence that affected his activities.
-
intestinal tuberculosis1950-1954(約4年間の療養)Diagnosed in 1950; about four years of treatment and recuperation, which affected his writing and publication schedule.
-
cerebral infarction (stroke)1997(死因)Died of a stroke in 1997.
Legacy
Yutaka Haniya occupied a distinct position in postwar Japanese thought and literature, receiving particular acclaim for his unfinished magnum opus 'Shiryo'. He was influential as a critic and editor and known for discovering and nurturing young writers.
Museums
- Haniya-Shimao Memorial Literary Museum Odaka, Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture (adjacent to Ukifune Cultural Center)
Archives
- Collections at the Haniya-Shimao Memorial Literary Museum
- Kodansha (publisher archives / manuscript collections)
In Popular Culture
- Andromeda Memorial (annual commemorative event)
- Symbolic figure in postwar literary history and the founding of 'Kindai Bungaku'
Quotes
-
I will not have children until I have settled my own thinking about many things.
Source: Personal remark (recollections/interviews) -
Mr. Yutaka Haniya completely dominated the postwar night of Japan.
Source: Yukio Mishima, 'Word of Recommendation' (preface) (1971)
Trivia
- He avoided conscription due to tuberculosis.
- He had a habit of striking the table while speaking and is said to have broken over 200 pairs of glasses.
- He favored Tokaji (Aszú) wine from Hungary and was known as a heavy drinker.
- He serialized and worked on 'Shiryo' for many years but died before completing it.
- He refused to allow paperback (bunka) editions of his works during his lifetime; paperbacks were released posthumously.